(North Pomfret) Social media users take note: You won’t be able to take your fall foliage selfie in a popular Vermont spot. The city temporarily closed the road to non-residents due to overcrowding and “bad tourist behavior.”
The normally quiet dirt road that runs from Pomfret to Woodstock, home to the oft-photographed Sleepy Hollow Farm, will only be open to residents until mid-October. And local law enforcement intends to enforce this measure.
In recent years, social media users and photographers have crowded the narrow road to take selfies and photos of the fall foliage of the picturesque private property, drawn to its colorful hillside trees, barn and house New England classic.
Area residents say they understand the appeal of the beautiful leaves and scenery, but say some visitors have gone too far: They have blocked traffic with their parked vehicles, obstructed access for residents and emergency vehicles, as well as picnicked and even relieved themselves on private land surrounding the house.
“Badly behaved tourists have damaged roads, had accidents, had to be towed out of ditches, trampled gardens, defecated on private property, parked in fields and driveways, and verbally abused residents,” denounced the organizers of a GoFundMe site called Save Cloudland Road.
“It’s a shame,” said neighborhood resident Nancy Bassett. It ruins the lives of many people. »
Overcrowding caused by social media posts has affected other destinations around the world, whether it was a street in Paris or a small town in California that was overrun by visitors when strong Winter rains produced a “super bloom” of wild poppies. In 2019, Disneyland-style crowds invaded Lake Elsinore, California, “trampling the very habitat they held in such esteem.”
People parked their cars illegally along the highway, created traffic jams affecting emergency responders and encroached on residents’ ability to shop or even get to work, Lake Mayor Lamented Elsinore, Natasha Johnson. This year, the canyons where wild poppies grow and nearby parking areas have been completely closed off, with the sheriff warning violators that they risk being fined, towed or even arrested.
Zion National Park in Utah has taken another approach to reduce crowding and improve safety on the popular Angels Landing hike: Hikers now must obtain a permit.
On this Vermont backroad, increased traffic during foliage season in recent years has been spurred “by extraordinary tourist interest in private properties” and has caused “significant safety, environmental and , aesthetics and quality of life,” wrote the municipal council of Pomfret, a town of just over 900 inhabitants, in a message to the community.
Social media users reacted in various ways.
“Honestly, it’s been photographed so many times that I don’t see the point,” one wrote on Facebook. I certainly can’t blame them, as social media has made so many beautiful places disappear. »
Others wrote: “Vermont is truly beautiful. The same goes for many other places” and “Why would you want to visit a place with a crowd of people? There are beautiful places to enjoy and you will have them all to yourself. »
The scenic, winding stretch of Vermont called Cloudland Road is now temporarily closed to non-residents and lined with no parking and photography signs along farm property.
Locals in the area encourage tourists to visit nearby attractions that can accommodate them with parking spaces and other amenities.
“People love leaves and we understand that leaves attract people here and we don’t want that to stop,” said Linda Arbuckle, a local general store employee. Unfortunately, some, but not all, people have taken the next step, which is people coming home to find people eating on their balconies. »
