No place on Earth matches Vermont for scenic and fall foliage drives

Vermont is awesomely beautiful all year, but maybe prticularly in its famous fall foliage season, when tourists and vacationers flock to the state to see the glories of the changing leaves. A scenic drive through Vermont is wonderful for vacationers, tourists, and families in any season.

Getting to the Central Vermont By Car

Visitors can easily reach Central Vermont by car, using several Interstate highways:

From Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York City and points south, travelers can take I-91 north which traverses Vermont along its eastern border with New Hampshire.

From New York City and New Jersey, travelers may also elect to take I-87 (the New York thruway) north to Albany, then pick up U.S. Route 7 north into Vermont. U.S. Route 7 is known as the Ethan Allen Highway, and runs along the western edge of Vermont and Lake Champlain.

Travelers from New Hampshire, Boston, and points south and east should take I-89 north, which enters the state at White River Junction, and goes all the way to the Canadian border.

I-91 travels along the eastern edge of the state, and will take travelers to Central Vermont through or near these towns: Springfield, Windsor, Plainfield, White River Junction, Thetford, Norwich, Fairlee, Newbury and Wells River.

I-89 enters the state at White River Junction, and then travels northward past Tunbridge, Royalton, Randolph, Brookfield, Williamstown, near Barre, then up to Montpelier and on to Waterbury.

U.S. Route 7 runs northward along the western side of the state. In Central Vermont, Route 7 passes through or near Danby, Wallingford, Rutland, Proctor, Pittsford, Brandon, Salisbury, Middlebury, Vergennes and Ferrisburg.

Traveling east-west across the central part of the state, U.S. Route 4 enters the state at Fair Haven near the New York border, and travels through Castleton, Bomossen, Rutland, Mendon, Sherburne, Woodstock, Quechee and White River Junction.

Vermont State Route 30 (the Seth Warner Memorial Highway) travels northward right along the New York state line, and passes through or near Poultney, Bomoseen, Sudbury, Orwell, Whiting, Cornwall, before ending in Middlebury.

Getting to Southern Vermont By Car

Southern Vermont is bounded by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west.

From Massachusetts and Connecticut, take I-91 north, which travels along the eastern border of the state and on to the Canadian border.

From northern Vermont, Canada, and points north, I-91 and U.S. Route 7 each travel one side of the region from north to south. Travelers from Montreal can pick up I-91 by taking I-89 south from Burlington.

From New York City, New Jersey and points south: Take I-87 north to Albany in New York, and pick up Route 7, which goes directly into Bennington.

From New York State and points west, I-88 and I-90 both travel east into Albany, where Route 7 can be picked up to the Vermont border.

From New Hampshire, Southern Vermont is best accessed via NH Route 9, which runs from Keene west into Vermont, just north of Brattleboro.

In Southern Vermont, I-91 travels through Brattleboro, Dummerston, Putney, Westminster, Saxtons River and Rockingham.

On the western side of the state, U.S. Route 7 crosses the Massachusetts border at Pownal, then winds through Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Manchester and Dorset.

VT Route 9 runs between Brattleboro and Bennington, and through Marlboro, Wilmington, Searsburg and Woodford.

Further north, VT Route 11 runs eastward out of Manchester, passing through Pery and Londonderry.