Vermont
USA Today released list of country’s best fall foliage destinations, including one in VT
![USA Today released list of country’s best fall foliage destinations, including one in VT USA Today released list of country’s best fall foliage destinations, including one in VT](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/20/NPAL/75306406007-getty-images-157742539.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3299,1857,x0,y167&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Drone video: Fall colors pop up in parts on Vermont
Drone video captured color appearing on trees in parts of Vermont.
USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards just released its best of fall rankings, and one Vermont town in the Green Mountains region ranked among the best destinations in the country for fall foliage.
The annual awards highlight the best in travel, food and lifestyle, and winners are chosen by a public voting poll after being nominated by industry experts.
In the 2024 best of fall awards, ranking fall attractions across the United States in a variety of categories, Stowe, Vermont won seventh place for best fall foliage.
Read below for everything to know about how to experience the best of Stowe’s fall colors.
Fall foliage in Stowe
According to predictions from Accuweather, foliage in Vermont is expected to peak in early-mid October, making that the best month to visit Stowe for fall.
Over 45 trails wind through the town’s parks and forests, providing the perfect opportunity to explore the autumn hues with a hike or bike ride.
If you’re not a fan of outdoor activities, Stowe also has plenty of driving routes that allow you to see the Green Mountains’ beautiful foliage from your car. Be sure to check out the Green Mountain Byway, a 71-mile route that features some of the area’s best landscapes, including the state’s highest peak at Mt. Mansfield. To see the mountain’s peak, take the scenic Gondola SkyRide at Stowe Mountain Resort, or soar through the colorful trees from above with one of Stowe’s many zipline services.
Fall fun in VT: USA Today released list of country’s best corn mazes, including this VT location
What other destinations made the top 10?
If Stowe hopes to top USA Today’s list, here are the fall foliage destinations to beat:
- Upper Peninsula of Michigan
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania
- Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Blue Ridge Mountains, Georgia
- Hocking Hills, Ohio
- White Mountains, New Hampshire
- Stowe, Vermont
- Finger Lakes, New York
- The Berkshires, Massachusetts
- Adirondacks, New York
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Vermont
Vermont Won A Historic National Championship In Fittingly Dramatic Fashion | Defector
![Vermont Won A Historic National Championship In Fittingly Dramatic Fashion | Defector Vermont Won A Historic National Championship In Fittingly Dramatic Fashion | Defector](https://lede-admin.defector.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2024/12/GettyImages-2189130535.jpg)
Even before kickoff, the final of the NCAA men’s soccer championship was special as a meeting between two underdogs. Marshall, which won its first title in the 2020 season as an unseeded team, was the 13th seed this year and reached the final by defeating No. 1 Ohio State. Meanwhile, unseeded Vermont beat two-seed Pitt and three-seed Denver on its way to the title game. The Thundering Herd and Catamounts put together a real thriller Monday night, as Vermont won its first championship in program history on a sudden-death goal in overtime.
That goal is at the 7:56 mark of the highlight reel below, though the entire second half of the match was very dramatic. Marshall took a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute after Vermont keeper Niklas Herceg mishandled a tough cross right into the path of Tarik Pannholzer. Herceg kept his team in it with a beautiful save minutes later, and in the 81st minute, Marcell Papp took advantage of a poor clearance from Marshall keeper Aleksa Janjic to start and finish a one-two with a shot from just inside the box. You’re here for the winner, though. In overtime, centerback Zach Barrett intercepted a pass in the Vermont half and smacked a speculative longball for Maximilian Kissel. The forward shrugged off his defender, then dribbled around Janjic and scored.
This is the University of Vermont’s first national championship in a sport outside of skiing; when the school reached the final, it became the first team from the America East conference to do so. The Catamounts are unlikely winners, although this title follows strong runs in recent seasons: They lost in the quarterfinals in 2022 and in the third round last year. Scoring late is also somewhat of a trademark for Vermont, as they recorded 22 goals in the 76th minute or later this season. The Catamounts also became, by my unscientific reckoning, the team with the coolest-named mascot to win an NCAA title this year—an equally prestigious honor, no doubt.
Vermont
The 7 Best Vermont Events This Week: December 18-25, 2024 | Seven Days
![The 7 Best Vermont Events This Week: December 18-25, 2024 | Seven Days The 7 Best Vermont Events This Week: December 18-25, 2024 | Seven Days](https://media2.sevendaysvt.com/sevendaysvt/imager/u/facebook/42481951/magseven1-1-45639659526978ec.webp)
Do the Locomotion
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22
All aboard! Families hop on the Okemo Valley Holiday Express at Chester Depot for an hourlong adventure through bucolic landscapes. As winter wonderland scenes zip by, passengers enjoy hot cocoa and cookies, caroling, coloring — and maybe evena visit from that certain special someone with a big, white beard.
Lilies of the Valley
Friday 20
Brattleboro roots band Low Lily bring their winter solstice concert to Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater for a warm, joyful ushering in of the year’s shortest day. The performance showcases the trio’s talents in mandolin, guitar, fiddle and banjo, as well as its infectious, high-energy stage presence — sure to brighten up even the darkest of December nights.
Spinning Yarns
Thursday 19
Local “social entrepreneur” Samara Anderson hosts Vermont Library Storytelling: Best of 2024 at the South Burlington Public Library auditorium — where neighbors step into the spotlight à la “The Moth” to share true, vulnerable narratives. The event is part of Anderson’s much larger statewide effort to bring a community storytelling platform to all 185 public libraries.
Pride and Presents
Through Sunday 22
Shaker Bridge Theatre’s charming production of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, at Briggs Opera House in White River Junction, is a yuletide sequel to Jane Austen’s novel of manners Pride and Prejudice. Audiences can expect to encounter Mr. and Mrs. Darcy — as well as fresh faces such as Cassie, the eager maid, and Brian, the lovesick footman.
Horsing Around
Friday 20
The Opera House at Enosburg Falls rolls out the red carpet for an exclusive screening of Khoa Le’s freshly released romance dramedy, Christmas Cowboy. The movie’s cast and crew sit side by side with excited locals to take in the Hallmarkesque flick that was filmed right here in Vermont — including a few scenes shot at the historic opera house itself.
Flurry of Fun
Friday 20
BarnArts’ original concert “Winter Carols” at First Universalist Church and Society in Barnard summons magic and wonder through music. In keeping with the org’s mission to enrich rural communities through participatory arts, Michael Zsoldos directs local talent of all ages in works centered on the season of solstice — including some festive audience sing-alongs.
Gifts From the Art
Ongoing
The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery’s annual “Small and Large Works” exhibition in Burlington boosts the holiday shopping experience by showcasing gift-size artworks by 130 local artisans. All pieces are either smaller than 12 inches or larger than 24 inches and come ready to wrap — with prices to suit all budgets.
Vermont
A mental health program for flood-affected Vermonters has been extended through 2025 – VTDigger
![A mental health program for flood-affected Vermonters has been extended through 2025 – VTDigger A mental health program for flood-affected Vermonters has been extended through 2025 – VTDigger](https://vtdigger.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/barre-storm-folo-10-20240711.jpg)
Last Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch that set off a cascade of preparations across Vermont.
On that same day, Vermont Department of Mental Health announced that it had received an extension of funding for its Starting Over Strong program to support the mental health of flood-affected Vermonters.
Two days later, reports revealed that the rain and snowmelt had caused little damage to Vermont homes and infrastructure. But the mental health department’s deputy commissioner, Samantha Sweet, said it is exactly these repeat flooding events that could cause continuing struggles for Vermonters who have been hit hard by previous storms.
“The rain hitting their roof in years past used to be soothing and comforting to people, and they enjoyed hearing (the) sound, and now it causes them incredible anxiety,” Sweet said.
The state’s repeat flooding disasters was also part of the reason the program has been extended. The department initially received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration after the July 2023 flood to operate the program through October 2024. But after the July 2024 flood, the program’s funding was extended through July 2025.
The core purpose of the program is to provide outreach and connect flood-affected Vermonters to a variety of mental health services from regional providers. The program operates a hotline at 802-651-1767 and has reached out to Vermonters in a variety of other ways — from door-to-door knocking to booths at local farmers markets, Sweet said.
The program has interacted with 14,000 Vermonters so far. That includes Vermonters who have reached out on behalf of a loved one or friend, Sweet said.
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“As these services are going door to door and just telling people about the service, they’re hearing a lot, ‘well, I’m okay, but my neighbor three doors down is really struggling,’” she said. “It’s truly a Vermont way.”
Sweet added via email that of those 14,000 Vermonters, about 1,150 have had more in-depth visits from the program and 1,000 have attended support groups run by some regional providers.
Program staffers can also connect Vermonters to more long-term mental health support and other community resources like their local food shelf, Sweet said.
However, the program does not provide mental health crisis support. Sweet urged Vermonters in crisis to call the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
The program is completely free, Sweet said. The sole eligibility criteria is location: You must be in one of the counties that had a declared disaster, which includes Chittenden, Washington, Addison, Lamoille, Essex, Caledonia and Orleans counties.
The level of support someone receives from the program is up to them, she said.
“It can be just touching base with someone and connecting and sharing their story and having someone listen to how things have been for them,” she said. “All the way up to, visiting with them three or four (times), and they’re having that short term support to kind of get their story out and and receive the support that they need.”
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