Vermont Leaf Peeping

There’s nothing like visiting Vermont [1] in autumn, to marvel at the foliage and sample the tastes of an older, simpler time.

Day 1

Base yourself in Randolph, on the edge of the mountains in the middle of the state. On your first day, spend some time learning how to milk cows and make cheese at Neighborly Farms of Vermont [2]. To set the mood for your return to the days before iPods and flat-screens, sample the musical exhibits of the Porter Music Box Museum [2].

Day 2

Cut across the mountains on Route 73 through Brandon Gap, oohing and aahing at the foliage on the way to the Hollywood set-piece hamlet of Rochester (30 min.). Continue north along scenic Route 100 to the Mad River Valley [3] (30 min.), stopping for lunch at The Warren Store [4] and for a gambol around the Saturday afternoon Waitsfield’s Bridge Street Marketplace [5]. Loop up Route 100A through Montpelier [6] (30 min.), pausing at Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks [2] for the requisite pint of gold before taking I‑89 back to Randolph (30 min.).

Day 3

Today, head east along Route 66 to meander around the back roads of the Upper Valley towns of Corinth, Fairlee, and Strafford. On your itinerary for the day: Morgan horses and black-faced sheep at Shady Hill Farm (Bowen Rd., East Corinth, 802/439-6420, 6 a.m.–8 p.m. daily) and a tour of 19th-century domestic life at the Justin Smith Morrill Homestead (214 Justin Morrill Hwy., Strafford, 802/765-4484, www.historicvermont.org/morrill [7]). While you are in the area, take the short hike to the pretty Old City Falls. Or if you happen to be in town during the Tunbridge World’s Fair (early Sept.), scrap everything and head to the horse pulls.