It had always been a desire of ours to see New England in the autumn as we had seen many photos of the New England  landscape alive with  seasonal colors that always seemed richer than any other place in America. This bucket list trip finally happened this October as we made a trip to Vermont on a whim when our photo trip to Cape Hatteras was ruined due to Hurricane Matthew.

Working completely off of my smartphone Brenda trusted me in booking us a nice place to stay. I found a charming place on Lake Champlain, it was a barn that was restored and had a beautiful 2 bedroom loft. I should correct myself here, where we stayed wasn’t actually “on” Lake Champlain, it was on an island IN Lake Champlain, Isle La Motte to be exact.

I knew NOTHING about Vermont before heading out on this trip as the time between discussion, booking, and leaving was inside of 12 hours. The drive up was wonderful, especially as we began to go into Adirondack State Park in NY. The colors were amazing! Not just for the color depth, but for the sheer vastness across the mountains! At this point we both were literally tapping each other and saying “look at that in every direction”. We literally drove to the Canadian Border and turned right to head into Vermont and then head down into Lake Champlain.

When we arrived to our destination after a 10 hour drive we were totally washed in the beauty of being on an island in this lake, but we were disappointed in seeing that the fall colors here were still about a week or so away from peaking. We asked the homeowner what there was to see and do around there and she mentioned the ski lodges in Stowe had things going on. So after dinner Brenda and I began researching the area and discovered that there was a TON to see, but not close to where we were staying. Let me state this, if it were summer I would’ve NOT left the island, but it wasn’t summer ~ HA!

The next day Brenda and I headed for the mountains, and the mountains didn’t disappoint!! I thought the colors in New York were grand…that was until I saw the colors in Vermont. “WOW”!! There were photo ops EVERYWHERE! I actually had to stop and let my brain catch up with my emotions as I just wanted to shoot anything I could. I actually resisted that urge as I am a professional you know *wink*. Once the initial wave of emotion washed through me I realized that these colors spanned the entire countryside and I could shoot scenes like I hadn’t had the opportunity to do before, and shoot them I did.

This was my first trip to New England in autumn, but it will not be my last. I would encourage anyone who has had it on their bucket list to visit here in autumn to do so. This is one of those trips that you almost have to wait to the last minute to lock in as Mother Nature isn’t on a clock, and she will paint the landscape when she is good and ready. I have found that if you start to watch the Autumn Forecast in early September you will be able to plan your trip accordingly.

Thanks for reading!