September 8, 2024, 4:09 pm | Read time: 7 minutes
The small community of Pomfret in the US state of Vermont has once again banned influencers from entering a street this fall. TRAVELBOOK has the lowdown on how this came about and why influencers are flocking to the village in droves.
Once upon a time, nestled deep in the US state of Vermont, lay a small community named Pomfret. The village was a modest and tranquil place, with just a handful of stores and apple and pumpkin farms. It was seemingly not a destination that would typically captivate tourists. But every year, the small village was bathed in the most beautiful fall colors. It turned out to be a picturesque image of Indian summer. Yet, there was one property in particular— truly idyllic and blanketed in a tapestry of fall leaves. That was until the influencers came to Pomfret.
Overview
Suddenly, the village’s serene fall idyll was shattered. Human excrement on private property, people climbing over gates and ignoring “no trespassing” signs, queues of cars on unpaved roads that sometimes led to accidents, obstructed traffic, and changing rooms set up by influencers for costume changes. In short, Pomfret became an influencer hotspot and was literally overrun by them. The reason: photos of an old farm in the most beautiful fall foliage setting that went viral.
How Pomfret became the new Instagram hotspot
Named ‘Sleepy Hollow Farm,’ this enchanting property spans 115 hectares of private land. According to the information website newengland.com, the farm was owned by none other than Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and his wife Billie Paulette Montgomery. However, it is said that the couple parted with the property in 2020, selling it for 2.2 million US dollars. A winding road leads to the farm itself, offering views of the fall forests in shades of red, orange and brown. Above the property runs another road, which itself is lined with trees dipped in fall colors. It contains a gate, which is the entrance to the private property.
Once the images went viral, an ever-increasing number of people descended upon the small community, flocking to Cloudland Road in particular—a path that leads to the village of Woodstock (note: not to be confused with the iconic festival’s namesake, which is located in the US state of New York). Columns of cars lined up, and person after person climbed over the property gate and posed in front of the same background. This can be seen on Instagram. The backdrop of the farm and idyllic fall foliage is now considered one of the most photographed places in Vermont. Numerous photos of the farm and its surroundings flood social media channels.
Residents overwhelmed
Like the small village of 900 people itself, its residents were overwhelmed by the new fame and subsequent overtourism. “It’s a beautiful place. It’s a shame that it’s been ruined for everyone,” Deborah Goodwin, the exhibition coordinator at the Artistree Community Arts Center in Pomfret, is quoted as saying by the UK media outlet “BBC“. Goodwin went on to explain that the situation had gotten out of hand in recent years, with buses arriving and “dumping people out there”. And they regularly misbehaved. “It was bad,” the BBC quotes the Pomfret resident.
The sheriff of Windsor County, Ryan Palmer, is also quoted. He told the British medium: “This (Cloudland Road) is not a road designed to carry multiple vehicles on it.” Over the past two years, there have been traffic jams caused by parked vehicles. Also, fire engines and ambulances have not even been able to get through. The infrastructure was simply overwhelmed.
Crowdfunding to close the road
At their wits’ end, the residents took their grievances to the local government, reports the BBC. One of the first measures taken in the fall of 2022 was to temporarily turn the road behind the farm into a one-way street. That was not enough. The tourists came anyway and behaved just as badly as in previous years. In the fall of 2023, Pomfret resorted to another means of combating the disrespectful influencers. They initially collected donations through crowdfunding on GoFundMe.com. The plan involved a temporary closure of the road by the sheriff’s deputies, along with new and expanded signage. A measure that appeared to come with a hefty price tag.
Organizer Glenn Morley’s team wrote in the Save Cloudland Road campaign text, “In recent years, Cloudland Road (and the small roads leading to Cloudland Road) have seen an unprecedented rise in Instagram and TikTok fueled tourist ‘influencers’ making money from sponsors and monetizing a private home, turning it into a social media photo destination. They […] have changed the neighborhood environment to the point where it is unsustainable.” During the fall foliage season, hundreds of people come at a time. It continues, and even tour bus companies have joined in on the spectacle.
A costly affair
As a result, Cloudland Road and its surrounding roads become impassable in the fall. “Misbehaving tourists damaged roads, had accidents, had to be towed out of ditches, trampled gardens, defecated on private property, parked in fields and driveways, and abused local residents,” the text reads. Most people would come for a selfie in front of a private house. The residents of Cloudland Road have therefore joined forces with the towns of Pomfret and neighboring Woodstock to find a way to “bring peace, safety, and civility back to the families living here.”
In the first few weeks, the organizers were able to collect 16,068 US dollars with 103 donations (as of 12 October 2023). According to the BBC, city officials subsequently voted to implement the plan and close the road leading to the farm to non-residents during the autumn peak season (September 23 to October 15). A costly affair: according to the BBC, Palmer estimates that the residents of Cloudland Road paid over 10,000 dollars. This was so that the officers could put up road closure signs and carry out patrols.
Yet, in the end, this investment appears to have borne fruit. The BBC reports that Pomfret’s city council has resolved to implement road closures akin to those of 2023 for the upcoming 2024 season. Specifically, according to the report, this means that Cloudland Road will be closed to passenger traffic from September 25 to October 16. Parking will also be prohibited. Sufficient financial resources should be available to local residents. As the BBC notes, the fundraising campaign has since garnered approximately 125 donations, amassing a total of around 22,058 US dollars (as of September 3, 2024).
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Respectful tourists are still welcome
According to the BBC article, Pomfret is not against tourists in general. Rather, they would like to see the residents and their place of residence treated with respect. “We’re happy to have tourists here, it’s a big part of Vermont’s economy, and we want people to enjoy the beauty of nature, visit the merchants and stores, and drive around,” the sheriff is quoted as saying. The most important thing for him, he said, is to “have respect for people’s homes and property … Please come by, just be respectful.”
Editor’s note: If you search for the farm on GoogleMaps, you will find it marked many kilometers to the south. Its actual location is not marked on the map service. As we assume that the owners have done this for all the reasons mentioned above, we have also refrained from giving the exact address of the farm.