Enjoy a Vermont September

Words and photos courtesy of Seven Days

Embrace the State With Vermont's 'Staytripper' 
By Carolyn Fox

In a typical year, summer is the busiest season for Vermont's tourism industry — and fall foliage attracts visitors to our Green Mountains from across the globe. But as we bridge these two seasons in 2020, nothing is normal. Due to the pandemic, interstate as well as international travel has slowed, and Vermont vacations look a lot different.

As we reported stories for this issue of Staytripper, Seven Days' monthly road map to rediscovering Vermont, we heard a familiar refrain from tour and lodging operators: While they've lost a great deal of out-of-state tourism — and money — they're welcoming more and more Vermonters who are seeking safe getaways and playing tourist in their own state. Many are discovering its hidden gems for the first time. If there's a silver lining to the pandemic, perhaps it's a newfound appreciation for the natural beauty right under our noses.

This issue will guide you to it, from impressive mountain biking vistas to outdoor dinner parties to remote pond-side cottages where you have no option but to unplug. Whether you choose to follow a serene kayak route on Lake Champlain or wade into a river on a fly-fishing adventure, we encourage you to embrace this state — and state of mind — and splash right in.