Have a plan for activities ahead of time.

I can tell you my 13 year old would say “they’re just leaves” lmao. I’m not saying don’t go, but my experience with a 13 year old girl is things like that aren’t especially impressive or enjoyable. She told me Sequoias are just trees when we went! I tell myself she will appreciate all the experiences later but yeah you might not get any “this is so cool” comments out of the masses over leaves. (I personally think it sounds fun)

We have a condo at a ski resort in Vermont and my favorite time of year to go is in the fall. Our resort opens the ski lifts so you can ride up and/or down and see the trees from above. It's breathtaking! There are lots of festivals and family friendly events. The hiking is perfect at that time of year.

In terms of getting there, there are numerous daily non-stop flights from both DCA and IAD to Burlington. (Not sure why there are so many flights there, but it's really convenient.) The flight is just over an hour. It's a small airport and really easy to rent a car there too.

Just go to the Hudson valley, same vibe and about 3 hours closer

There are places in VT that get crowded. There are places in every county that don't get crowded, but they might require more driving and/or walking than kids would enjoy.

I would not book airline tickets for five people for months from now. Foliage is dependent on many factors. An autumn day in VT could be 60 and sunny or 40 and rainy. If it's 60 and sunny you will have crowds from Boston and CT driving up.

VT is good for kids in summer (swimming) and winter (if they like skiing). Adults may love it in fall but it's nothing special for most kids.

It’s definitely a term. And you’re not literally looking at leaves the entire time. Not sure why some PPs think that’s the case.

OP, I would go, but book hotels now. Those get filled. It’s a fun time — there’s hiking, biking, farms, orchards, festivals, country stores, etc.

Leaf peeping is definitely a thing. It was even on the West Wing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gL3Jh_-cpw

The trails and hikes may not be chaos, but hotels may be booked up and/or expensive for typical peak weekends.

I took my kids (11 and 8 at the time) to WV last fall and they enjoyed being outside and hiking--not sure the fact that the leaves were gorgeous added that much for them--a few minutes here and there when we got to lookout points, and they liked looking for different color leaves. But if you have kids that like hiking, it will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:Leaf peeping is not a term. Did you seriously just ask if small children would enjoy looking at foliage?! Do you know nothing about children at all?!

leaf peeping is a term, I have heard it my whole life. (Nearly 60 y.o. Transplanted New Englander)

We do it in the Berkshires. Slightly less far.

You can take the kids on a hike and see the beautiful leaves. It's a nice time of year to be outdoors-cool but not uncomfortably cold.

Like the pp said-it's Vermont and it's not crowded. It could be a fun trip with your age kids.

“Leaf peeping in Vermont” is code for a road trip to a New England. You drive around on some two-lane roads and marvel at the foliage. Visit some general stores. Drink some cider. Browse through some country antiques. Get a pumpkin. Eat in an inn.

Chaos? I would never describe anything in Vermont as “chaos.”

Anonymous wrote:Kids in general don't appreciate the beauty of fall foliage for more than 10 seconds.

Spending hours looking at foliage is not appealing to most people. Your DH will probably be bored stiff, never mind your kids.

Kids in general don't appreciate the beauty of fall foliage for more than 10 seconds.

Leaf peeping is not a term. Did you seriously just ask if small children would enjoy looking at foliage?! Do you know nothing about children at all?!

Ages 13, 9, 5. The foliage looks amazing though has anyone been to tour or see fall foliage/leaf peeping with children in tow?

Is it absolutely chaos and packed? Fun? Boring?