Montpelier, Vermont fall foliage

Montpelier, the smallest state capital in the country by population, sits in the Winooski River valley, and the gold dome of the State House stands against a wooded hillside right behind it. That hillside is Hubbard Park, about 194 acres with roughly seven miles of trails, a stand of hemlocks more than 200 years old, and a 54-foot stone observation tower at its highest point. A trail of about half a mile climbs from the State House to the tower, which looks out over the city to the surrounding mountains.

US 2 runs east from Montpelier through Plainfield and Marshfield into the farm country of the Northeast Kingdom. At West Danville, by Joe’s Pond, Peacham Road heads south about seven miles to Peacham, a hilltop village often called the most photographed town in New England, where a white church steeple stands against the surrounding hills. From Peacham, back roads lead south to Groton and US 302, which heads west back toward Barre and Montpelier. To the north, Route 12 runs up the valley through Worcester to Lake Elmore, a short drive from Stowe.