The tranquil beauty of Sleepy Hollow Farm in Vermont, New England has been wildly popular on social media. During the fall, when the leaves change, this iconic place sees thousands of tourists. Visitors massively arrive, and they have started to make the locals’ lives difficult. It’s a real selfie apocalypse out there, and the residents have had enough. So, this year, the roads to this Instagrammable location are closed – at least until the leaves fall.
If you visit Instagram and TikTok, you’ll find hundreds of thousands of posts under the #sleepyhollowfarm hashtag. The place sure is lovely and picturesque, and you know what happens to places like this when they start popping up on Instagram too much? They get overcrowded with tourists, disrespected in all kinds of ways, vandalized, and destroyed…
Sleepy Hollow Farm is not a tourist attraction but a private residence with ordinary folks living their daily lives. So, the massive influx of tourists has led to all kinds of disruptions and issues. The visitors have been trespassing, changing outfits in the middle of the road, and even urinating in public. The situation escalated to the point where the community’s safety was compromised as emergency vehicles struggled to navigate traffic jams.
Frustrated and concerned, the neighbors have successfully petitioned to close the road to all non-local traffic during the leaf-changing season. They even agreed to raise funds to cover most of the associated costs. So, starting from September 23, the roads have been closed. It will last until October 15, unless something changes in the meantime. According to NewEngland.com, The Windsor County Sheriff’s Department will enforce the ban.
“[It will] probably what I used to consider a normal foliage season,” said Michael Doten, a local resident living across the street from the farm. “We’ll have traffic. We’ll have some people coming through and looking and slowing down. But we won’t have hordes or people hanging on the gate of my neighbor’s property.”
Beth Finlayson, the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce ED, told TODAY that the restrictions in Vermont don’t spell the end of capturing the state’s scenic beauty. Alternatives exist, such as driving up Route 89 and observing other picturesque views. This way, visitors can still take scenic fall photos without hindering anyone’s privacy and safety.
[via Light Stalking]
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