"Snoliage" Is the Holy Grail Of Vermont Leaf Peeping, And It Happened Saturday

Snoliage atop Mount Mansfield as viewed from 
Irish Settlement Road in Underhill, Vermont on Saturday.
The white sheep dotting the green field in the
foreground is a nice touch. 

 I'm sure everybody loves snoliage, even if they don't quite know what it is. 

Snoliage is when beautiful autumn leaves combine with snow to create especially beautiful scenery. Here in Vermont, it doesn't happen every year, but it does occur often enough. 

On relatively rare occasions,  the snow extends down to valleys during peak foliage season, and that's when it really becomes awesome. Most times, though, the snow is limited to the mountains, but it still comes off as stunningly beautiful.

It's especially gorgeous when the skies clear, so you can the deep blue of a chilly autumn sky, the warm hues of orange and yellow and red trees, with snow capped mountains with a few wispy clouds around the peaks being the cherry on top. 

That's what happened in parts of Vermont on Saturday. 

Snoliage, with a white Mount Mansfield summit, and
brightly colored trees, as seen from a field off of 
Pleasant Valley Road in Underhill, Vermont Saturday.

I intercepted some snoliage yesterday, mostly in Underhill, near Mount Mansfield. The photo of it I posted on social media yesterday was a hit, so I reprised that photo as the first image you see in this post. 

Of course, I took other photos as well. Who could resist?  I put some of them in this post as well.  Click on the images to make them bigger and easier to see. 

I also put together a quick raw video of it too, which you can see at the bottom of this post. 

The snoliage around Mount Mansfield on Saturday not surprisingly attracted quite a crowd. 

The parking lot at the famous sledding hill on Pleasant Valley Road was often nearly full, as was a patch of gravel close to the Underhill town offices. 

Back roads like Irish Settlement Road were also unusually busy. 

A snow and rime ice topped Mount Mansfield with peak
fall foliage in the foreground Saturday in 
Underhill, Vermont. 

The best snoliage views often don't last long, and Saturday's were no exception. The beautiful blue skies only lasted from about noon to 4 p.m. and then clouds returned.

 Most of the thin trace of snow and rime ice atop Mount Mansfield has probably melted by now. 

There might be more chances for snoliage over the next week or two, but the beauty might not be as great as Saturday's.  Foliage will go past peak.  But, I'm happy to share a few images captured Saturday.

I'm so glad I decided to veer away from the responsibilities of work and just enjoy an autumn Vermont afternoon for a change.  

It's also testimony to the fact that it's much more fun to avoid the peak fall foliage season traffic jams in the usual tourist hubs and instead try some back roads. They're much more fun. 

Also, the video is below. If you don't see the image for it, click on this link to view. If you do see the image, click on it to watch on YouTube. 

Quick Vermont Foliage Forecast For Rest Of Holiday Weekend/Week

I haven't had the chance yet to get much leaf peeping 
photography in yet this year, but luckily the forecast is in
our favor today and most of the rest of the week. This
is a quick meh snapshot I took near Bakersfield, 
Vermont late Saturday afternoon.

 We're in the midst of the big weekend for fall foliage tourism here in Vermont and so far, things are spectacular.  

I'll have more on fall foliage, climate change and other leaf peeping topics this coming week, but a quick forecast now to get you through the weekend:

The first piece of advice has little to do with the weather, really. 

But here's a little secret for those in those jammed up tourist towns like Stowe, Manchester and Woodstock.

If you really want to enjoy the fall foliage in peace, and really find some especially beautiful areas, don't be afraid to explore. 

 I take random roads in very rural areas, just to see what I find.  These roads usually end up coming out somewhere familiar, even if you get lost briefly.  Just stay away from big towns that draw a lot of tourists. 

Of course, you want a reliable vehicle that won't break down in the middle of nowhere without cell service. You also don't want to be stupid and forge ahead on a road or trail that is not designed for a car. And stay off property that has "no trespassing" signs, please.

Do all that, and it's a lot better than what people dealt with in the big tourist draws on Saturday. I'm told there was a half mile line of cars on Interstate 89 queued up to get off at the  Stowe/Waterbury Exit, and Route 100 from Waterbury to Stowe was almost a  parking lot.

The weather has been great for fall foliage due to a lack of storminess this year that would tend to strip leaves off the trees. It did get somewhat breezier and remains so today, so a few places that have been at peak foliage for a good week already might have lost some luster.

But most areas in Vermont are just coming into peak foliage, so the breezes have not had much of an effect on the foliage in the vast majority of the state.  The leaves just aren't quite ready to come down yet. 

The foliage season, like many recent seasons, is running a little late this year due to a warm autumn, so the tourists and locals should stay happy for the next several days.

It's rather cloudy this morning, and the type of clouds out there don't really enhance the foliage. The clouds are kind of dull and featureless and not the kind of contrasty dark clouds that can make some dramatic photos.

But cheer up.  It looks like more sunshine should break through this afternoon to help make the colors pop.

Tomorrow looks awesome for fall foliage viewing.  The sun will be out most of the time and it will be warm. 

Tuesday to me looks like the best day of all to leaf peep.  The day will probably start out with patchy dense fog. That means you should try to get out early. As the sun breaks up the morning fog and the sun appears, the eye candy is amazing. 

The rest of the day will be unseasonably warm with highs well into the 70s. You might want to wear shorts and bring the sunscreen for any outdoor excursions. The foliage viewing should remain great through the rest of the week.

There is a chance of increasing wind and rain by Saturday, which could dull the colors. But the Champlain and lower Connecticut River valleys are not even at peak color yet as of this writing, so there's plenty of leaf peeping to do if you miss out this week.