Yikes, if you're in the aftermath of the storm zone you probably aren't reading this message, but if so, how is the situation in Vermont ? We are planning to go to a wedding in Hartford, CT on Sept. 10th and then head up to Vermont /New Hampshire for a few days . Our original plan took us up I-91 and cutting over towards Rutland, Middlebury, Shelburne, with a stay in Burlington. The next day we were planning to go to Stowe, St.Johnsbury, the White Mountains of NH (second nite stay). We are flying back to the midwest out of Boston after another nite there. Have been to all these places long ago (like, 20 years or more). Now we're hearing of bridges washed out and flooded towns., mostly in VT. Would it be better just to go from Hartford CT to the White Mountains in New Hampshire(which sounds like it didn't get the bad stuff like VT), or avoid New England altogether? Where can I we get some reliable info about this?

I live in west central New Hampshire, near Dartmouth. This area came away relatively unscathed other than lots of rain. A few dirt roads have had some damage, and power was out for a few hours, but as of now we are pretty much back to normal. We did our usual 10 mile bike ride on the back roads of Meriden & Cornish NH, and it was as beautiful as ever. Strangely, parts of Vermont very close by were really hammered. Many Vermont towns are still cut off due to flooding, and there has been considerable damage to many homes and businesses. However, I suspect by Sept 10 most areas will be ok for visiting.
A few comments on your itinerary - Vermont & New Hampshire are very beautiful, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Rutland or St. Johnsbury. You might want to consider Woodstock Vt, Hanover NH, Waitsfield & Warren Vt and Sugar Hill NH as places to explore.

We are scheduled to visit the area around Killington Sept. 19th (Mendon VT).
I was able to locate a couple of websites that might be helpful in keeping you up on how things are going.

The power outage situation can be accessed at:

http://www.cvps.com/CustomerService/...s/default.aspx

Road conditions and closures can be found at:

http://511.vermont.gov/main.jsf?minL...axLon=-72.9542

Hopefully these links work for you.
Good luck

Most of the whole state is inaccessible. All major rds in the whole state damaged. In some cases just washed away. Many communities isolated, no way in or out - Killington, Mendon, Wilmington, Pittsfield, Quechee and many more. No access to grocery stores, med care, fuel. People trying to walk out pulling luggage along highway. Propane tanks swirling in the river in Woodstock. Covered bridges swept away. Simon Pierce glass factory in Quechee heavily damaged. Base lodge at Killington ski area collapsed. Damage is so devastating and wide spread that repairs will take some time. Anyone with plans to go to VT in the next few weeks, including for foliage season, should keep updated. You may not be able to get to your destination. Keep Vermonters in your prayers.

It is amazing how there isn't much damage in NH except for some areas like Canann and Thornton (which is in the I93 area) but VT got hit really bad. I wouldn't count VT out entirely since a lot of repairs will be made by the time of your visit. But, it will be a long time before the covered bridges are replaced. And some places, like the popular Simon Pierce restaurant and glass factory, might be closed for repairs for a long time.

I read there was some damage to the Kancmangus Hwy in NH but, again, repairs could be done by then. If not, I actually prefer a more southerly route thru Tamworth and Center Sandwich to go from west to east.

Like zootsi, nothing bad in the Concord NH area. Merrimack River is very high (I wouldn't go kayaking this weekend.) Our very old maple that lost a huge limb last weekend, didn't lose a branch during Irene.

Its too soon to tell. There are communities literally cut off. Chunks of Route 7 and 4 and gone. People are stranded at Killington Resort due to roads being out. It's going to take a lot of time to clean up the mess.
I would post back next week.I would assume that the major roads will at least be passable by then. Some of the town secondary roads on the other hand.

Was wondering how this will impact the 'Leaf Peepers' and fall foliage season (uh, yeah, clearly not good for this year .....).

Yesterday's blog in Yankee Magazine had good overview, and probably will provide more updates in coming weeks >>>>
http://blogs.yankeemagazine.com/new-...rricane-irene/

Sure hope major rds are passable by foliage season. It's a big revenue maker for those of us who own property in VT, locals and part timers alike. Business people count on that revenue. But, water and sewer systems also need to be rebuilt in many places, as well as businesses and restaurants. A monumental undertaking. Hoping for the best. As soon as the state is up and running, all Fodorites should go to VT and spread some $$ around!!

OP is looking to go to VT in about 2 weeks; from the looks of reports on TV and from what folks are posting here - it sure sounds like that things will be far from "ready for visitors" in 2 weeks. Their resources will be stretched to accommodate residents and may not leave much left for visitors.

I realize how much peepers add to the economy but this year it just may not happen. And how many trees are down and how many lost vast amounts of leaves, there may not be much left to peep at and the remaining leaves may have been killed and not even turn.

I would check out leaf peep sites to keep appraised of the situation. http://www.leafpeepers.com/

Thanks for the (sobering!) advice. Will have to try somewhere else, perhaps Maine or Cape Cod?

So sorry to hear that about Simon Pearce and everyone and everything else that suffered real damage in the storm.

donnawho --

Don't rule out New Hampshire just yet ! As dfrostnh said, much of NH is still okay .... and I also have family in Concord, NH area and may be headed that way in October.

Rt.7 is out between Rutland and Manchester and Rt. 4 is out east of Rutland..plus much more damage. Bridges are out and I have a friend who is stranded in her home in the mountains, cut off by the water.FEMA is aware of her situation.

I'm in the Lake Sunapee area and we have virtually no damage. A few downed trees and some flooding around rivers that is already dissipating. No power outage around here, although a co-worker lives in Contoocook and has been without power since Saturday (isolated instance -- people down the road have power). No reason at all not to come to NH.

I live near Contoocook and we only lost power for about 8 hours. It was back on a 6:30 pm.
I don't think trees have lost leaves. I check Brattleboro newspaper website and saw that although the farmers market was a raging river and some booths destroyed, they plan to be open on Sat. It's a gorgeous sunny day in Concord NH. 49 degrees when I got up this morning.
I think there are plenty of places in VT you can visit this weekend but just check ahead to see what conditions are. I got a note from a friend in Brandon who said their downtown is closed but her road is fine. I did not check conditions in Middlebury. Except for flooding in some areas, most of NH didn't get the worst of the storm. The eye traveled up the center of the state, slightly to the west.

If you go to the Vermont Emergency response site http://vem.vermont.gov/press/1500_irene
you can see that NOT "all major roads in the state are damaged"

Here is a list of VT towns worst hit as reported in the Upper Valley (NH) news 8/30
VTrans spokesperson Chris Cole said part or nearly all of 11 communities remained unreachable: Bennington, Cavendish, Chester, Granville, Killington, Ludlow, Mendon, Middletown Springs, Rochester, Stockbridge and Wilmington. (A list of road closures can be found at http://www.511vt.com/).

If you go to the 511vt website, you'll have to zoom in because at first it looks like the whole state is full of road closures.

I live and work on a farm in Warren. The devastation here is pretty big; bridges are out, and currently you can't go any further south on route 100 than Warren village. The farm next to ours was completely destroyed.

Right now a lot of people are helping affected businesses clean up, and farmers are trying to get a game plan for the next season since most crops were destroyed or rendered unsellable since they were flooded.

Vermont is a state that relies on the tourist dollar, and without you all the state of Vermont will be losing a lot more revenue, and more jobs will be lost. On your trip up to Vermont please help support our state, not just by sightseeing and "peeping", but by also shopping at local retailers, restaurant, farm stands and farmers markets.

What a horrible mess. Thanks for telling us what it's like.
I'd come to Vermont as soon as y'all are ready for visitors if I could.

Since I wasn't planning to be in VT and NH until Sept. 12th, I think I will wait a while before canceling the planned visit. Thanks for all the info; best of luck to all the people & businesses that are dealing with this crisis....