STOWE, Vt. (WCAX) – Lines of cars crowded the streets of Stowe on Saturday and Sunday.
“We are here soaking in the colors,” Bryan Millsaps of California said.
Many hoping to catch a glimpse of Vermont’s iconic fall leaves.
“They are beautiful, the town is beautiful,” Steven Pardini of California said. “Yeah it’s a small quaint town,” Millsaps said.
Steven Pardini and Bryan Millspas traveled all the way from California to stay in Stowe.
They loved the cool weather, and the fall trees, but were surprised about how many people were in town.
“For a small town, this is pretty packed up,” Pardini said. “It is obviously thriving, in my opinion. First time we have been here, first time in Vermont.”
“Very nice, kind of reminds me of the traffic like, Madera California,” Millsaps said.
But for locals, this is just a regular weekend during peak season.
As businesses like Stowe Public House & Bottle Shop have seen over a thousand people come through their doors over the course of two days.
“Of course it can be frustrating when you live in a small town like this and all of a sudden, you know. It takes, twenty six minutes to get to work. Then in here we are just constantly prepping before we open. It is probably our busiest three or four weeks of the year,” Beth Oleks of Stowe Public House & Bottle Shop said.
Lamoille County Planning Comission’s Seth Jensen says it took him an extra 40 minuets to get into town.
“The town is you know, working really hard to try to address those kinds of issues. I mean you can tell, just being in downtown that it gets pretty busy. The town has actually been working really closely with the Vermont agency of transportation, and with us. To try to figure out some of the solutions,” Jensen said.
Town officials estimate this year that nearly 20 thousand people will visit during peak season.
Last year, the Stowe Area Association, reported seeing over 8 thousand guests to the visitor information center.
And, over the course of the whole year, tracked a record-breaking 44.4 thousand tourists.