Why This New England Town is Banning Tourists From Visiting
A Vermont town famous for its beautiful fall leaves is having a little bit of a tourist problem.
Actually, it's more of an "influencer" problem.
The Pomfret select board has voted and decided to shut down their roads for the season because of the massive flood of influencer tourists, according to NBC.
These content creators are overflowing the grounds taking photos of fall foliage.
According to the report, they are now closing Cloudland Road and Barber Hill Road for non-residents from September 23 to October 15.
They are now stopping folks from reaching "Sleepy Hollow Farm." That farm is a private home that so many influencers in particular want to see. Why?
Sleepy Hollow Farm is so known because it's a photographer's paradise due to its magical and captivating views of the maple trees and old cape farmhouse with beautiful big barns.
Additionally, Sleepy Hollow Homestead posted on their Facebook page saying that many tourists are coming in droves because they are googling "Sleepy Hollow" due to the book and movie and are mistakenly coming to this private homestead.
The report goes on to say, the board explained that traffic during the fall foliage season has been growing bigger over the years and this is now causing problems that have to do with safety, the environment, and the quality of life in the area.
Sleepy Hollow Farm has grown to become a magnet for influencers who want that ideal fall Instagram photo.
Because of that, they have turned the farm into a hashtag #sleepyhollowfarm and it now has over 800,000 views on TikTok. Additionally, Instagram has been flooded by thousands of pictures of the farm.
The report states that influencers coming to the town had a negative impact, causing road damages, accidents, the need for vehicles to be towed from ditches, incidents of trespassers defecating on private property, and various instances of residents being verbally harassed.
The town is suggesting that tourists find another place to take pictures.
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Gallery Credit: Megan