{"id":78693,"date":"2023-09-23T16:15:40","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T16:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/posterboyedit.com\/?p=78693"},"modified":"2023-09-23T16:15:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T16:15:40","slug":"vermont-town-closes-road-to-stop-influx-of-influencers-taking-selfies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/posterboyedit.com\/lifestyle\/vermont-town-closes-road-to-stop-influx-of-influencers-taking-selfies\/","title":{"rendered":"Vermont Town closes road to stop influx of influencers taking selfies"},"content":{"rendered":"
Disgruntled Vermont residents have voted to shut access to their picturesque town after annoying influencers flocked to the area to take selfies during fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pomfret has long been a popular destination for autumn foliage fans – but fed-up locals say influencer who’ve arrived to get perfect images for social media are an altogether different breed of tourist.<\/p>\n
Those visitors have been accused of flying drones, blocking roads and emergency vehicles from getting through, while often getting their cars stuck on uneven ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The slew of irritating incidents has prompted residents close Cloudland Road\u00a0 between September 23 to October 15, when autumn colors begin to emerge.<\/p>\n
It presents a stunning fall vista, with a gentle hill showing classic New England buildings and a riot of fall colors – with scores of influencers seen taking very similar snaps of the view.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For years, social media influencers had posed for selfies at Sleepy Hollow Farm, a private property on the street that had become the most sought-after destination for those chasing likes online.<\/p>\n
‘It was too much. Something had to be done,’ Mike Doten whose family has lived in the area and owned the farm since the late 1700s said to\u00a0the Boston Globe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Instagram vs. Reality\u203c\ufe0f #instavsreality #instagramvsreality #bts #behindthescenes #vermont #vermonttiktok #sleepyhollowfarm #traveltiktok<\/p>\n Vermont residents voted to close Cloudland Road in Pomfret (pictured) after annoying influencers flocked in to take selfies with fall foliage <\/p>\n The road (pictured) will be closed between September 23 to October 15, when autumn shades begin to take shape<\/p>\n Cloudland Road and Doten’s farm had long been a favorite among those looking to quietly take in the changing season colors and view the rolling hills until the social media sensation took hold over the past five years.<\/p>\n Influencers parked haphazardly on the narrow, unpaved road and walked brazenly onto private properties appearing to ignore no trespassing signs conspicuously placed to ward off nuisance posers.<\/span><\/p>\n Residents of Vermont have been used to an influx of tourists, especially photographers, who are known to be ‘quiet’ and ‘not bother\u00a0anyone,’ Doten said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The inn-stayers are also bearable Doten’s wife Amy Robb said. ‘Both from a numbers perspective, and how they behave.’<\/p>\n ‘The TikTokers started flocking here and they kept growing, year after year,’ Doten added to the outlet.<\/p>\n Those drawn by social media visited the area under the impression that it’s a public park, residents said.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The narrow, unpaved road\u00a0 (pictured) is clogged by photographers, tourists, and social media influencers in the peak season\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cloudland Road and Doten’s farm (pictured) had long been the favorite spot for leaf peepers<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Problems started when the spot became a social media sensation and attracted hundreds of cars blocking the road<\/p>\n A few years ago, Doten and his wife were astonished when they watched a woman set up a portable changing booth and frequently emerge in an assortment of outfits to take selfies.<\/p>\n But the drama didn’t stop there with residents revealing that pesky tourists have now been flying drones a few feet over a resident’s head, stealing tomatoes from vines, and using a private garden house as a toilet.<\/p>\n ‘There is no way a fire truck or an ambulance can get up this road in the middle of foliage season,’ Doten said. ‘It’s just too crowded.’\u00a0<\/p>\n Pomfret residents successfully convinced the town to close Cloudland Road for three weeks.<\/p>\n They’ve also reached out to social media influencers and local inns to stop them promoting the area and directing tourists to other spots in Vermont instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kiel James Patrick, a clothing designer with 132,000 Instagram followers, is one of those influencers contacted.<\/p>\n ‘Upon being informed of the situation by the residents of Pomfret, I recognized the importance of respecting the wishes of the local community,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘In response, I’ve removed posts featuring Sleepy Hollow Farm from my platforms and communicated with friends and fellow influencers about the farm’s private nature and the need for privacy and respect,’ he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the three week road closure,\u00a0Windsor County Deputy Sheriffs will staff checkpoints at the bottom and top of Cloudland Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n Residents said they don’t think the road closure will hurt the state’s tourism industry.<\/p>\n
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