During peak foliage season—generally the first two weeks of October—great numbers of visitors flood into Vermont to enjoy the scenery. Although the dazzling display may vary in intensity from year to year, it seldom disappoints.

(Text adapted from "Leaves of Autumn: A Vermont Sampler," Autumn 1984, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Vermont: Suite of Seasons," September 1998, National Geographic magazine)