A Gondola Ride Above the Autumn Canopy

The chairlifts and gondolas don't stop when the snow melts. Come autumn, several Vermont ski resorts fire up their lifts again, this time to carry leaf-peepers up over a canopy ablaze with color — a bird's-eye view of the foliage that asks nothing more strenuous than sitting down.

It's an inspired use of infrastructure built for winter. From a gondola gliding up the mountain, the fall color spreads out below in every direction, revealing the scale of the display in a way no roadside pullout can. At the top, a short walk leads to summit views that stretch for miles across the ridgelines.

The rides have become a beloved shoulder-season draw, filling resort towns during the weeks between summer hiking and winter skiing. They open the mountaintop to anyone — families with small children, older visitors, those who simply prefer the easy way up. For the resorts, it extends the season and the revenue; for the rider, it turns a ski lift into the best seat in the house for Vermont's most famous performance.