Pomfret shuts down roads to curb influencer invasion
When crowds of influencers began flocking to a small rural community in the United States to capture its picturesque autumn colours, the residents decided to protect their privacy. Their determination proved to be effective. The town implemented a ban on local road access.
Entering Pomfret, a small town in Vermont, you can immediately feel its idyllic charm. Howe Hill Road winds down from the north, gently curving to reveal picturesque fields and forests. Early in the autumn, the number of vehicles passing through this town of just 900 residents dramatically increases, with more than half of the cars bearing out-of-state number plates.
Drivers often stop abruptly on the road, where the speed limit is 70 kilometres per hour, blocking one of the two lanes. The reason? The desire to capture the extraordinary views in photos.
Pomfret experiences a true invasion in the autumn. In the past, the number of tourists was small. Still, everything changed when photos of Sleepy Hollow Farm – a private 22-hectare property located along a picturesque rural road – began circulating on social media.
Since then, as residents say, the influx of visitors has spun out of control. On Instagram, you can find thousands of photographs of the winding dirt road surrounded by majestic maples.
Influencers in Pomfret
The picturesque road leads to an elegant country house that has become an icon of American autumn. It's no wonder that Sleepy Hollow Farm has earned the title of one of the "most photographed places in the country." However, locals have grown tired of the tourists.
According to the BBC, tourists regularly ignored the "No Trespassing" sign, jumping over the fence surrounding Sleepy Hollow Farm. They often set up makeshift changing rooms to switch outfits for photo sessions and blocked the narrow dirt road. Residents approached local authorities, saying "enough" to this chaos.
Entry banned for influencers
In the autumn season of 2022, in response to complaints, authorities implemented temporary changes, converting the road leading past Sleepy Hollow to one-way in an attempt to control the situation. However, this did not stop tourists from engaging in inappropriate behaviour.
According to the BBC, the number of influencers and tourists driven by the location's popularity on Instagram and TikTok grew to unprecedented levels. People damaged the roads, caused accidents, required towing from ditches, trampled private gardens, and even defecated on others' properties. There were also frequent verbal attacks on residents.
As a result, authorities took more decisive action, voting to close the roads leading to the farm from 23 September to 15 October (GMT) during the peak autumn season.
