Vermont town reveals how it has driven out hordes of annoying influencers who clogged-up up roads 40-a-time to pose beside fall foliage

A Vermont town fed up with annoying influencers has closed a road beloved by Instagram and TikTok users.

Pomfret has been inundated with influencers over the past five years, as the state’s fall colors provide the perfect backdrop for their social media posts.

Instagrammers and TikTokers have been accused of blocking roads and preventing emergency services from passing through, and often getting their cars stuck on uneven terrain and driving into residents’ driveways.

As a result, local residents decided to close Cloudland Road, the single-lane road that runs through the city, for three weeks on September 25 in an attempt to keep tourists away.

Locals say the influencer era has brought a different kind of tourist to the region: one who doesn’t mind blocking traffic or driving into residents’ driveways to get the perfect photo.

Locals say the influencer era has brought a different kind of tourist to the area: one who has no problem blocking traffic or driving into residents’ driveways to get that perfect photo.

“When I drove out there during the leaf fall, I saw lines of cars lined up on the side of the road, dozens of cars long, 20, 30, 40 cars to a row,” said Benjamin Brickner, Pomfret’s chairman of the board. Fortune.

“This road is not meant for parking along the side of a number, so it’s absolutely astonishing that there are three dozen cars parked along the side of the road.”

Brickner added that locals hope that as influencers stop promoting the road, the flow of tourists to the road will naturally decrease.

“And as interest declines organically, we can taper off the intervention needed each year,” he added.

The waves of influencers have also had an impact on the nearby town of Woodstock, which the Chamber of Commerce director says has made the road dangerous.

“During the fall season, crowds often swell to hundreds of people at a time, and even coach companies have joined in the chaos,” locals wrote last year

An influencer visiting Pomfret, Vermont, shares a picturesque fall view while strolling along a sleepy lane

“It’s a very small, one-lane dirt road,” she told Fortune. “And people from far away don’t really understand that if there’s two cars parked on it, an ambulance can’t get through, or a fire truck can’t get through.”

The city, home to about 900 people, also decided to close the road last year. A GoFundMe raised $22,000 to hire officers to keep watch and ensure only locals drove through.

“During the fall season, crowds often swell to hundreds at a time, with even coach companies joining in the chaos,” locals wrote last year.

‘Cloudland and the surrounding roads are impassable in the fall. Roads and ill-behaved tourists have damaged roads, caused accidents, dragged people out of ditches, trampled gardens, defecated on private property, parked in fields and driveways, and verbally assaulted residents.’

Sleepy Hollow Farm, another popular influencer location for its expansive views, also closed for the fall last year.

Vermont residents closed Cloudland Road in Pomfret (pictured) after annoying influencers flocked to take selfies with fall leaves

A sign was placed on a gate at Sleepy Hollow Farm warning people to stay away

“It was too much. Something had to be done,” Mike Doten, whose family lives in the area and has owned the farm since the late 1700s, told the Boston Globe.

Cloudland Road and Doten’s Farm were long a favorite for those looking to quietly enjoy the changing colors of the seasons and views of the rolling hills, until the social media sensation took hold in the past five years.

Influencers parked haphazardly on the narrow, unpaved road and brazenly walked onto private property, ignoring “No Entry” signs that were prominently posted to deter troublemakers.

Vermonters are accustomed to an influx of tourists, especially photographers, who are known for being “quiet” and “not bothering anyone,” Doten said.

The hotel guests are also tolerable, says Amy Robb, Doten’s wife. “Both in terms of numbers and how they behave.”

Locals Mike Doten and Amy Robb live at Sleepy Hollow Farm, whose picturesque views have drawn hordes of tourists. The road is now closed to deal with the flood of pesky influencers

“The TikTokers came here en masse and they kept growing year after year,” Doten adds.

People who came to the area via social media thought it was a public park, according to residents.

A few years ago, Doten and his wife were astonished to see a woman set up a portable changing room and regularly emerge in various outfits to take selfies.

“There’s no way a fire truck or ambulance can get here in the middle of leaf season,” Doten said. “It’s just too busy.”