What does the "details checked" date mean?

It is the date someone last verified the time-sensitive facts on that page against their original sources — hours, prices, reservation rules, closures, and seasonal timing.

Have you been to these places?

Sometimes. We say so when it is true and never imply it when it is not. Most guides are researched rather than personal, and the sources are listed at the bottom of each one.

Does a commission affect what gets recommended?

No. A recommendation has to stand on its own before any link is considered. Commercial availability can break a tie between equally good options; it cannot promote a weak one.

How we research

Travel information goes stale faster than almost anything else published on the internet. This page explains what we do about that, so you can judge how much to lean on any given page here.

Two kinds of fact

"Route 100 runs most of the length of Vermont" and "this inn costs about $250 a night" are not the same kind of claim. The first is stable. The second has a shelf life measured in weeks.

So anything volatile — prices, hours, closures, entry and permit rules, foliage timing, event dates, availability — carries an explicit date it was checked, and a date it is due to be checked again. When a page is past due, it says so on the page rather than quietly hoping you don't notice.

Where facts come from

In roughly this order of weight:

Official — agencies, parks, transport operators, permit systems, event organisers.
The operator — the property, restaurant, or tour company's own current information.
Reputable reporting — travel journalism and specialist publications.
Local and community — local tourism organisations, forums, and reviews.

Community sources are the best way to find friction — the parking that doesn't exist, the reservation window nobody mentions, the stop that isn't worth the detour. They're a starting point, not a citation: anything important that surfaces there gets corroborated before it appears here.

Every guide lists its sources at the bottom, labelled by what kind they are.

What we won't state as certain

A single "peak foliage" date. It moves with elevation and weather, and the official weekly trackers are the thing to check.
A price, without saying roughly when it was true.
That something is open, without pointing at who says so.
That we've been somewhere, unless we have.

What we're trying to get right

Honest pacing, real driving times, where crowds actually are, what needs booking and when, and what's worth skipping. The goal is a plan that survives contact with a real weekend — not a list of photogenic places arranged in an impossible order.

If we get something wrong

Tell us and we'll fix it, and note the date we did. Get in touch.