Vermont first-timers

Old May 8th, 2017, 05:39 PM
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Vermont first-timers

We're planning a week long trip to Vermont the first week in October. I know we need to get plans finalized quickly-but haven't been able to determine the best place to have for our base. Thoughts on Burlington? We enjoy day trips so driving isn't an issue. Thanks everyone!
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Old May 8th, 2017, 06:37 PM
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Where are you coming from to get to Burlington?
Rutland is a little more centrally located if that makes a difference.
DW and I are making a quick trip across VT later this month to log a couple of geocaches on the way to NH and Maine.
I like the scenery but I'm on a tight schedule to find geocaches in 6 states in about 3 full days.
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Old May 8th, 2017, 10:48 PM
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Rutland is a little more centrally located if that makes a difference.

And it is also a dump.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 01:41 AM
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Have you thought about flying into Burlington but staying somewhere like Stowe?
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Old May 9th, 2017, 02:06 AM
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Both Burlington and Stowe are in the north which I don't think is a good location for day trips. One time we stayed just north of Burlington to do day trips in the north (a drive thru the Champlain islands was nice). Then visited Shelburne Museum on the day we moved south to stay near Middlebury. I would consider splitting your week between two places.

I'm a big fan of King Arthur Flour and the Norwich VT farmers market (held on Saturdays) so I have stayed at the Norwich Inn. Good food plus another good restaurant across the street. Quechee and Woodstock are to the south. Across the river in NH is St. Gaudens and Dartmouth College.

Rather than Rutland, if you go further north, I like Brandon but we haven't stayed overnight there.

Since we live in NH, most of our trips to VT are day trips. We liked an airb&b that was near Montpelier when we wanted to do a barn tour.

I would not consider going to any of the popular tourist spots during the first week of October. Ben and Jerry's factory tour and anything on the road to Stowe would be crossed off my list. Every lodging will be full and restaurants will be too busy. But, yes, I would consider Burlington for half the week.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 03:50 AM
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Yes to Burlington. I love Vermont. I would also go to King Authur Flour. Middlebury is another nice place to spend the night.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 06:51 AM
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Thanks for the replies. We will be flying into Vermont and renting a car for the week. So my thought was maybe easier for the car rental in Burlington since it's larger.....Does anyone have another recommendation for this..would be welcomed!
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Old May 9th, 2017, 07:17 AM
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Rutland is an old mill town, not a good choice at all. There are so many small , charming New England towns to choose from. Look st Hwy 100, beautiful drive.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 07:33 AM
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My quick trip across southern VT will be from Albany through Bennington and into New Hampshire. The day will end in York Maine.
Are you going to visit Ben & Jerry's?
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Old May 9th, 2017, 07:39 AM
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We're probably going to pass on Ben & Jerrys..I think it will probabaly be crazy busy!
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Old May 9th, 2017, 09:53 AM
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Tom Fuller there are several places in NH that make their own ice cream. In Concord there is Arnie's on Loudon Rd, Granite State Candy in the downtown area. I think there are several places near the coast. Ben and Jerry's is good ice cream but locally made is even better. This is the 2014 map but I don't see the symbol for which ones make their own ice cream. On certain days, Jordan's in Belmont near Laconia makes donut cones. Just over the bridge from NH, we recently got some Rococco ice cream. DH got whoopie pie ice cream. But it was a stingy scoop. Bob's Clam Hut on Rt 1 in Kittery.

Hope you stop at the Goldenrod for some salt water taffy.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 12:47 PM
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We went a few years back during the first week of October. We stayed at Smuggler's Notch which was not far from Burlington. We found it to be a good location for day trips. The traffic through Stowe was a bit much mid day. I believe that we went to Ben & Jerry's later in the day on our way back, maybe around 3. There were a lot of people but things went smoothly.

I cannot take large crowds but I was ok at every place that we went. I think that there is enough to see in that area that people are spread out. However, the road is very narrow so traffic did back up.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 03:50 PM
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I assume you want to see good foliage if you are planning a trip in October. Of course the exact timing is impossible to know but there are foliage websites that show you when peak color usually occurs in different areas. You can get updated information when you are actually in VT.

In north central VT where I live, foliage usually peaks the last week of September/first week in October. It is somewhat later farther south and near Lake Champlain (where Burlington is located).

Different small towns put on foliage festivals and special dinners. There will be more theater, music, etc in the evenings in Burlington or other larger towns.

I think there are good day trips in either the south or north. If you decide on a base I can suggest some.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 04:59 PM
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What about flying into Burlington and making a circular tour north, over to the "Northeast Kingdom", then south on I-91 (duck over to New Hampshire to see Dartmouth campus and the beautiful Augustus Saint Gaudens National Historic site a little south of Dartmouth/Hanover, on the Connecticut River between Vermont and New Hampshire. Then take the big covered bridge over the river back to Vermont, visit Windsor and points southeast, then loop back up to Burlington to fly home.

Vttraveler's comments are right--foliage will probably be turning in the north of the state by early October then work its way south. The state has a "foliage map" which adjusts in real time to show you where peak foliage is. Google around and you'll find it.

We live in Burlington in summer and fall, it's a neat little city right on Lake Champlain. Good food, brewpubs, cafes, well preserved historical neighborhoods from mid and late 19th cent. around the University of Vermont and "the Hill" section, good bike path several miles along the lake shore.

Just south of Burlington, in the village of Shelburne, are two very fine sites: Shelburne Museum (40 acres and 37 historical buildings) and Shelburne Farms (more than a thousand acres of the old Webb/Vanderbilt estate, including their vast "cottage" overlooking Lake Champlain). You can have breakfast/brunch in their red satin-walled/marble dining room or the terrace overlooking the lake, then wander around the estate. Each of them has a good website.

Also, look at your map: Montreal is only a 1 hr 20 minute drive from downtown Burlington (if you go, don't forget your passport!)
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Old May 10th, 2017, 02:32 AM
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I have done pretty much all of the route that EYTandBVT recommends, and I am going to go back in August to do the little bit I missed.

I would add trying to do as much of VT Highway 100 as you can fit in, particularly the part south from the Montpelier/Stowe area.

Be aware -- I wasn't -- that this is not a trip where you can hope to find a vacancy at a cute little country inn along the road. You will need reservations. Expect slow service in restaurants and stores. This is a sparsely populated section of the country, and there just aren't enough cooks, waitresses, and checkout counter people to serve everyone as fast as you and they would like during the leaf season.

Not only is Montreal close by, but from the Northeast Kingdom, you can easily get to Lake Memphremagog and its resort towns. How French is it? Well, the children's menu had frog legs.
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Old May 10th, 2017, 02:56 AM
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Ackislander is spot on: you should make all of your Vermont lodging reservations right now. The foliage season is (a) very beautiful and therefore (b) really popular. But there are lots of little valleys and side roads to explore. Get off the beaten track, drive around aimlessly, you won't get lost--the state is so small you'll probably end up at the end of the day where you started
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Old May 10th, 2017, 03:15 AM
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In looking over my comments, I think I should add that I agree with those who don't recommend basing yourself in Rutland. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "dump" but it is much less interesting than Burlington.

I also agree going to Montreal or the Eastern townships in Quebec could be an interesting add-on to a Vermont foliage trip. Surprisingly there are some good vineyards there.

The part of Rte 100 south of Montpelier is called the Mad River Valley and it is definitely a good area to explore and easy to reach from Burlington.
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Old May 10th, 2017, 05:54 AM
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Reservations in foliage season/ many make them a year ahead so move quickly.
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Old May 10th, 2017, 03:30 PM
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And once you are there, don't wait until you are hungry to decide on a place to eat. One night during the week, we were turned away from a restaurant because they were booked for the evening at 6pm and it was not a fancy, multi star restaurant.
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Old May 11th, 2017, 06:24 AM
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More anecdata.

There is an outstanding brewpub/BBQ in Waterbury owned by a guy who is from Greenville, NC. It is the real deal.

It opens at 4 PM. It n December, our party was second in line at 3:40. When they opened at 4, the line was so long that the restaurant was completely filled just by the people on line. The wait was 2-3 hours.
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