Scott

My wife and I plan to spend 4 days driving thru Vermont this June. Does anyone have any highlights they could share as to small towns, eateries, sights, and so forth? Thanks.

betsy

Hi Scott-
What kind of "sights" are you interested in? Historical? Museums? Wildlife viewing?
My favorite part of Vermont happens to be the Northeast Kingdom. St. Johnsbury is a nice little town. It has a beautiful natural history museum (Fairbanks Museum) and a nice art gallery located in the town library (St. Johnsbury Athaneam). Grab lunch at Northern Lights Bookstore Cafe. Also, Cabot is a beautiful small town and home to Cabot Creamery-you may have had some of their awesome cheddar cheese. I would also suggest visiting Stowe. You can take the gondola, hike, or drive to the top of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak for some beautiful views. Be sure to drive through Smuggler's Notch between Stowe & Jeffersonville (Route 108) Visit the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, just south of Stowe. There are so many fun things to do in Vermont. This is just a beginning. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Lori

The Manchester area is lovely in June. Lots of wonderful restaurants, and Manchester is known for its outlet shopping. I also like Woodstock, a beautiful little town northeast of Rutland. You can also visit some of the big ski resorts - Killington (who knows there may still be skiing here in June), Stratton, Bromely, etc. Ludlow is a cute little town and so is Chester- with a wonderful Inn and shop called the Hugging Bear Inn. As you can guess they specialize in teddy bears.

Marie

Scott: Hubby and I visit Vermont fairly frequently, always looking for something to see. Two summers ago we traveled the length of Route 100, and enjoyed many small villages and lovely scenery. Some of the villages that intersect Route 100 are mentioned in the above posts. 100 is not "touristy" except in a very few areas, mostly just scenery and small town Vermont life. Very enjoyable

dougd

I live about 5 miles from the Vermont border, over in New Hapshire, so I know Vermont and New Hampshire fairly well. Here are a few suggestions: Drive the auto road up Mt Ascutney, which is in east central Vermont. The entrance is in a state park, so there is a small fee. Pack a picnic lunch, and dine at the top. Spectacular drive, beautiful view. It's interesting to see the topographical differences between Vermont and New Hampshire. It's very obvious from Mt Ascutney. For a truly beautiful Vermont farm B&B, try Harvey's Mountain View in Rocester Vt. The Vermont (and much of New Hampshire!) country side is quite beautiful. Don't be afraid to drive out onto some interesting looking gravel roads, they can lead to some wonderful landscapes. A relaxing afternoon at St. Gauden's national site in Cornish NH is also a treat - beautiful art and scenery. Very close by is the Cornish (NH) - Windsor (Vt) covered bridge, one of the greatest photo ops in New England. Some interesting small towns include Middlebury Vt, Woodstock Vt (visit the Billings Farm Museum - a working dairy farm with lots of activities),and Hanover NH (great retaurants). Burlington Vt. is a wonderful (but expensive) small city on the banks of Lake Champlain. Unfortunately, parts of the Burlington area have been gobbled up by sprawl. There are countless hiking trails in both states. If you are interested, you should pick up some hiking guides. One warning - June is the height of black fly season. These critters can make a hike in the woods a torturous experience! They generally are around from mid May, until early July.
Some of my favorite retaurants - Sweet Tomatoes (Lebanon, NH & Burlington Vt.), Panda House (Hanover NH), Sarducchi's (Montpelier Vt.). Norwich Inn (Norwich Vt.)

tina

Last June I spent several days in Burlington, VT. Although the state's capital, it has a 'small town' feel or at least from my perspective coming from Dallas, Texas it did!

Burlington is by Lake Champlain; and I found it lovely. Now if you'd prefer to focus on the true small towns (New England charm and all), I'd enthusiastically recommend a visit to the "Shelburne Museum". Shelburne is a city located down the road from Burlington. Although called a "museum" , it's a collection of American artifacts, folkart, assorted stuff, much of it outside and all spread out on these beautiful grounds --- I'm not describing it well. Go to their website and take a look (www.shelburnemuseum.org). In addition to the Shelburne Musuem, there's also the 'Shelburne Farms' (didn't have time to get there.) They are a working farm (1400 acres) and are a national historic site with walking trails and offer a guided tour on an open-air wagon -- you can see them making cheddar cheese.
Website: http://www.shelburnefarms.org

ALF

I vote for the Route 100 tour, right along the base of the Green Mtns. If you like taking short walks, I can recommend a few. Deer Leap is an extremely short (half-mile) but steep climb onto a rocky outcrop at Sherburne Pass on Route 4, a few miles west of Route 100 (toward Rutland). The view is fantastic and its a fun climb. Go to Stowe and take the lift to near the summit of Mt. Mansfield (highest in the state). From there, you can go on numerous trails that go along either side of the summit ridge. Get a trail map and look for 'The Subway' for a fun scramble over and under huge boulders. Check out Mad River Glen, near the town of Waitsfield, on Rte 100 - they run several low-key summer outdoors activities at the ski area (full disclosure: my brother works there and I'm a shareholder). About 30 miles south of Waitsfield, on Route 100, is an old-time bowl factory that still makes wooden bowls hand-turned on lathes. Its an interesting place, and you can buy all sorts of unfinished seconds that still look pretty good. Its on the other side of the mountains, but my favorite restaurant in all of Vt is The Dog Team, just off Rte 7 in Middlebury. I haven't been there in quite a few years, but it was the very definition of Vermont home-cooking.

vermonter

To clarify a post above: Montpelier is the state capital of Vermont, not Burlington. Ditto on what the poster said about Shelburne and Burlington. The Shelburne Museum is great, as is a trip out to Shelburne Farms on Shelburne Point. Burlington is a fun, small, city. Great recreation path along the lake for biking, walking, and in-line skating. Some good restaraunts (Five Spice, Sweetwaters, Mona's, and the list goes on). The University of Vermont has a beautiful campus to walk around.
Montpelier is nice too. Take a tour of the state capital building. The New England Culinary Institute is located there and Main St. is has few restaraunts run by the Institute. Unfortunatly, I can't remember the names, but it's a small town so ask a local and they'll point you in the right direction. Have a fun trip!

ALF

NECI runs 3 restaurants in Montpelier: La Brioche (bakery, pastry cafe), Main Street Grill & Bar, and Chef's Table. All are fantastic!