cdispoto

Looking to take a quick weekend trip to Vermont with my wife at 8 year old daughter in February. Thought a visit to the Ben & Jerry's factory would be fun and wondering if it's best to stay in Waterbury or nearby Burlington.

Also, if we are not skiing, etc, what is there to do in VT in Feb as far as family activities?

tomfuller

Where does this "quick weekend trip" begin and what is you preferred mode of transportation? There is always a potential for large amounts of snow which could spoil your plans for getting anywhere in Vermont or New Hampshire. What would your daughter and wife like to see other than Ben & Jerry's?

suze

No no no, just no There is nothing to do in Vermont in February except be snowed in or go skiing or snow shoeing. Lived there, done that -lol. Do you have your own car? Do you know how to drive in snow? On back roads? How to get out of snow drifts when you slide off the road?

dfrostnh

Since tou habe an 8 yo daughter I recommend Norwich VT's Montshire Museum. If you and your wife like baking, a shopping trip to King Arthur Baking is fun. You can check to see if they are doing any in person baking classes. Sometimes they have parent and child classes. On Saturdays the farmers market takes place indoors on Feb 4 and 18. I have only been to the outdoor summer market which has prepared food and live music. Check the website since it might be a fun visit for fresh pastries and perhaps fresh produce to take home. Also to get “flavor” of VT. The Norwich Inn is a nice place to stay plus after a long day you can just walk across the street to a restaurant. See if there is anything at Billings Farm Museum to interest you. Certain weekends in February there's a brief sleigh ride included with admission. I would aim for the maple program which I think would be a lot more fun than a Ben and Jerry's visit. https://billingsfarm.org/events/magi...aple-2023/all/

i agree with suze that your car should be snowy roads capable. Yesterday was snowy here in NH and in the afternoon local hilly road was just greasy enoigh to require four wheel drive for hisband's PU but my all wheel drive CRV would probably have done fine.

KarenWoo

I agree with dfrostnh’s suggestion of Norwich and the Montshire Museum. Our daughter lives in Norwich and we have taken our grandchildren to the Montshire many times. King Arthur Flour is a great idea even if they aren’t offering any cooking classes the weekend you go. If you are a baker, you can stock up on baking supplies and have lunch or a snack at their cafe. The Norwich Inn also has a restaurant.

Woodstock is about 40 minutes away. We have visited Billings Farm in the winter. The general store in Woodstock is fun to browse through.

And you can also go across the river to Hanover, NH if you want more restaurant choices.

tomfuller

Amtrak has daily service on the "Vermonter" The train starts at Washington DC at 8:10AM New York Penn station at 11:33AM and gets to Essex Junction at 8:18PM and Saint Albans (end of the line) at 8:50PM.
The return train starts from Saint Albans (SAB) at 9:15AM.

cdispoto

Thanks for the replies everyone!

So I am planning on driving from Northern NJ, so it should be about a five hour drive. I do have a 4WD SUV but not with snow chains or anything. We were looking for a fun winter-type trip. Anywhere warm we would have to fly.

In my head, we would stay at a cozy winter-type hotel, visit Ben & Jerry's, see nice NE winter towns, etc. Is there a chance there WON'T be snow? I don't really want to go up there and have nothing to do but it is meant to be a relaxing weekend and not one that is jam packed with activities.

dfrostnh

You don't need chains with four wheel drive on regular roads and highways. If you really want to go to Ben and Jerry's you might consider staying at a condo in Stowe. We did this once a long time ago and I vaguely remember a hillside for sliding outside the condo. You might consider a ski area that has tubing or find out if there's a local hill for sliding or a place that offers snow shoeing.

suze

{is there a chance there WON'T be snow? I don't really want to go up there...}

You can check local weather right before your trip. I can't imagine there won't be snow on the ground even if not falling from the sky

J62

It depends on the elevation, and what the weather is over the next month. The last 2 weeks have been relatively warm and rainy, so throughout the northeast there is little or no natural snow on the ground below about 1000' elevation. Above that, yes, plenty of natural snow.

And ski areas/tubing places will have man made snow - they rely on that for covering bare spots and staying open.

For those of us that live here and like to XC ski or snowshoe close to home (= natural snow required), this winter has been a bust so far....

HappyTrvlr

Another vote for the Montshire Museum for kids. Don’t miss it!
As anywhere, weather is variable. You could encounter rain or a blizzard. Take your chances.
If you go to Ben and Jerry’s then head a short distance north to visit the pretty mountain town of Stowe.

Christina

I go to VT a couple times each winter to go skiing. There is a very good chance there won't be snow, or not much anyway. Right now the ski resorts have very low base. I thought it supposedly dumped a lot during some of those heavy storms at Xmas but somehow they don't have hardly any snow. Sure, there may be some around on the ground, a few inches, but not enough to impede driving in any way at all. It may be a lot to you, but Stowe only has an 18 inch base right now (and that includes manmade). I don't get it, their website claims they've received 59 inches this year. Bolton Valley only has 6-12 inches as to some others and the quality is bad. Okemo has the most but they are good at snowmaking, and then Sugarbush up north, of course. Who knows about early February but I've been there in February quite a bit and never had any problem driving around, they do clear the roads quickly there. Sometimes I rent an AWD but not always.

Just check the weather before you go.

I stay in Waterbury when I go skiing around Stowe but not in a cute inn. I stay in Fairfield Inn and Suites as it is very nice and comfortable and that's a great location for access to lots of ski resorts, Burlington plus Montpelier, etc.

There isn't a lot to do if you don't ski, but you could snowshoe, do you do that? Some of the historic sites are closed in winter and don't open until May 26th. Here is a list of all the ones that are closed
https://historicsites.vermont.gov/

For a weekend, maybe enough to do. I do like the VT History Museum in Montpelier. it's interesting, you can tour the state house also if you are into older architecture. I have zero interest in Ben and Jerry's, and have never been there, but I don't even like that ice cream that much. There is a Cabot cheese tasting place in Waterbury, I guess. Burlington of course has a few more things so check out their website. Their science museum on the lake isn't really that good IMO but it's something to do. The Shelburne Museum is closed in winter. The Farnsworth art museum opens in early February some time.
ECHO is open https://www.echovermont.org/plan-you...urs-admission/