Cbbi

Any ideas for side trips from Northern Kingdom in Vermont? We are interested particularly in nearby spots in Eastern Townships of Quebec or New Hampshire.

We will be spending a week in Montgomery at the end of September. Planning a day in Stowe and trying to finalize the remainder of our trip. We have never been to Canada.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Posted on the Canada board also but not alot of activity there.

shaz60

Head to Montreal. Or go south to Burlington. Enjoy the day there and take the ferry to Plattsburgh NY. In NH there is not much beyond beautiful country up north. If you are looking for a place to stay, you could head east and visit the Balsams.

djkbooks

Montreal is a fabulous destination, but it's nearly a three hour drive each way.

A ride up the ski lift at Jay Peak is exciting, with sensational scenery.

You won't be far from Lake Memphremagog in Vermont and Quebec. A drive to Magog is just over two hours, but the scenery is incredible. This lakefront village could not be more charming and has a biking/walking path along the lake lined with gazebos and vintage lamps, along with excellent dining establishment. Well worth a visit is the Saint Benedict Abbey at Saint-Benoit-du-Lac.

The Ben & Jerry's "factory" is just south of Stowe in Waterbury and is great fun to visit.

A drive to Craftsbury and Lyndonville would also be worthwhile for the scenery and quintessential Vermont villages.

dfrostnh

For a nice wine tasting try Boyden Valley near Fairfax. Cabot's has a tour of the cheese factory. Corn mazes are very popular in our area. We enoyed the one in Danville VT last year (www.vermontcornmaze.com) and saw one advertised for Lyndon.
Littleton NH has a wonderful diner on Main Street with fantastic corned beef hash. My husband had locally milled whole wheat pancakes. We did not tour the mill however. Bishops makes their own ice cream.
You will want to be careful reading your map. Ours did not show that the roads around Granby are not paved. They are in excellent condition for gravel roads but we did not enjoy the drive. I saw guided historical river trips advertised for Berlin NH. These looked interesting.
Have fun!

Jacqueline1212

Came through Montreal in mid-Aug. It was an absolute nightmare. It took 2 hours to get through the city due to traffic and construction going and coming and it wasn't even rush hour. Overheard a gentleman in a restaurant saying that he missed his plane because of the traffic. Wouldn't recommend it and, IMO, it's quite far for a day trip anyway. If you really want to go into Canada, you could just go over the border and drive around although there isn't much exciting to see close to the border. If you do go, make sure you get a card from your car insurance co. proving you have insurance just in case. They will know what you need. Maybe Canada should be another, separate trip and you could base yourself there. Quebec City is interesting or you could go to Nova Scotia.

In VT., in addition to other posters' suggestions, you could go to Newport and take a boat trip on the lake. The Maple Museum in St. Johnsbury might interest you. Burlington is interesting and there are sightseeing boat trips if you don't want to do the ferry. I really think the beauty of VT is in all the small scenic towns you happen upon just driving around. There should be some color in N. VT by then too. Enjoy.

zootsi

Don't let some of these posts about Montreal scare you off. You are about 2 hours or less to Montreal from Montgomery. There is some construction going on near the Champlain bridge, but were were only held up about 15 minutes last month. If you do go, try and approach the city in off-peak hours. Montreal is a fabulous city. You should definitely at least cross the border, as you can feel the different culture as soon as you cross over. The countryside heading to Montreal is midwestern type farmland, not too much to see other than a few small wineries. However if you drive further east towards Bromont Quebec, the countryside is hilly and very picturesque. Bromont is a charming little French Canadian ski town.

Cbbi

Wow -- Thank you so much for your help! We will heed the warning re Montreal road work. We really would like to visit though - we live in Louisiana and don't know when we will get this close again. Also thanks for the advice re auto insurance issue. thanks! Would love to visit the winery - but our children are 1, 5 and 11.

Here is the itinerary I've come up with... lots of driving I know but the kids are great in the car and we usually have fun on road trips.

Day 1 - arrive and spend night in Burlington.
Day 2 - Drive to lodging in Montgomery area via Waterbury and Stowe (visit B&J, Cider Mill, Cabots, Mt. Mansfield slide) Any ideas for lunch or supper?
Day 3 - Montgomery and nearby surrounds - Jay Peak gondola.
Day 4 - Drive to Montreal/Mont Tremblant - spend night in Mont Tremblant - horseback riding, birds of prey show on mountain, gondola etc., luge etc.
Day 5 - Overnight again in Mont Tremblant - complete activities above.
Day 6 - Return to Montgomery via Montreal. Visit Notre Dame.
Day 7 - Visit Crafsbury, Lyndonville, Peacham.
Day 8 - Drive to Magog - picnic there.
Day 9 - Return to Burlington for flight home.

Would Bromont and Quebec City be a better choice than Mont Tremblant?
Also - I read somewhere about a quarry I thought would be interesting for the kids. Can anyone give me the location? Thank you again --

AlexA

Rather than Magog (which is a fairly big town, not that quaint) Try North Hatley or Knowlton (a/k/a Lac Brome).
Both are lovely smaller towns with a few shops, restaurants, lakeside areas to sit (much smaller lakes than lake memephremagaog, which is what's at Magog)

AlexA

also--you mention a quarry?
Not sure if this is what you meant, but in the North Hatley area, there are mines to tour
http://www.minescapelton.com
(site is only in French, but if you do an online search for Capelton Mines, you'll find some info in English, I'm sure)

zootsi

I've never been to Mt Tremblant, so I can't compare it to Quebec City. However, Quebec City is a totally unique experience - a true French walled city, with cobblestone streets, sidewalk cafes, etc, and spectacular views across the St. Laurent. However, it is a bit of a drive. It depends on what you want; beautiful mountain scenery or charming French city - tough choice

Jacqueline1212

When I mentioned above that we had driven through Montreal and it took us 2 hours each way just to get through the city, we were going and coming from Mont Tremblant. It's about 70 miles NW of Montreal. Roads are good. In addition to the Montreal holdups, it took us 1 hour to get through US Customs on our return so plan accordingly. It was Aug. so maybe it won't be as busy when you go. Mont Tremblant itself is a beautiful little pedestrian village. Lots to do and see but 2 days will be plenty. It will be chilly up there. Everyone speaks English which makes it easier. Not so in less touristy areas. Also, Ste. Jovite nearby is cute. Tremblant was quite crowded and some people without reservations were being turned away. We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn. Very basic and tired but reasonable. There are many condos in the area which may work better for your family.

Jacqueline1212

Me again. Another thought. Make sure your car rental co. knows you'll be taking the car into Canada. When I mentioned the insurance card earlier, I thought you'd be driving your own car. Re: Quebec City. It is lovely, nicer than Montreal, IMO, but really a long drive, even from Montgomery.

Cbbi

I think the quarry was in Barre Vermont - Rock of Ages? Quebec City does look beautiful but I thought there might be a few more fun activities for the kids in Mont Tremblant. Also just read about a Fall Festival in Peachem -- think we'll try to check that out too.

Jacqueline 1212 I tried to click on your name to email you directly - I wanted to ask another question about Mont Tremblant but instead your list of postings came up...what a coincidence - after reading the first posting on your list - looks like you considering a trip to my neck of the woods... We live near Lafayette, LA. Trying to decide if we should stay in village of Mont Tremblant or at Le Grand Lodge nearby.

Thanks again to all for the help... Looking forward to brisk Vermont Fall weather!

Jacqueline1212

With small children, I would recommend staying in the village. You can walk to everything and it's safe because it's a pedestrian village. If you go up to the top of the mt., it's VERY windy and cold. Hold onto the kids! There's a great alpine slide type ride that the older 2 will love.

We were thinking about driving to NO and Lafayette next month from our FL home but have decided to postpone it until Apr/May when we'll have more time and we'll be back in FL for a couple of months after skiing all winter. Retirement is great! Yes - wish I could figure out how to email individual people from this site too but maybe that's not allowed and I get that too.