Six Days in Vermont Next Week
 

We're driving from southern Maine to Stowe via St. Johnsbury where we'll visit the Athenaeum and have lunch. Then on to Stowe for a 5-night condo stay. From Stowe, we definitely plan to visit the Shelburne Museum, look around Burlington and do a daytrip to Montreal. In and around Stowe we will have two days for doing mostly things outdoors like walking The Quiet Path.

Any suggestions for restaurants, driving routes or other activities would be much appreciated. We are two fairly fit and adventurous couples and not much into elegant or expensive fine dining. Much prefer places with simple food and local character. Really looking forward to showing our friends from Arkansas a memorable bit of Vermont.

We were in Stowe for a day a few weeks ago. We had delicious pizza at Piecasso. They have a lovely outdoor patio for dining if it's warm enough when you are there.
Their website is www.piecasso.com. For some reason, I am unable to copy and paste the link.

Montpelier is only 30 minutes away from Stowe. It has plenty to see and do It has been declared "#1 Best Small Town for Shopping" with its specialty boutique shops. It has many farm-to-table restaurants and is somewhate of a hippy haven. Visit the museum, state house, Hubbard Park, the New England Culinary Institute, and Wood Art Gallery.

I love Montreal’s fine art Museum:

https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/

Friends of ours like kicking around Woodstock.

In Quechee, VT we have enjoyed many lunches and Christmas shopping at Simon Pearce.

https://www.simonpearce.com/our-restaurant

In the Stowe area, take them to the Von Trapp Lodge. Have lunch there( if open to the non lodge guests) or in their Bierhall down the road a bit which is a fun place to eat.
In the main lodge, on the lower level near the shop, there are family photos from their early days. Our visitors have enjoyed seeing where the Von Trapps ended up, trading Austria for Vermont’s mountain view’s. We also enjoy Idlethyme Brewing. One of top restaurants in Vermont is Hen of the Wood in nearby Waterbury. They also have a location in Burlington. Really excellent!
In Burlington, just off of Church Street have a meal at The Farmhouse serving locally grown foods and local beers. Another good restaurant is Bistro de Margot serving French food. Take your guests for a walk on the bike and walking trail along the Lake Champlain waterfront.
A local favorite for excellent Vietnamese food is Pho Hong on Winooski Ave.
Someone else mentioned Shelburne Museum which is very worthwhile, an outdoor history, art and architecture museum. Shelburne Farms gives talks on cheese making and sells one of the best cheddars you can find.

Wow! Thank you all so much for these great suggestions. I'm so looking forward to taking a trip again after so many cancellations and postponements, even if not venturing far from home.

The Great VT Corn Maze in Danville VT is an hour from Stowe but a possible slight detour from St Johnsbury on your way. We enjoyed the fun but had to take one of the emergency exits. You can take turns being leader and complainers. It's funny when you pass some of the same people going in opposite direction. https://www.vermontcornmaze.com/

Some random thoughts:

If you have time on the day you visit the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne Farms has some nice walking trails. The museum is very large so could easily take a full day depending on your interests. If you are at all a fan of Impressionist art, be sure to visit the Electra Havemeyer Webb Memorial Building.

You might enjoy the historical society in Jericho. It features information about Snowflake Bentley, a Vermont character who photographed snowflakes.

There will be lots of foliage events in VT starting this week. Check out this website for information and reports on peak foliage
https://www.vermont.com/foliage.cfm
I would advise taking a leaf peeping trip at least one day. Your trip from St Johnsbury to Stowe should have some good color.

Many towns offer festivals and church dinners at this time of year.

In Montpelier, the Culinary Institute is now closed. Sarducci's and JMorgan's would be good places for lunch.

I agree that Hen of the Woods restaurant in Waterbury is very good, but you may have trouble getting a reservation.

The Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center is a good place to visit. Cider donuts are a specialty.

If you like cheese, check out the Vermont cheese trail

I'm crazy for Vermont, used to live there. But I know more southern VT & NH though... Brattleboro, Putney, Marlboro, Bennington, etc. so not any help for this question.

I agree with the posters who recommend Woodstock, Quechee, and Montpelier. Our daughter lives in Norwich, so we visit often.

In Woodstock, you can visit Billings Farm. Woodstock is a lovely small village with a covered bridge and many nice restaurants and stores. We like to shop at F. H. Gillingham's General Store.

You can watch the glassblowers at Simon Pearce. And the VINS Nature Center in Quechee is awesome!
https://vinsrise.org/vins-nature-center/

And if you have time and like to bake, stop in at King Arthur Flour in Norwich. I spend way too much money there! Most of my recipes come from King Arthur! And Norwich has a wonderful farmers market every Saturday morning. We love having drinks on the porch at the Norwich Inn. And visit Dan & Whits general store, too! Right next to the Norwich Inn.
https://danandwhits.com/

And I second Sarducci's in Montpelier overlooking the Winooski River. We had lunch there a year ago and would definitely go back. Also second the Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Thanks again so much for all these tempting suggestions. I can already see that we will need to plan another visit or two to more areas of the state. I'll do a trip report of the highlights when we get back.

MaineGG, I am looking forward to your trip report! Curious to find out where you go. Unfortunately, you won't have time for everything.

If you do go to Norwich, you are right across the Ct River from Hanover which is a nice college town. Dartmouth College's Hood Museum of Art has recently reopened after a big renovation.
https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/

Another favorite spot across the NH border is the St Gaudens National Historic Site. It is a lovely place, and there are hiking trails as well as the museum exhibits
https://www.nps.gov/saga/index.htm
This could be combined with either Woodstock or Norwich/hanover.

In the Montpelier area, people who want to see covered bridges often go to the bridges in Northfield, about 9 miles south of Montpelier
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/centralvermont/cv14.htm
There is a good cafe/general store in Northfield Falls right next to one of the bridges.

Another recommendation for Dartmouth’s unique Hood Museum of Art.

I can't believe I forgot to mention this before: if you like beer, Vermont has many small breweries and brew pubs. This one in Stowe produces very popular beers and has a beer garden.
https://alchemistbeer.com/

I have to admit I love just reading the Vermont posts, especially this time of year in the fall. It is the most beautiful place I have ever lived (and I've lived in some nice places -lol).

Marsh-Billings-Rockfeller Historic Park was really good when I was there, can highly recommend!

so many great recs here!