Trip into Canada from Vermont
 

Hello - myself, wife, and two young children will be staying in the Northeast Kingdom section of Vermont this July. We were thinking about going into Canada as we will be about 45 minutes or less (depending on certain trips) south of the boarder. My first question is whether or not there is anything specifically interesting in Canada around where 91 crosses into Canada? We are willing to keep driving as our kids are good car sleepers, but only if something is interesting enough to see. Also, how long should we expect to wait at the border going in both directions?

Please ask if this is not enough information.

You do know that you all will need passports or the ID cards to enter Canada don't you?

Of course. We travel plenty so we have valid passports.

I believe that Montreal is about one hour's driving from the border crossing on I-9i.

Montreal is closer to two hours from that border

The area north of the NE Kingdom in VT is quite scenic. There is a large lake, Memphremagog. There is a wine route and other tourist routes. The abbey of St Benoit du Lac on the western shore is interesting and in a beautiful setting.
https://www.chemindescantons.qc.ca/e...uoi.php#biz-19

The town of Derby Line on the border has an interesting library (downstairs) and opera house (upstairs) that is part in the US, part in Canada.

There is a zoo in Granby

I live in north central VT and we usually cross at either the I-89 crossing north of Burlington or one of the smaller crossings west of the I-91 crossing, so I am not sure about wait times there. I know they are longer than at the smaller stations. They are probably backed up on summer weekends
https://www.ezbordercrossing.com/lis...der-crossings/

If you have the time, a day trip to Quebec would be interesting. The lakeside resort town of Magog is fun - somewhat European feeling with a pedestrian promenade, picnic areas, bike trails, cafes, etc - very civilized. As above posters mentioned, there are about 2 dozen wineries - most have nice picnic areas and tastings. The Granby zoo is one of Canada's biggest, and the busy little city of Granby has lots of fun restaurants (many BYOB), lots of shopping and great bicycling trails. This is a French speaking part of Canada, so you do feel like you are in a foreign country, even though it's a short hop from rural Vermont.

There is a small border crossing in Derby Line just to the west of the I-91 crossing.
as I was checking on that I noticed something called the Stanstead Stone Circle just north of the border. We've never been but may stop next time we are in the area.
https://stansteadstonecircle.org/?page_id=374

We usually use the border crossing north of Richmond VT at the meeting point of QC and VT routes 139 if we are going into the Eastern Township area. This is the closest crossing to our home. The small town of Abercorn is on the QC side. I am not sure if Abercorn has restaurants but there are some in nearby Frelighsburg. There are many orchards in the area and stores that sell cider and other products.

"Are there any vineyards that stand out amongst those two dozen or so?"

We usually end up at Val Caudailes, they have a wide selection of products.
Domaine du Ridge is another, smaller selection but very good ciders.

From Val Caudailes take the Pinnacle Road, a scenic drive into Sutton, one of the prettiest, friendliest towns in the Eastern Townships.
In Sutton itself try La Rumeur Affamée, for its wide selection of Quebec cheeses to go with the wine.

Farnham Ale and Lager is a microbrewery in the town of the same name. There is a large Canadian army base nearby, your kids might get lucky and see the paratroopers take their jumps.

Eastern townships is an area settled partially by United Empire Loyalists as indicated by many English names. Because of that it is one of the more pleasant and sophisticated areas of the province, popular with the academic and Hollywood crowd.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4a47fc0861.jpg


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lots of fun wineries - some are mom & pop, some are over the top. Some of our favorites - La Bauge, Ridge,La Grenuille, Bresee, L'Orpailleur, Mission. Most have a modest tasting fee. The wines themselves are no competition to Napa, but some of the whites are quite good, and the settings are beautiful.

You might be interested in these historic museum buildings in the area. We have been to the Walbridge Barn which is an impressive structure in a charming small town, but that may be farther than you want to go.

https://museemissisquoi.ca/home

This thread is making me think my husband and I should take a day trip up to the Eastern Townships in the next few weeks.