Vermont base
 

A party of 4 adults is planning a trip to Vermont in the fall 2018. Would appreciate suggestions for a place to base during the stay. We like to make day trips to places within 100 miles (leaving Vermont for the day is ok) or so of our base. Would rather stay in one location and not move around from place to place. Not into hiking, enjoy small towns/villages with local color, history and craftsmen. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Brattleboro is a fun and vibrant town located near where New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts intersect. Well under 100 miles you can get to Amherst/Northampton MA, over to Bennington VT, or east to Keene NH, (more like 150 mi. even to the White or Green Mountains)...

Vermont towns as bases: Grafton, Jamaica, Manchester, Woodstock, Middlebury,Charlotte, Barnard, Shelburne, Norwich, Stowe, Waitsfield

Brattleboro is a good suggestion since you would have easy access to NH's quiet SW corner plus scenic Western MA. For example, heading east into NH via Rt 101 I would go all the way to Peterborough, a pretty little town with some cute shops and then circle back on a different route. The route to Bennington VT is over Hogback Mountain so would be a scenic drive. You could visit Hemmings antique car museum and store. Bennington Potters.

Norwich is my favorite on HappyTrvlr's list. It's across the river from Hanover NH home to Dartmouth college. Easy visit to St. Gaudens. Historic covered bridges. It's just a little north of Woodstock which is not my favorite because it's a tourist magnet. There is Billings Farm Museum and Simon Pierce in Quechee. The Norwich Inn is nice with good food and a great restaurant across the street. Middlebury is a beautiful college town and fun to explore. I think you could easily include a visit to Brandon. I think Stowe is a little too remote and too far north. The route between Stowe and Montpelier is going to be a traffic jam during foliage season. Charlotte and Shelburne are in western VT along Lake Champlain. Beautiful farm country and not far from big city Burlington's restaurants and fun Church St. You can do a loop into the Green Mountains so you get a nice blend of scenery. Should you stay in the Norwich area, there is a small branch of the NH League of Arts and Crafts in Hanover.

Since all of Vermont is beautiful you have many options. For a good central base, it would be good to stay fairly close to I-89. The Norwich/Hanover (NH) area is a great base for exploring both states. Norwich is a picture perfect upscale Vermont village, Hanover NH is a busy little college town across the river. From this area you could quickly get to central Vermont and New Hampshire. Another good base might be the Woodstock area, which has some very scenic back roads and is near I-89 and rte 4. Brattleboro is good for the southern parts of both states, but realize Brattleboro is fairly urban by Vermont standards.

If by "urban" you mean shops, restaurants, artists, galleries, etc. then yes I guess you could call it that. I love the town. But I was more thinking to suggest is as the "base" requested because it's central to all 3 states. Sure I think further north in the state may be more beautiful if you want something more rural. And of course "centrally located" depends on where else they want to go!!

White River Junction is in a good location and has an interesting old hotel. Hotel Coolidge - White River Junction Vermont 05001 - Home It's not for everyone but I loved it.

Best of luck for your trip their. have fun