My family is flying out to visit my parents in Wyckoff, NJ for a few weeks. We thought it would be fun for just the two of us (leaving toddler with Grandma and Grandpa) to take a little overnight trip somewhere. We have never been anywhere in the area except NYC and NJ and thought it might be fun to explore southern Vermont or NH. We are looking for beautiful scenery and maybe a quaint little town. Any ideas?

Two charming small towns in southern Vermont are Weston and Dorset. Lots to see and do. Check the links below

http://www.westonvt.com/

http://www.dorsetvt.com/

Excellent suggestion above. Vermont is my favorite in New England!

Do you only have 1 night? Vermont may be too long of a ride for just 1 night.

Thank you! I will check out your suggestions. We could do two nights- haven't decided.

What are your interests? Could you visit on a weekend to see a special event? The Sturbridge area of MA is nice. Western MA is very rural. If you go up I90 thru western MA to VT it will be a nice drive. When you leave VT you could do a detour thru southern NH on Rt 101 as far as Peterborough (very artsy, pretty town). Then back south.

Or the Berkeshires -- Lenox or Stockbridge, maybe.

When are you planning on doing this? That can affect traffic, etc.

I agree that one night may be too short a time for a drive from NJ to VT. Not much time to "explore"!

dfrostnh wisely asks what your interests are, because you have a huge variety of interests to consider!

Again, I think one night is kind of brief to get from NJ to VT and back.

Vermonter

Brattleboro Vermont (is the southernmost town in eastern Vermont) and would make for a fun overnight. You could even get there by train.

Northampton would be my suggestion in Massachusetts.

Giovanna:

I smiled when you said "Vermont is my favorite in New England!"

We agree, which is why we retired up here to our ridge in SW Vermont 10 years ago! We LOVE it here! (We had camped in various state parks up here for 30 years and were so happy when we could finally make our stay permanent!)

Vermonter

I've lived in all 3 states, and I strongly perfer Vermont!

I would go to the Berkshires because I think the drive from NJ to southern Vermont would be too long. The Berkshires are beautiful & you can hike, swim, canoe, go to Norman Rockwell Museum, The Mount (Edith Wharton's home), Tangelwood, live theater in Pittsfield (Barrington Stage Co., I think). The Shaker Village in Hancock is another option. I love Great Barrington, too!!! Especially if you are going for one night, I strongly recommend the Berkshires.

Here's another recommendation for the Berkshires.

Vermont and New Hampshire are wonderful - but, very far for "a little overnight trip", even two nights.

You might also want to consider somewhere on the coast of Connecticut.

Stowe Vermont is great...loved Green Mtn Inn and theres a Gondola to top of Mt. Mansfield as well as a Alpine Slide you can take down the mountain... Also Ben & Jerrys tour on the way.

The Berkshires and *southern* most Vermont (on the NH/MA border) are not all that far apart.

If you want rolling hills/mountain scenery, go to Vermont or NH. If you want ocean scenery, go to eastern Connecticut or RI.

If you have an "easy pass" your travel through the toll road parts of NY and NJ that you have to deal with will be made much easier/quicker. You can go on line and get one if you don't have one already. We have one from Massachusetts that is called fast lane there and works along the whole east coast. Going north, I find Garden State Pky in NJ to Tappan Zee bridge less stressfull than NJT to George Washington for getting past the Hudson River.