Illustration: a white farmhouse with a porch among autumn trees, with hills beyond

Destination Guide

Vermont

Green Mountain villages, covered bridges and the welcome of a New England inn.

Vermont, United States

Vermont is a US state that is about 70 per cent forested; Mount Mansfield, at 4,393 feet, is its highest peak. The state tourism office describes 14 regions, from Greater Burlington on Lake Champlain to the Northeast Kingdom. Montpelier is the smallest US state capital by population.

At a Glance

  • Mountains and forest

    About 70 per cent of the state is forested.

  • Small towns

    Stowe, Woodstock, Brattleboro and more.

  • Inns and B&Bs

    Inns, bed and breakfasts and farmstays.

Illustration: a village street with a white church steeple, clapboard houses and autumn trees
Illustrative image: a New England-style village street.

Where to Base Yourself

Vermont can be explored from towns across its regions.

  • Stowe
  • Waterbury
  • Woodstock
  • Quechee
  • Brattleboro
  • Montpelier
  • St. Johnsbury
  • Illustration: a rocky lakeshore with a sailing boat and mountains across the water

    Greater Burlington

    On the shore of Lake Champlain

  • Illustration: a village with a white church steeple and a stone bridge below a forested mountain

    Upper Green Mountains

    Stowe and Waterbury, below Mount Mansfield

  • Illustration: red barns in open farmland with hay bales and wooded hills

    Northeast Kingdom

    Three counties; St. Johnsbury is the largest town

Three of the 14 regions the state tourism office describes.

When to Go

Four seasons, plus mud season in spring and stick season in late autumn.

  • Illustration: sap buckets on maple trees beside a wooden sugarhouse with steam rising

    Spring (Mar – May)

    Maple and mud season.

    Average temperature in April: avg 8 °C

  • Illustration: a green valley with a lake and mountains beyond a stone wall and wildflowers

    Summer (Jun – Aug)

    High trails are open.

    Average temperature in July: avg 22 °C

  • Illustration: red and orange maple leaves over a country road, a red barn and a white church

    Autumn (Sep – Nov)

    Peak foliage, Sep–Oct.

    Average temperature in October: avg 10 °C

  • Illustration: a snow-covered village with a stone bridge and ski slopes on the hills

    Winter (Dec – Feb)

    20 alpine ski areas.

    Average temperature in January: avg −6 °C

Temperatures: monthly averages for April, July, October and January at Burlington International Airport (NOAA, 1991–2020), converted from Fahrenheit.

Things to Do

Trails, scenic roads, maple and history across the state.

  • Hike the Long Trail

    272 miles from Massachusetts to Canada; the oldest long-distance trail in the US.

  • Drive a scenic byway

    Ten designated byways, including the Scenic Route 100 Byway.

  • Taste maple season

    Sugaring typically runs from mid-March into April.

  • Visit a historical park

    Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is in Woodstock.

Kinds of Stay

The kinds of lodging the state names.

  • Illustration: a clapboard house with a porch, rocking chairs and a flower garden

    Bed and breakfasts

    Named in state lodging law with hotels, motels and inns.

  • Illustration: a large white inn with a columned porch and a blank hanging sign

    Inns

    State law says simply “inns”, not “country inn”.

  • Illustration: a farmhouse and red barn with cattle and sheep grazing in a fenced field

    Farmstays

    A state tourism places-to-stay category.

  • Illustration: a three-storey brick hotel with a columned entrance on a town street

    Historic hotels

    Hotels, including historic ones, are a state tourism category.

Stay styles are inspiration, not listings.

Good to Know

A few helpful tips for planning your visit.

  • Getting there

    Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express links New York and Burlington.

  • Getting around

    By road: Boston about three hours, Montreal two, New York about six.

  • Local tips

    Respect trail closures in mud season; high trails reopen around Memorial Day.

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Sources

Official sources used for this guide, for further information about Vermont.

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Images on this page are AI-generated illustrations. They are not photographs of specific places or properties.