THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF MIDDLEBURY
ESTIMATED LENGTH: 90 miles
ESTIMATED TIME: 2 to 3 days
HIGHLIGHTS: That poet Robert Frost was enamored with this area comes as no surprise. Roads meander through areas of intense pastoral beauty, linking classic New England towns with Revolutionary War historic sites and year-round recreational areas. The dairy farms with big red barns and black-and-white cows that visitors associate with Vermont are here, but so are modern sculpture gardens, craft breweries, a world-class art museum, and restaurants that push the culinary envelope. “Take the road less traveled by” as Frost suggested and discover the unparalleled beauty and bounty of the southern Champlain Valley.
SIDE TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: Rolling farmland, unspoiled lake views, and postcard-pretty villages characterize this small slice of the Champlain Valley, with strong ties to the American Revolution and a birding hot spot at Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area.
GETTING THERE: US 7, the main north-south route through western Vermont, provides the quickest access to Middlebury.
ON THE ROAD
Middlebury, where this route begins, is no slouch when it comes to the arts, culture, and cuisine. It’s a college town, so it has a youthful vibe, though it’s also well-rooted in the past as evidenced by its large number of beautifully preserved historic buildings, including the courthouse, Middlebury Inn (802-388-4961), and the white-spired Congregational church clustered around the town green and gazebo. Middlebury College (802-443-5000) has several centuries-old edifices, including three known as Old Stone Row, which were built with locally quarried limestone. The earliest, Painter Hall, dates to 1814.
The Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History (802-388-2117) offers a good insight into what life was like here and throughout the state in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sheldon, an obsessive collector, created the museum in 1882 to display his private collections of furniture, paintings, newspapers, toys, and other items. The museum is located in the historic Judd-Harris House, an 1829 Federal-style brick building that originally was home to two wealthy marble quarry owners. Vermont’s history also is preserved at the nearby Vermont Folklife Center (802-388–4964), a repository for audio and video recordings, photos, folk paintings, manuscripts, and other works that document life in the Green Mountain State.
That Middlebury has its own opera company, appropriately named the Opera Company of Middlebury (802-388-7432), may come as a surprise. The community, with a population of fewer than 9,000, also supports the arts through its Town Hall Theater (802-382-9222), which stages several productions and events throughout the year. The state-of-the-art venue occupies the same building as the town’s original 600-seat theater built in 1884 and so named because the town offices were in the basement. Today the Jackson Gallery, displaying works of area artists, fills the lower level.
The acquisitions of the Middlebury College Museum of Art (802-443-5007) are impressive, with more than 2,500 objects—from antiquities and Renaissance paintings to Asian and contemporary art—in its permanent collection. Its 24 pieces of public art, mostly outdoor sculptures, are scattered about campus. The museum, which charges no admission, also produces six to eight temporary exhibits each year.
You can access the Trail Around Middlebury, known locally as TAM, from Middlebury College as well as several other points. Parking is available at most trailheads. This 18-mile running and walking trail is divided into sections, with a portion of the trails open for mountain biking. Developed by the Middlebury Land Trust (802-388-1007), it circumnavigates the town, weaving through residential areas, past local landmarks, and through forest preserves and tracts of conserved land.
Otter Creek cuts through the downtown area, with a dramatic 18-foot cascade that is Middlebury Falls. You can see the falls from the bridge on Main Street, but the best vantage point is from the footbridge that crosses the river below Main to the Marble Works (802-388-3701). Once a marble manufacturing area, it’s now a small mixed-use commercial district with a number of Vermont-owned shops, restaurants, and offices. Pop into some of the shops here and around Main Street, the majority of them independently owned, before heading to Exchange Street on the northern edge of town. In recent years this area has experienced a renaissance from characterless industrial park to vibrant food-and-drink hub.
MIDDLEBURY FALLS
A number of breweries, distilleries, and a cidery can be found here, loosely linked as the Middlebury Tasting Trail, which also includes a few outliers within a 5-mile radius. These places all have tasting rooms. Otter Creek Brewing (802-388-0727) also serves food, and the Woodchuck Cider House (802-385-3656) has an informative self-guided tour of its production area that includes signage about the history of Woodchuck Cidery and how cider is made.
The Vermont Coffee Company (802-398-2776), a local coffee roaster, also shares this mile-and-a-half stretch and has a small café where you can grab a fresh-roasted brew or espresso drink and a light lunch or breakfast sandwich. A viewing window allows customers to observe the coffee-roasting process.
There are two more stops you should make while in this area. Maple Landmark Woodcraft (802-388-0627), a manufacturer of wood products including toys, offers tours of its work area. Vermont Soap (802-388-4302), a small factory outlet selling organic soap by the pound and other natural bath and home products, has displays of vintage soap products, soap boxes, and washing machines.
For lunch options, Middlebury doesn’t lack for choices. For take-out, Costello’s Market (802-388-3385), an Italian gourmet market and deli located at Marble Works, is a local favorite. The Lobby (802-989-7463) on Bakery Lane, one of the newest additions to Middlebury’s culinary scene, has an eclectic, locally sourced menu with several vegetarian options, including a black bean and quinoa burger. Several food-themed quotes are chalked on the walls, and outside dining is preferred seating at this riverside restaurant.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
Head south on US 7 for about 4 miles, turning left on VT 125 through East Middlebury to Ripton Village with a stop at the old-timey Ripton Country Store (802-388-7328). This lovely 16-mile ribbon of tarmac, christened the Robert Frost Memorial Drive, stretches from East Middlebury to Hancock over Middlebury Gap. It rambles through shaded wooded areas, paralleling the South Branch of the Middlebury River for a spell.
Watch for the sign for the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail, a relatively flat 1.2-mile path that winds through woods and meadows, flush with wildflowers and a bounty of wild raspberries, huckleberries, and blueberries in summer. Appropriately placed trailside plaques showcase the former Vermont poet laureate’s scenery-inspired poems. A portion of the trail is handicapped-accessible. Just past the trail’s parking area, on the opposite side of the road, is the Robert Frost Wayside Area. Look for the unmarked dirt road adjacent to this picnic area and follow this for 0.5 mile to Frost’s farm, also known as the Homer Noble Farm, which the poet purchased in 1940. He summered here for more than 20 years, until his death in 1963, penning several notable works, including A Witness Tree for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1943.
RIPTON COUNTRY STORE
Now a National Historic Landmark, the property, which includes a white wood-frame farmhouse, woodshed, apple orchard, and the rustic cabin where Frost preferred to live and write, is owned by Middlebury College. It is not far from the college’s historic Bread Loaf campus, a complex of nineteenth-century, sunshine-yellow buildings with green roofs and unbeatable views of the 3,835-foot Bread Loaf Mountain, part of the Green Mountain Range. The internationally acclaimed Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference (802-443-5418) has been held each summer since the 1920s. Frost was a regular participant at the conference, which invites prominent writers to give readings and teach classes and workshops on the craft of writing fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. In winter, you can purchase a trail pass at the Rikert Nordic Center (802-443-2744) to snowshoe and cross-country ski on more than 35 miles of groomed trails. The Middlebury Snow Bowl (802-443-7669), open to the public for downhill skiing and snowboarding, is a few miles past Bread Loaf.
ON BLUEBERRY HILL
You now have a choice to make. You can backtrack on VT 125 for 2 miles to the unpaved Goshen-Ripton Road (Green Mountain National Forest Road 32), which meanders through the 15,857-acre Moosalamoo National Recreation Area (802-779-1731). It travels past the Blueberry Hill Inn (802-247-6735; see Best Places to Sleep) to connect with VT 73 near Forest Dale. The inn’s Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center maintains more than 30 miles of trails for hiking, biking, trail running, and winter sports.
Or continue east on VT 125 to Hancock, stopping first at Texas Falls Recreation Area (802-747-6700). To get there, take a left on Green Mountain National Forest Road 39. Park at the falls observation site or at the picnic area farther up the road to view the cascading falls that rush through the glacial gorge or to walk the 1.2-mile nature trail.
In Hancock turn right on VT 100 toward Rochester, about a five-minute drive, where you can stop for lunch at the Rochester Café and Country Store (802-767-4302), with its old-fashioned soda fountain, or Sandy’s Books and Bakery (802-767-4258) across the street. Tables and chairs are tucked among the bookshelves and placed out back near the garden where flowers are grown, both ornamental for table decorations and edible for salads.
Hop on VT 73 just past Rochester at Talcville, which will take you through the Chittenden Brook Recreation Area (802-767-4261), another Green Mountain National Forest holding, and over Goshen Mountain through Brandon Gap to Brandon. Stop at Mount Horrid Lookout on the eastern side of the gap. Grab your binoculars to search for peregrine falcons nesting on the cliffs or moose feeding in the wetlands.
Brandon, which bills itself as the “Art and Soul Village of Vermont,” lives up to its claim with a number of art galleries and antiques shops along its main drag—VT 73 and US 7—that loops through town. The Brandon Artists Guild (802-247-4956) was formed 20 years ago as a way to connect area artists and provide a place for them to display and sell their work. The gallery, located on Center Street (US 7), is open seven days a week.
DETOUR
At Forest Dale, take VT 53 north, which hugs the eastern shore of Lake Dunmore, an area jam-packed with summer camps. The road skirts Branbury State Park (802-247-5925), which transitioned from a working farm to a guest house, then a summer boys’ camp and private ownership before it joined the Vermont State Parks system in 1946. Although the park can get crowded on summer weekends, it’s a great place to swim, rent a boat, or learn about the area’s plants and wildlife at the nature center.
It’s also an ideal base for hiking. Ask the ranger for directions to Ethan Allen’s Cave, where the Green Mountain Boys leader hid to escape the British. It’s a 1-mile hike from the trailhead at the park’s campground. Or park your car here to hike to the Falls of Lana on the Silver Lake Trail. Although there’s a small parking area near the trailhead, it’s often full. Plan on about a 15-minute walk from the trailhead to the lower falls viewpoint, another 10 minutes to the base of the upper falls. Wear your bathing suit for a dip in one of the swimming holes.
If you want to continue to Silver Lake, it’s another 1.6 miles past the falls. The secluded lake, also ideal for a swim, has a picnic area and 15 primitive campsites. A hotel once stood at this spot but was destroyed by fire in 1942. Part of the trail follows the old carriage road used by guests. The Silver Lake Loop Trail continues around the lake for another 2.5 miles, or you can return to your car the same way you came.
Continue on VT 53 to the Salisbury Fish Culture Station (802-352-4371), one of five fish hatcheries in the state. This facility, which began raising fish in 1931, is a brood stock station that provides up to 9 million trout eggs each year to both Vermont and federal fish hatcheries. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
When you reach US 7, head south through Leicester. About a mile before you reach Brandon, pull into Park Village on the site of the former Brandon Training School to visit the Compass Music and Arts Center (802-247-4295). The venue celebrates music and the creative arts through performances, workshops, and changing exhibits. Be sure to check out the Phonograph Rooms, a permanent exhibit on the history of recorded music. A number of phonographs and record players from the 1890s through the 1980s are on display along with vintage television sets, radios, movie projectors, and tape recorders. Have lunch or a quick snack at the SoundBite Café.
The free Brandon Museum (802-247-6401), near the Baptist Church at the junction of VT 73 West and US 7, celebrates the town’s history, including the legacy of native son Stephen A. Douglas, who lost to Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential race. He was known as the “Little Giant” for his short stature. He was reportedly only 5 feet 4 inches tall. Interestingly, he too courted Mary Todd, who chose to marry Lincoln instead. The museum, housed in his birthplace, also addresses the anti-slavery movement in Brandon and the impact the Civil War had on the town.
The Brandon Visitor Center (802-247-6401) shares space with the museum in a circa-1800 building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places along with the entire downtown area. A total of 243 buildings are included on this list, among them the Brandon Inn (802-247-5766), quite possibly the oldest continuously operating inn in the state, and a handful of elegant homes that have been turned into B&Bs. Maps are available at the visitor center for a self-guided walking tour of Brandon’s Historic District.
US 7 will take you back to Middlebury, 17 miles north, but why cut your exploring short? Instead continue on VT 73 West, which gently winds through endless stretches of rolling farmland. When you reach the T intersection, VT 73 briefly joins VT 30 as you take a left to Sudbury before splitting off again as you head into Orwell. Stay straight on Mount Independence Road for 6 miles, which will bring you to the Mount Independence State Historic Site (802-948-2000), considered one of the best-preserved Revolutionary War sites in the country.
Mount Independence State Historic Site (802-948-2000), 497 Mount Independence Road, Orwell. Open Memorial Day weekend–Columbus Day, 9:30 AM–5 PM daily. This historic site is a lesson in Revolutionary War history. Several archaeological digs here have unearthed artifacts, including musket balls, gun bits, wine glasses, buttons, and even a 3,000-pound cannon that was found in Lake Champlain, all of which help tell the story of this fort built to guard against British attack from Canada. It was under construction when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and so named Mount Independence. A year later British troops invaded, led by Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne, forcing the American soldiers to retreat.
Start your journey through history at the visitor center museum for a look at life at an eighteenth-century military outpost. Then head outside to explore the remains of the star-shaped fort, artillery batteries, blockhouses, barracks, hospital, and other ruins on the 6 miles of trails, many with lake vistas.
After exploring the historic site, backtrack to VT 73 to VT 74 and hang a left to Larrabee’s Point in Shoreham, where you can catch the Fort Ticonderoga Ferry (802-897-7999), a cable car ferry to New York, to visit Fort Ticonderoga (518-585-2821). This beautifully restored eighteenth-century fortress played an important role in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The ferry operates daily from early May through the end of October, which coincides with the fort’s schedule. There are continuous crossings, about seven minutes each way, during daylight hours.
FORT TICONDEROGA CABLE CAR FERRY DOCK
En route to the ferry, you’ll pass by Champlain Orchards (802-897-2777), a sustainably managed orchard and u-pick operation that grows more than 100 varieties of apples, peaches, and other fruits. The orchard has apple pies and other apple products for sale, including both fresh and hard ciders, during harvest season. It is one of several orchards in Addison County where you can pick your own fruit, another nearby option being Douglas Orchard and Cider Mill (802-897-5043), also on VT 74.
This route will take you through Shoreham, an agricultural community with an unusual museum, the Shoreham Bell Museum (802-897-2780), open by chance—look for the “Open” flag—or by appointment most afternoons. The museum houses the private collection of Judith Blake. Over the years, she and her late husband Charles amassed more than 5,500 bells of all sizes, vintages, colors, and functions, many with an interesting back story. To get to the museum, which is south of the village, take a left off VT 74 on Smith Street, then left again at the third driveway. Heading east on VT 74, you’ll pass Lemon Fair Sculpture Park (802-383-8161), a free 1-mile walking trail with more than 20 sculptures, open weekends May through late October. Continue to West Cornwall and Cornwall, where you’ll head north on VT 30 to Middlebury.
There’s one last place that merits a visit, and that’s the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm (802-388-2011) in Weybridge, a few miles northwest of town. To get there, stay on VT 30, which becomes Main Street in Middlebury, turning left on Seymour Street. This route takes you through the Pulp Mill Bridge, a rare double-barreled (two-lane) covered bridge, one of only seven in the country. Built circa 1820, it’s the oldest covered bridge in Vermont. As you near the farm, Seymour Street becomes Morgan Horse Farm Road.
You can tour the historic farm to learn about the Morgan horse and the man, Col. Joseph Battell, who began breeding Morgans on this property in the late 1870s. Today the farm is dedicated to preserving and improving the breed through genetic selection.
Best Places to Sleep
WAYBURY INN (802-388-4015), 457 East Main Street, East Middlebury. The inn, built as a boarding house and tavern in 1810 and later used for a stagecoach stop, has a long tradition of welcoming travelers. Robert Frost was a frequent guest, although the inn also found fame as the fictional Stratford Inn on the 1980s TV show, Newhart. Each of its 13 Vermont-chic rooms has a private bath, and one, the Robert Frost Suite, has a secret. Ask innkeepers Tracey and Joe Sutton what it is. Cooked-to-order breakfast is included, and pets are welcome for an added fee. A two-night minimum stay is required on summer and fall weekends. The inn is open to the public for lunch and dinner. $$–$$$$.
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT MORGAN HORSE FARM
ROBERT FROST MOUNTAIN CABINS (802-388-9090), 2430 North Branch Road, Ripton. These self-catering cabins on the eastern slope of Robert Frost Mountain offer privacy and full immersion in nature while still within convenient driving distance of Middlebury. The finely crafted timber-framed cabins were built from wood that owners Marty and Carol Kulczyk harvested and milled on the 112-acre property. Each of the six cabins has two bedrooms and a full kitchen, although Bread Loaf Catering offers home-cooked meals delivered right to the door. Two cabins are pet friendly, and Owl’s Branch is handicapped-accessible. $$–$$$.
BLUEBERRY HILL INN (802-247-6735), 1245 Goshen-Ripton Road, Goshen. Innkeeper Tony Clark is the consummate host, making guests at his four-season destination inn feel like family. The inn, located in the Green Mountain National Forest, has 11 rooms, four of which are original to the 1813 home, and a separate cottage that was once a granary. Before hitting the trails, guests can fuel up with a full country breakfast, including blueberry pancakes with Vermont maple syrup or waffles with blueberries. In winter, free hot soup is served at the inn’s outdoor center from 12–2 PM. There’s a bottomless cookie jar, with cookies also available by mail order. Bookings can include reservations for dinner. The four-course prix fixe menu changes daily. $$–$$$$.
Best Places to Eat
FIRE & ICE RESTAURANT (802-388-7166), 26 Seymour Street, Middlebury. Open Mon.–Thurs. 5–9 PM, Fri.–Sat. 12–10 PM, Sun. 12–9 PM. Patrons will be forgiven if they think that they walked into a museum at this family-run restaurant. World War I airplane propellers share wall space with vintage snowshoes, mounted fish, and black-and-white photos. A 1920s runabout sits near the famous 55-plus-item salad bar. While known for their slow-roasted prime rib, hand cut to order, the menu also includes such choices as roast duckling and drunken pork chops. All entrées come with a self-serve bread and cheese board. For casual fare, visit the Big Moose Pub, also the place to linger while waiting for your table. $–$$$$.
CAFÉ PROVENCE (802-247-9997), 11 Center Street, Brandon. Open Mon.–Sat. 11:30 AM–9 PM, Sun., 10 AM–9 PM. Chef-owner Robert Barral puts his own spin on traditional French dishes at his bistro in Brandon, using local ingredients and creative plating for an unforgettable dining experience. The airy space and open kitchen add to the casual ambience. The Café Provence seafood stew is a perennial favorite, combining shrimp, scallops, mussels, and fish in a lobster-tarragon broth. Try the warm chocolate bomb or maple crème brûlée for dessert, or stop at the Gourmet Provence Bakery and Wine Shop (802-247-3002) for a French-style pastry or two. The shop also sells pâtés, cheeses, and wines. $–$$.
ESTIMATED LENGTH: 36 miles
At Shoreham, go north on VT 22A to Bridport, which will take you through fertile farm country, then west on VT 125 to the Chimney Point State Historic Site (802-759-2412) at the foot of the Lake Champlain Bridge that links Vermont to New York.
The museum, which is housed in a 1785 tavern, provides an excellent interpretation of the people who inhabited this site as long as 9,000 years ago. Informational exhibits share the history and legacy of the early Abenakis and the first Europeans to build forts and settlements here. Displays in the taproom, believed to be the oldest on Lake Champlain, focus on the history of the building; the Barnes Family, who owned the property from 1821 to 1966; and lake transportation, including the ferries and original 1929 bridge at this location. Another exhibit describes the history of the old Chimney Point post office.
Some of the displayed artifacts were found when the 1929 bridge was replaced in 2011. You can learn more about the history and engineering of the bridge and other significant happenings at this site on the Chimney Point History Trail, a short outdoor walking trail with interpretive signs.
A similar trail was created on the New York side of the lake. Drive or walk across the bridge to the small parking lot on the left to access the walking trail. Close by is the Crown Point State Historic Site (518-597-4666), where you can explore the ruins of an eighteenth-century strategic military stronghold.
VT 17 will take you to D.A.R. State Park (802-759-2354) on the shores of Lake Champlain and the D.A.R. John Strong Mansion (802-759-2309), just past the park’s entrance. The mansion, purchased by a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1934, belonged to John Strong. He was a Revolutionary War patriot and later a probate judge and member of the 1791 convention that adopted the U.S. Constitution and admitted Vermont to the Union as the 14th state. He built this impressive Federal-style brick mansion after his family’s cabin was burned to the ground by British Loyalists in 1790. Today only the foundation of that early homestead remains; it can be seen near the picnic pavilion at the state park. Guided tours of the mansion with commentary about the family are offered on summer weekends.
D.A.R. JOHN STRONG MANSION
There’s always a line at Goodies Snack Bar (802-759-2276) on VT 17 in Addison, and for good reason. This local favorite, open from late spring to summer only, offers more than a dozen variations of hot dogs and hamburgers, several sides from spicy fries to poutine (fries topped with cheese curds and gravy), and creemees (what Vermonters call soft-serve ice cream), including a “Flavor of the Week.”
For birders, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s 2,858-acre Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (802-759-2397) is Mecca, with more than 200 species reported here, including bald eagles and several species of raptors, marsh dwellers, and waterfowl. In winter, snowy owls are attracted to this area, but the most anticipated arrival is that of the tens of thousands of snow geese that congregate here every fall on their migration south. There’s a public viewing area with signage on the south side of VT 17. Paddlers can put in at the small boat access area on the opposite side of the road, which is just before the viewing area if approaching from the west.
You can learn more about the Dead Creek area, its history and the species that call it home at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area Visitor Center, which opened in September 2017. Interactive displays focus on waterfowl management, upland wildlife, the role of game wardens, emerging issues, land management, and other natural science topics.
End your trip at the Addison Four Corners General Store (802-759-2332) at the intersection of VT 17 and VT 22A, a gem of a country store where you can buy cider doughnuts, homemade pastries, and chocolates by the pound along with Vermont clothing and the usual grocery items. But the real find is the deli. They smoke their own meats, so don’t pass up the house-smoked pulled pork sandwich or the Smokehouse, a combo of smoked turkey, pepperoni, apples, and cheddar cheese smothered in BBQ sauce.
