DISTANCE: 130 miles (209km) round trip
TIME: Two days
START/END: Burlington
POINTS TO NOTE: If you are connecting from the Green Mountains route, begin at Brandon. Amtrak’s Vermonter train stops in Essex Junction, 5 miles (8km) east of Burlington, and Burlington International Airport (www.btv.aero) is 3 miles (5km) east. Meredith, in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, is 147 miles (237km) southeast via I-89 and Route 4.
Burlington
Vermont’s ‘Queen City,’ Burlington 1 [map] enjoys a hillside location facing the broadest part of Lake Champlain. Orientate yourself at the Waterfront Park and adjacent ECHO Lake Aquarium & Science Center (1 College Street; tel: 877-324-6386; www.echovermont.org; daily 10am–5pm). Here, exhibits explain the natural history of the 125-mile (200km) long lake and explore the mystery of Champ, its mythical aquatic monster. Nearby, grab a crêpe at Skinny Pancake, see 1 [map].
Stately Burlington architecture
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Ferries and boats
From the King Street landing, just south of the park, car and passenger ferries (tel: 802-864-9804; www.ferries.com) make the one-hour crossing to Port Kent, New York. Alternatively, take a trip on the cruise ship Spirit of Ethan Allen II (Burlington Community Boathouse; tel: 802-862-8300; www.soea.com) or the Friend Ship sloop (tel: 802-825-7245; www.whistlingman.com), or rent a kayak or canoe from Community Sailing Center (234 Penny Lane; tel: 802-864-2499; http://communitysailingcenter.org).
Lake Champlain
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Downtown
Burlington’s lively downtown is dominated by pedestrianised Church Street, with its bistros, boutiques, and craft galleries such as the Vermont Craft Center Frog Hollow (No. 85; www.froghollow.org), exhibiting works by Vermont artisans. For a meal, stop in at Penny Cluse Café, see 2 [map].
University of Vermont Campus
The hilltop University of Vermont (UVM; www.uvm.edu) campus is worth exploring. Along University Place stand an array of college buildings, including the 1825 Old Mill (the cornerstone was laid by the Marquis de Lafayette), and architect H.H. Richardson’s Romanesque, 1886 Billings Student Center.
Around the corner is the Fleming Museum (61 Colchester Avenue; tel: 802-656-0750; www.uvm.edu/~fleming; check website for hours), with an excellent collection of European and American art, plus ethnographic exhibits from around the world.
The Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Museum
Kindra Clineff
Shelburne
Head south out of Burlington on Route 7 for 10 miles (16km) to Shelburne 2 [map], where the Shelburne Museum (tel: 802-985-3346; www.shelburnemuseum.org; May–Dec daily 10am–5pm, Jan–Apr Wed–Sun 10am–5pm,) holds one of the nation’s premier collections of Americana. Largely the legacy of heiress Electra Havemeyer Webb, the vast collection include folk art, toys, tools, and horse-drawn vehicles, arrayed among 39 buildings on 45 landscaped acres (18ha). Don’t miss the Ticonderoga, a 1906 Lake Champlain passenger steamer.
Shelburne Farms
Set aside a good half-day to explore Shelburne Farms (1611 Harbor Road; tel: 802-985-8686; www.shelburnefarms.org; mid-May–mid-Oct 10am–4pm, grounds open year-round), the Webbs’ country estate and model farm. You can view cheesemaking and other enterprises as well as explore the beautiful lakeside grounds. Children will love encountering the various farmyard animals. The 1880s Farm and Breeding Barns are magnificent, and you can stay at Dr William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb’s grand home, now the Inn at Shelburne Farms (for more information, click here).
A Vermont round barn at the Shelburne Museum
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Vergennes
The small town of Vergennes 3 [map], 14 miles (23km) south of Shelburne, has delightful Victorian architecture as well as the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (4472 Basin Harbor Road; tel: 802-475-2022; www.lcmm.org; late May–mid-Oct daily 10am–5pm). The exhibits, including a collection of antique watercraft and a replica of the Philadelphia, a Revolutionary War gunboat, relate the history of navigation on the lake.
Middlebury
Straddling the gushing waters of Otter’s Creek is the attractive college town of Middlebury 4 [map], 13 miles (21km) farther south via Route 7. On its west edge, the campus of Middlebury College, a 200-year-old liberal arts institution, features an interesting Museum of Art (Route 30; tel: 802-443-5007; http://museum.middlebury.edu; Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat–Sun noon–5pm, closed late Aug and most Dec; free), with Asian and Western works from antiquity to the present.
Just off the town green is the whitewashed 1809 Congregational Church, its steeple rising 135ft (40m) in four tiers. Also downtown, in an 1829 quarry magnate’s house, is the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History (1 Park Street; tel: 802-388-2117; www.henrysheldonmuseum.org; Tue–Sat 10am–5pm, late May–mid Oct also Sun 1–5), with a collection of late 18th- and 19th-century Vermontiana.
For something to eat, try American Flatbread, see 3 [map].
Kayaking, Lake Champlain
Kindra Clineff
Chipman’s Port
Traveling through some of Vermont’s lushest dairy lands, head southwest via routes 30 and 74 for 13 miles (21km) to Shoreham 5 [map], famous for its apple crop and fresh-pressed cider. Continue south along Route 22A to Orwell, turn right and head west to Chipman’s Point and Mount Independence State Historic Site 6 [map] (tel: 802-948-2000; http://historicsites.vermont.gov; grounds daily, Visitor Center late May–mid-Oct daily 9.30am–5pm). This historic attraction concentrates on an American fort that commanded the lake in the battle against the British during the War of Independence. Various exhibits at the Visitor Center relate the story, and marked trails point out the remaining earthworks.
Green Mountain National Forest
Retrace your route back to Orwell and continue on Route 73 through to Brandon. The entire core of the town (more than 200 buildings) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dine at Café Provence, see 4 [map].
From Brandon, Route 73 climbs into the heart of the north portion of the Green Mountain National Forest (for more information, click here). The highest point, at 2,170ft (661m), along the winding 17-mile (27km) road to Route 100 is at Brandon Gap 7 [map]. The Long Trail (www.greenmountainclub.org), Vermont’s ‘Footpath through the Wilderness,’ crosses the road here and affords hiking access to the 3,216ft (980m) summit of Mount Horrid.
At the wheel at the Vergennes Maritime Museum
Discover New England
Middlebury Gap
Follow Route 100 north for 5 miles (8km) north to Hancock, then turn left for the 21-mile (34km) drive toward Middlebury on Route 125. Heading west, follow a steep route through rugged terrain that peaks at the 2,144ft (653m) Middlebury Gap 8 [map]. Halfway between Hancock and the gap is a right-hand turnoff for Texas Falls, a beautiful cascade on the Hancock branch of the White River.
Ripton
Continuing across the gap, Route 125 descends into Ripton 9 [map], the one-time summer home of Robert Frost. A couple of miles before arriving in this hamlet, you will pass through the idyllic Bread Loaf Campus of Middlebury College, an unmissable collection of mustard-yellow-painted buildings with emerald-green trims. Also nearby is the Robert Frost Wayside Area, good for picnics; across the way, a mile (1.5km) long trail through the forest is lined with quotes from the poet’s works.
After Ripton, Route 125 joins with Route 7 to bring you back to Middlebury and on to Burlington.
Food and drink
1 Skinny Pancake
60 Lake Street, Burlington; tel: 802-540-0188; www.skinnypancake.com; Sun–Wed 8am–10pm, Thu–Sat 8am–11pm; $
Fill up on all kinds of crêpes, sweet and savory, with a view of Lake Champlain. In the evenings there is live music and fondue.
2 Penny Cluse Café
169 Cherry Street, Burlington; tel: 802-651-8834; www.pennycluse.com; Mon–Fri 6.45am–3pm, Sat–Sun 8am–3pm; $
The gingerbread pancakes at this super-popular café (expect to wait in line) are just the yummy tip of a hearty menu of gut-busting breakfasts and lunch dishes.
3 American Flatbread
137 Maple Street, Middlebury; tel: 802-388-3300; http://americanflatbread.com; Tue–Sat 5–9pm; $$
The best pizzas in Vermont are baked in the wood-fired, clay ovens of this local franchise.
4 Café Provence
11 Center Street, Brandon; tel: 802-247-9997; www.cafeprovencevt.com; Mon–Fri 11.30am–9pm, Sat–Sun 9am–9pm; $$–$$$
French chef Robert has locals lapping up his American diner classics, using locally grown, seasonally available produce.