Ski slopes and maple syrup
Vermont, a tiny piece of geography in the far northeast of the U.S., is very popular with travelers because of its scenic beauty, especially the fall foliage colors and winter’s snow-covered mountains.
Visitors comment as well on the excellent skiing, breakfasts with pure Vermont maple syrup, the typical “New England look” of its covered bridges and historic town centers and efficient but friendly service from hosts of bed-and-breakfast inns and from campground operators. Travelers emphasize the attractiveness of the state’s rural environment, its lack of commercialization and the relaxation and peace they experience while there.

About Vermont
Skiing dominates sports in Vermont, but other visitor options include camping, golf, horseback riding and fishing — complemented by a “sport” of another kind: shopping, whether in country stores selling unique Vermont-made goods or discount outlets for nationally known brands.
As for the ever-popular skiing, there are several choices for both alpine and nordic pursuits. Downhillers cite Killington, Stowe and Sugarbush as favorites. For cross-country choices, a couple of the best are Mount Prospect east of Bennington and Mountain Top at Chittenden, site of the Mountain Top Inn.
The friendly Vermonters have a long history of thinking for themselves. Although Vermont was home to the Green Mountain Boys and supported the American Revolution, it stood aside politically, creating the Republic of Vermont in 1777, only joining the great American experiment in 1791, as the 14th state.
Evidence of the state’s history lives in museums, historic buildings (including Ethan Allen’s home) and Revolutionary War sites — thus adding to the list of attractions for visitors.
There is no such thing as a big city in Vermont. The largest, Burlington, counted only 38,889 people in the 2000 census. Like many smaller cities and towns, it boasts a charming historic downtown section that lures tourists for relaxing and picturesque strolls — and some shopping for local cheeses or other goods that bespeak this tiny New England state.
For another type of attraction, small and active summer theaters stage productions in small towns throughout Vermont. It is extremely popular, as well, to tour Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, and irresistible to sample the state’s cheeses and maple syrup.
It may be small but Vermont offers choices for all tastes which is why it rates so high overall. It’s the state you might choose for getting a sense of the whole New England area.

• Vary your seasonal ski trip by spending a day ice fishing.

• Camel’s Hump State Park is one of the few undeveloped peaks among the highest mountains in Vermont. It can be an invigorating experience to hike to the summit where rare alpine vegetation is found.

• Take a fall foliage tour, but do it on a bicycle.

• Take a snowmobile tour of several days, sampling some of Vermont’s 3,900-mile trail system for snowmobilers.

• For serious mountain biking, try East Burke where the nonprofit Kingdom Trails has created a 100-mile mapped complex of off-road trails and single track. The area claims the highest ratio of moose to mountain bikers in the U.S.

• Camp in the Green Mountain National Forest. The nine national forest campgrounds tend to be on the rustic side.
Alternatively, 39 of Vermont’s 52 state parks offer camping.

• Bring your fine antique car to the August Stowe Antique and Classic Car Meet, or at least come to town to see these vehicles in their annual parade.
Or, attend the September British Invasion, a fest described as a “salutation to the great British motorcar and all manner of other things British.”

• Go whitewater rafting in summer.

• Lake Champlain runs southward from the Canadian border and offers lots of sailing and water-sports activities. Look for the fabled Lake Champlain monster, a la Loch Ness!

• Hike the Long Trail in the Green Mountains. This is a footpath that winds through the mountains from Massachusetts to Canada. Overnight camps lie along the trail every six to eight miles.

• Both Stowe and Killington boast breathtaking gondola rides to the top of Vermont’s highest peaks. Both also offer alpine slides, with riders controlling the speed of descent as they take in the scenery. Try the one that suits you.

•  Combine seeing the fall colors with a visit to the Stratton Arts Festival at Stratton Mountain. More than 200 Vermont artists participate.

• Go cross-country skiing. You don’t have to know how to downhill ski. Vermont offers groomed trails at various sites up and down the state.

• Take a self-drive fall foliage tour through Vermont. Go to www.vermontvacation.com for twice-weekly fall foliage report updates in season along with a foliage forecaster, scenic drives and other foliage tips.

• Visit Ethan Allen’s home in Sunderland and/or visit what’s left of Revolutionary War fortifications at Orwell.

• Or, get in touch with the 18th century by staying at the Rabbit Hill Inn in Lower Waterford, and ask for the Turnabout room in the Tavern Building. That room was the tavern in 1795.

• Enter the Pittsfield Snowshoe Race. Such races have become a way for runners to stay in shape and have fun during winter. The Pittsfield event ends with a milelong downhill sled ride and dinner of lobster and pecan pie.

• Build a self-drive itinerary based on the Vermont Cheese Trail. For a list of options, visit the Vermont Cheese Council’s ste at www.vtcheese.com.

• Go to the Tavern at Red Fox Inn in Bondville for live Irish music (and other live music) plus Guinness to wet your whistle.

• In Manchester, visit Hildene, home to Robert Todd Lincoln, the only son of President Lincoln to survive into adulthood.

• Attend any of up to six horse shows held on successive long summer weekends in East Dorset, including the Manchester Summer Festival Horse Show.

• Arlington is Norman Rockwell’s home town and offers a Rockwell exhibit in a 19th century church. His fans enjoy viewing hundreds of examples of his work amidst a real Rockwell setting. There is also a Rockwell museum in Rutland.

• Fish the rivers and streams for several types of trout, or fish the lakes and ponds for bass and walleye.
Or, take a scenic ferry trip on Lake Champlain.

• Visit the Shelburne Museum, an extensive reconstruction of 37 historic structures from all over New England. These hold collections of items and artifacts depicting early New England life. They’ve got formal gardens, as well.

• Tour a maple sugar factory (given that Vermont is the country’s leading producer).

• Shop until you drop at outlet stores in Manchester, an attractive and popular village where new construction is determinedly in line with traditional New England style.
And, buy Vermont’s cheddar cheese.

• Take a turn through the wooded mountains on snowshoes.

• Teach your young children to ski at a Vermont resort. Begin your days with pancakes and Vermont maple syrup.

• Attend summer theater. The Dorset Playhouse, Saxton’s Playhouse and Weston Playhouse are the best-known, but there are about 30 other choices.

• Tour the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, which uses advertising that always features black and white Vermont cows.