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Tag: vermont

  • Best Of Stowe, Vermont

    Best Of Stowe, Vermont

    We absolutely love Stowe, Vermont. It has everything that we look for while traveling; recreation, delicious local food, dog-friendly, walkable, and surrounded by beautiful views. Stowe is a charming village located in a valley at the base of Mount Mansfield which is the highest peak in Vermont at 4,395 feet above sea level. In Stowe, you are also surrounded by other peaks of the Green Mountains. It’s a convenient home-base location to explore all of Vermont. Here is our Best of Stowe, Vermont.

    Lodging in Stowe, Vermont

    Sun & Ski Inn and Suites is the only hotel in New England that has a bowling lounge, indoor pool, and miniature golf. We appreciated the huge open grassy area in the back for dogs (and humans) to play and the beautiful river views. It’s an easy location – close to anything that you need. Some of the rooms have patios off the back to take in the views. That’s where we stayed and really enjoyed being able to sit outside and take it all in.

    House on The Little River in Stowe, Vermont.
    View from the back of Sun & Ski Inn and Suites

    Top Restaurants Stowe, Vermont

    I acknowledge that we barely scratched the surface during our stay but here are a few of our favorites. The made from scratch biscuits at Stowe Bee Bakery are legendary. The pizza at Piecasso Pizzeria & Lounge made with fresh dough and the perfect amount of sauce, melts in your mouth. I would suggest dining in because of the groovy vibe. The service and sandwiches at Live Forever Foods food truck are beyond. You will find the truck parked at Stowe Cider.

    Stowe Breweries

    We checked out the von Trapp Brewery and Idletyme Brewing Co. We also had lunch and dinner a few times at Idletyme. I didn’t get pictures of the food but it is very good! Terry loved the burgers and I love the salads (huge portions) and salmon. Their outdoor patio is right off the Recreation Path. It was so great to take a nice stroll from Sun & Ski Inn and Suites to the brewery. Another special thing about Idletyme is they have apple trees that you can pick fresh and enjoy. The von Trapp Brewery is located up Mount Mansfield so the patio is surrounded by lovely views of the foliage. We had the grilled bratwurst sandwich with bacon apple sauerkraut and fries. The sauerkraut is unique and tasty! Both are dog-friendly and Allen gives them a paws up.

    After visiting the von Trapp brewery, make sure to head up to the Trapp Family Lodge. It’s a little piece of Austria in Vermont. We stopped here for breakfast and to pick up homemade granola. This is another location to capture all the colors of fall and Mount Mansfield. They offer von Trapp family history tours which we didn’t do but heard great reviews.

    View of Mount Mansfield from the Trapp Family Lodge.

    Covered Bridges in Stowe, Vermont

    We visited Emily’s Bridge (also know as Gold Brook Covered Bridge and Stowe Hollow Bridge) and the Red Covered Bridge. There is a haunting story about Emily’s Bridge dating back to the 1800s. A young girl named Emily was supposed to meet her lover and elope at the bridge. He never showed and Emily took her own life at the site. There are many stories of “angry” Emily while vehicles and people cross the bridge. Thankfully, we didn’t experience Emily while we visited. 🙂 This is a popular site so be prepared to wait and for traffic.

    The Red Covered Bridge has a beautiful backdrop and not as much attention. We were the only ones there and it was so fun to walk around, take pictures, and listen to the water bubbling by.

    Woman walking through Emily's Covered Bridge in Stowe, Vermont.

    Hiking and Walking Trails in Stowe, Vermont

    The Recreation Path in Stowe was a nice surprise. The Recreation Path is a 5.3 mile path that runs through the village up to Top Notch Resort on the mountain side. It’s great for exercise, to walk the dog, to visit restaurants and shop, and awesome views of Stowe.

    Smugglers Notch is in the top five of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever been on. If you’re traveling in the fall, make sure to hit this trail. You can also take a scenic ride on the Gondola Skyride or drive the Historic Toll Road to the top. Both are on our list for next time!

    View of Fall Colors at Mount Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont.

    Please let me know if you have any questions in comments and see more places to visit in Vermont HERE.

    Life is short, never stop searching for what stirs your soul. ❤️

    Orginally posted in 2021.

    ©Tracy Blowers

  • Best Places To Visit In Vermont

    Best Places To Visit In Vermont

    Vermont is truly something special to see in the fall. The colors are glorious especially the amount of bright red maple trees. They seem to be in high definition as you drive the curvy country roads and around every next turn is a spectacular view. Enjoy our list of best places to visit in Vermont.

    Best Cities to Visit in Vermont

    Burlington, Vermont

    First stop, Burlington. Burlington is our kind of town. It’s the perfect size, not too big and not too small. It is walkable and dog-friendly. Plus, it is located on Lake Champlain offering panoramic lake views. We stayed at Hotel Vermont and wished we could have extended our reservation. Our advice, stay at least two nights in Burlington! We loved the downtown location yet close to nature. You can walk to Battery Park by the lake and then head to Church Street in the middle of town.

    Hotel Vermont is an independent hotel and authentic Vermont, including the locally made flannel robes in the rooms. Their onsite restaurant, Juniper, is awesome. I got the charcuterie and salad to go. Plus, there is a great patio in the back of the hotel with hanging lights, a fire pit, and music.

    Jay, Vermont

    Next, we drove up to Jay, and visited Jay Peak Resort. The views from Jay Peak are incredible! This is a great spot to stay with the whole family and is so much more than a ski resort. Jay Peak offers skiing, snowboarding, a huge water park, championship golf, ice haus indoor arena, athletic fields, hiking, mountain biking, spa, arcade, indoor climbing gym, a movie theater. Even after all that, I’m sure I’m forgetting things. Plus, it’s a wonderful spot for lunch by the bonfire.

    Bonfire in front of fall foliage in Jay, Vermont at Jay Peak Resort.

    Stowe, Vermont

    After visiting Jay Peak, we made our way down to Stowe, Vermont. I loved Stowe so much, I dedicated a full blog post about it HERE. The fall colors seem unreal and impossible to capture which is what makes it magical. We highly recommend this drive. Below are Stowe highlights.

    Fall foliage view in Vermont.

    In Stowe, we stayed at Sun and Ski Inn and Suites. This is a great location, walking distance to restaurants, activities, and the recreation path. The Sun and Ski Inn and Suites offers so much fun, they are the only hotel in New England that has a bowling lounge, indoor pool, and miniature golf. We appreciated that they are dog-friendly with a huge open grassy area in the back for dogs to play and river views.

    Views from the back…

    One of our favorite things about Stowe is the Recreation Path. It’s a 5.3 mile path that runs through the village up to Top Notch Resort on the mountain side. It’s great for exercise, to walk the dog, to visit restaurants and shop, and views.

    There are many other options for dog-friendly hikes. Below are views from Smugglers Notch which we highly recommend, the fall views will take your breath away. Stowe offers delicious food, breweries, and plenty to see and do including finding the covered bridges. All of this and more on the dedicated Stowe post HERE.

    Waterbury, Vermont

    A couple of must stops just minutes from Stowe, in Waterbury, are Cold Hollow Cider Mill and Waterbury Center State Park. Go to Cold Hollow get an apple cider slushy with a side of fresh, warm, apple cider donuts and then head over to the state park for a picnic. The 90-acre day-use state park is located on the Waterbury Reservoir in the Mount Mansfield State Forest. The way the colors of the trees were reflecting in the water was so beautiful.

    I’m still dreaming of this day and the apple cider slushies.

    Fall colors and reflections at Waterbury State Park, Vermont.

    Cold Hollow Cider Mill is filled with amazing gifts, maple syrup, honey, and there is a hard cider tasting room. You can also shop online including ordering their apple cider donuts! I’ve ordered since we’ve been back in Minnesota and it’s so nice to have a taste of authentic Vermont.

    Other best places in Vermont and stops in Waterbury Center are Ben & Jerry’s Factory (super busy so expect to wait in line), Danforth Pewter of Vermont, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Cabot Farmers’ Store, and Smugglers’ Notch Barrel House Tasting Room.

    Quechee and Woodstock, Vermont

    Our last stop in Vermont, was the Quechee/Woodstock area. We stayed at the Quechee/Pine Valley KOA. This is a beautiful location next to the Quechee Gorge (great hiking spot) and 10 miles to Woodstock. The KOA owners go above and beyond including awesome decorating!

    We got up early to go visit the iconic Sleepy Hollow Farm, Sugarbush Farm, and Vermont Flannel in Woodstock. On our way to Sleepy Hollow Farm, we went under the Taftsville covered bridge. It looked so cool on this spooky, foggy, morning. Same with Sleepy Hollow Farm which has become a social media sweetheart. There are so many beautiful homes/farms to capture but this one really gets the attention, when we arrived there were at least 10 photographers there with their tripods ready to go. The main house was being worked on when we were there, it was also still very foggy, so I took a bit of a different angle. The Sleepy Hollow Farm has interesting history so make sure to click it to read more. It was once owned by Aerosmith guitarist, Joe Perry. The whole area is worth driving through.

    I loved Sugarbush Farm and doing the cheese and maple syrup tasting. It all was so good!! I recommend adding this to your itinerary.

    On our next trip, we will definitely stay in Woodstock for a night. The town is absolutely adorable. But, what Vermont town isn’t? 🙂 You can’t really go wrong and it’s so easy to day drive the state. We had breakfast at Mountain Creamery and I can’t say enough about this cute unassuming off the highway spot. Look at that piece of ham! The bread was gluten free and was the best I’ve tasted. Make sure to stop at F.H. Gillingham & Sons too for any grocery needs – they also sell individual cans of beer if you want to try a variety of local beers!

    We can’t wait for our next visit! Please let me know your best places in Vermont.

    Life is short, never stop searching for what stirs your soul. ❤️

    Originally posted in 2021.

    ©Tracy Blowers

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