Located 5 hours north of New York City lies the state of Vermont. Known for its Green Mountains and iconic brand Ben’s and Jerry’s, it’s a destination often overlooked by its more popular neighbours such as New York and Massachusetts.
We believe that every traveller visiting the east coast should give Vermont a visit to experience its diverse scenery and traditional Northeastern life.
1. Visit the Ben’s & Jerry’s ice cream factory
Did you know that the famous Ben’s & Jerry’s ice cream originated from the state of Vermont? And their main factory is located right here where you can visit!
They organise factory tours where you can learn more about the whole process that goes into manufacturing your favourite ice cream.
For the latest information on the tour, be sure to visit their website before planning your trip.
As we know, Ben’s and Jerry’s has a ton of unique flavours in their ice cream. Not all of them survived till this day. Those that didn’t are now eternally enshrined in this Flavor Graveyard!
If there are any flavours that you miss, definitely pay this place a visit.
2. Kayak in a remote northeastern lake
There is no lack of outdoor activities to do here in Vermont. We highly recommend trying out kayaking when you’re visiting the Waterbury region.
When we visited, the entire reservoir was very peaceful and quiet. You could very clearly hear the sounds of nature with the likes of birds and insects.
Unlike kayaking in Singapore, it was a lot more comfortable when we kayaked in Vermont as it was not hot at all! We could paddle for hours and would not sweat a bit. Sunburn was also of no concern as it was very cloudy when we visited.
You can rent your kayak from Umiak Outdoor Outfitters. They are conveniently located at the entrance to the reservoir. We’d recommend bringing cash to pay for your rental as we faced troubles trying to process our credit cards due to the lack of cell service.
3. Explore a flea market
While we were driving, we spotted a random flea market on a wide open field. We spontaneously drove in to take a look!
These markets pop up from time to time and are very common in the America. Be sure to swing by and you’ll never know what gems you can find.
We found this antique Konica SLR which still works and I bought it for US$5! It’s working perfectly and I’ve taken countless of photos with this camera ever since.
4. Hike to the top of Camel’s Hump
The Camel’s Hump state park is located very near to Burlington city. By hiking the trail to its summit, you can get to witness a panoramic view over the Vermont plains.
The 9.7 km trail is an easy hike which can be completed in under 3 hours.
You’ll start off in a green and densely forested area. Slowly, you’ll emerge out into more rocky areas and that’s when you’ll get an unobstructed view of the entire Camel’s Hump State Park.
This is a hiking trail that we’d highly recommend anyone visiting the Burlington area in Vermont to try out.
We didn’t bring along any specific trekking equipment or hiking shoes. Just basic sports shoes will be sufficient for this.
The weather gets chilly at the top with very strong winds even in the summer. Therefore, remember to bring along a light jacket.
5. Try the amazing burgers at Prohibition Pig
We stumbled onto this amazing restaurant while we were driving through Waterbury Town, Vermont.
The egg and bacon, sandwiched between the 2 piping hot buns are to die for. We had mad cravings for it that we specifically drove back the next day just to have it again.
You can check out their menu here.
6. Have a relaxing walk along the Waterfront Park
The city of Burlington is located just beside Lake Champlain which separates the state of Vermont and New York.
Once you’re done with your day’s activities, head over to the Waterfront Park to enjoy a chill evening and catch the sunset.
There are always activities happening in the park. Plenty of restaurants can be found both at the park and its surroundings.
Final thoughts
Vermont is often an overlooked state as compared to New York and Maine for foreign tourists. After our visit, however, we believe that it should no longer be overlooked.
There are plenty of things to do here from the vast outdoors to the beautiful lakeside cities. If you’re visiting during winter, you can even pay their world class ski resorts a visit.
We’d recommend spending a couple of days here if you’re visiting as there’s just so much to do in the state.
While you’re in Vermont, why not drive a little further up north and you’ll be at Montreal! Between Burlington, Vermont and Montreal, Quebec, it’s only a 1.5 hours drive away.
We’ll highly recommend visiting the French province of Quebec as you’ll be transported into a tiny slice of Europe within North America.
Read here to find out more about what you can do in Quebec!
