The Best Fall Towns Part 2: Stowe, Montpelier, and Northern Vermont:
Updated: Oct 18, 2021
Northern Vermont has a monopoly over the fall season. It simply cannot be beat.
A few notes/tips before we begin:
Stowe is very touristy. Be prepared for this.
The best time to visit Vermont to see the Leaves would be the first and second week of October. The Leaves start changing up North first and slowly move South.
While visiting you will not find a single Walmart, Mcdonalds, or any large chain business of any sort. Plan accordingly.
Hours of the local businesses are strange. Nothing seemed to open before 10, and everything closed by around 5-5:30. A very few restaurants would stay open past this time, but they only opened by 5 at the earliest as well.
Many things are closed on Monday's and Tuesday's. I wish I could tell you why.
Save time to pull over and explore!! There are hidden wonders all over. You'll regret not having time to stop.
Wear good hiking shoes. Even if you don't have specific hikes planned, I PROMISE you will end up walking around in the woods at some point.
Be prepared to ship a box back home after your trip. Buy all the pure maple syrup (try the darkest flavor!! It puts grocery store syrup back home to shame!), buy the jellies and jams. Anything Maple, Apple, Pumpkin, or Blueberry that you buy locally you will not regret sending home.
You are always in the boonies. Each town is tiny and spread far apart. Their capital, Montpelier, only has 7,000 people if that tells you anything.
Most places you won't have to pay to park, but in Woodstock you will. There is free parking however behind the city building on mainstreet.
You will need cash a surprising amount.... although its 2021 many places only took cash... a few of which took venmo as well.
Montpelier:
Montpelier is the capitol of Vermont, but in classic VT style, it only has 7,000 people! (You won’t find a big town/city anywhere in this beautiful state). And, just like almost every other town in VT, Montpelier’s Main Street could easily win cutest Main Street in America.
Montpelier Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks Farm Tour:
It’s a crime to visit VT and not try some pure grade A rich maple syrup. And I don’t mean your basic grocery store log cabin watered down syrup. This is the REAL stuff. While you can buy maple syrup on the side of the road just about anywhere, I recommend visiting a maple farm and taking a tour. The Morse Farm Sugarworks Farm is nestled right on the outskirts of Montpelier. They do have guided tours you can do that discuss the process of making maple syrup, but we chose to be our own guides around the grounds. Make sure you at least visit the shop and mail some goodies home to yourself. We got a few jugs of pure maple syrup, maple fudge, maple chocolates, and even some crew necks to remember the place by. You can mail your goodies back home right from the shop, which is very convenient! It’s also very interesting to see the almost irrigation like pipes running sap from all the trees to the farm. Did you know it takes 40 GALLONS of sap to make one bottle of maple syrup?!
Address: 1168 County Rd, Montpelier, VT 05602
Green Mount Cemetery:
Just as often as you will find Maple Syrup stands on the side of the road, you will find very old Cemeteries. They are scattered left and right, so you don’t necessarily have to visit one specific one unless you have specific graves you would like to visit. The graves date back to the very early 1800’s, it’s crazy to sit and think about the people who were here before us, who built this great country. I love to wonder what may have occurred in the very spot I was standing and reflect on the various lives lived. I find it so interesting. In my blog post about Boston, Massachusetts I’ll talk more about specific burial sites you should visit. But, if you would like to plan to visit at least one specific Cemetery, the Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier is a great one to hit.
Address: 250 State St, Montpelier, VT 05602
Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury:
While we didn’t visit this exact apple cider farm, we heard from many of the locals that this is the one to hit! We did visit another small apple cider farm in Maine that I will talk about in a later blog post. Apple Cider is different than apple juice. It has the richest flavor! Another classic Vermont Favorite that you can’t miss. Pick your own apples, take some fun orchard pictures, and enjoy your festive cider.
Address: 3600 Waterbury-Stowe Rd, Waterbury Center, VT 05677
Ben and Jerry’s Factory:
The original Ben and Jerry’s factory is located between Montpelier and Stowe. They give tours of the facility during the week (look on their website ahead of time to see that week’s schedule), and even on the days that they aren’t giving tours, you can stop in for some creamy delicious Ice Cream.
Address: 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Rd Route 100, Waterbury Village Historic District, VT 05676
Stowe, Vermont
Stowe is one of the more touristy areas in Vermont, so be prepared for that. But it is popular for a reason!! Stowe is the classic hallmark card image you have in your mind of fall. One of those places that you can’t quite decide if its real, or if its too good to be true. It is definitely a must see. If you’re interested in less touristy towns, visit my last post, Best Fall Towns part 1: Woodstock Vermont. There are many cute little gift shops with souvenirs and other goods to take home, as well as many small restaurants and coffee shops to grab lunch at.
The Classic Stowe White Chapel:
Many of the small towns also have old White Chapel’s in town, but Stowe is home to one of the best kept and well-maintained old wood chapels. You can get a stunning picture with the chapel and the surrounding foliage behind you from main street. The backdrop is breathtaking. (And very instagrammable haha)
Hike the loop from Sunset Street:
If you want a better view of the chapel, fall foliage, and town, hike the very short hike from Sunset Street. You can’t miss the trailhead, it will be right at the dead end. You won’t be able to park on Sunset, so I recommend parking one street over and walking to the trailhead. There is also another longer hike that goes higher that you can do just around the corner from sunset as well. While the view is nice here as well, if you are specifically wanting a view of the chapel steeple and the foliage, take the shorter hike on Sunset, the view is unbeatable.
Laughing Moon Chocolates:
If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, be sure to stop in at Moon Chocolates on Main street in Stowe. They have a huge assortment of chocolates, you’ll definitely be walking out with a bag full.
The Stowe Vermont Sign is also right next to Moon Chocolates and makes for a great photo opportunity!
Address: 78 S Main St, Stowe, VT 05672
Emily’s Covered Bridge:
Almost at the center of town, just off main street a couple hundred feet, is Emily’s covered Bridge. This is a smaller bridge, meant just for walking on, so park your car before heading over here. The bridge has a cutout on one side that shows the river below, and another angle view of the foliage and chapel.
Address: Covered Bridge Rd, Stowe, VT 05672
Northernmost Vermont:
North of Stowe, you REALLY won’t find any semblance of a large town. Stowe will be one of the last “big” stops you will hit, so be sure to gas up and eat before continuing north.
One very unique attraction of Vermont is that people will have “museums” in their houses and barns. You can stop by, anyday anytime, free of charge. It’s the strangest thing! I'll share a few we stopped at below.
Smuggler’s Notch:
Smuggler’s notch is a beautiful scenic drive through the best fall colors in all of Vermont. Grab some snacks in Stowe and head out to the drive, and be sure to bring your camera. If you are all about the fall colors, this is the place to see them
The Museum of Everyday Life:
Between Stowe, and on the way to Glover is the Museum of Everything. This is one of the mentioned “home museums”. There will be a hand painted sign right off the left side of the road, with a little outbuilding which you will enter. The museum really does have a litte bit of everything. Hand written notes gathered throughout the years, paper clips, stuffed animals, all sorts of things that if it wasn’t set on display I would classify as junk. I guess they say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! This place is the epitome of that saying. Also, right alongside the Museum of Everything is a beautiful lake surrounding by the thick foliage reflecting across the water. Even if you don’t go to the museum, I would park next to it to view the lake.
Address: 3482 Dry Pond Rd, Glover, VT 05839
The Bread and Puppet Museum in Glover:
Another home museum, but this time in a big red barn. I personally am not a connoisseur of all thing’s art, so I saw this stop as more as something so bizarre, you couldn’t help but stop. But if you are a lover of art, this may speak to you in other ways. This large barn is full of life size paper Mache puppets. They are grouped with small handwritten signs that give small clues as to the story behind each group of puppets. There are hundreds of puppets in this barn as well as art you can buy. Back in the day, Bread and Puppet was a dinner theater that was politically themed. You can see the nods to politics in the puppets and stories. I personally still think this is a creepy creepy stop haha. It’s also very much so in the boonies, so don’t plan on stopping anytime soon around here for anything.
Address: 753 Heights Rd, Glover, VT 05839
The Dog Chapel in St. Johnsbury:
There was an artist to built a chapel based upon a book he had written. The theme of the book is “No Dogmas allowed. All Creeds and Breeds welcome”, which inspired this chapel to be built. The Pews are made of wooden carved out dogs, and there are dog statues scattered about. You are welcome to bring your dog, or a picture of your four legged friend and leave it on the wall of the chapel. They also have a gift shop.
Address: 143 Parks Rd, St Johnsbury, VT 05819
Stays:
Unfortunately, in the Northernmost part of Vermont, there aren’t a lot of hotels or Airbnb’s to stay at. You can find them, but it is a little bit harder. We drove across the border into Lancaster, New Hampshire to stay at a little motel for the night. Your best bet is to stay in Stowe, or press on to New Hampshire to find a place to stay.
I recommend checking Expedia or Hotels.com before booking anything.
Links to the gear we loved on this trip:
The things that made our trip that much better.
This sweater was so comfy and warm, but also looked nice and classy as well! Linking it Here. The only pictures I got of myself in it is with a chocolate moose, so I'll use the product image instead lol.
This top was also sooo comfy and cute! It was so warm and paired well with a cute flannel, or was cute on its own as well. Linking it Here.
We used this tripod and bluetooth remote to take almost all of our pictures! We would also set it up with a video recording and just grab screenshots after. This way we could make sure the perfect shot was in the frame, rather than take a gamble on the picture turning out well with a stranger taking it, that is if someone was even around.
I don't go anywhere without my packing cubes. They are the only reason that I can fit so much into my carry on suitcase! Linking Here.
This is the drone we currently have. It's a good starter drone, but I will admit that it isn't the best camera quality. It's great for it's price, but if you want to shoot in 4k you will have to invest in a more expensive drone. Linking here.
This is my personal carry on suitcase that I have used for years traveling. It has held up so well over the years, is lightweight, and can expand to hold quite a bit. Linking Here.
This is my husband Jayk's suitcase he uses, although unfortunately you can't carry it on. He loves it! Linking Here.
Jayk uses this backpack on each of our trips as a carry on, or for hiking. Linking Here.
I have these leggings in 4 different colors, I can't get enough of them. They are Lulu Lemon dupes for a quarter of the cost. I wore them on the plane, on our long car drives, and hiking on this trip. Absolutely obsessed with them. Linking Here.
Jayk and I wear a different Carhartt beanie every day between October 1st and February every year. We are simply obsessed. Linking Here.
Those museums look super creepy!