The 8 Can't-Miss Towns In Vermont

At the Shelburne Museum, a 220-foot Lake Champlain steamship rests in a grassy basin. Woodstock lines its village green with Federal and Greek Revival storefronts. In Stowe, the von Trapp family pours Austrian-style lagers at a hillside bierhall. Montpelier is the least populous state capital in the country, its gilded dome open to visitors. Brattleboro fills a restored railroad station with rotating contemporary art. Johnson runs one of the top artist residencies in the United States out of old Green Mountain mill buildings.

Woodstock

The historic village green of Woodstock is flanked by Federal and Greek Revival architecture, but that's just the icing on the cake. Travelers can start their trip with a visit to Billings Farm & Museum, a working dairy farm and agricultural museum. Here, one can find working draft horses, Jersey cattle, and a 19th-century farmhouse where the heirloom butter churn still gets regular use. For an incredible view without the winter ski crowds, lace up your boots and hike the Faulkner Trail up to the South Peak of Mount Tom inside the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The gentle, zig-zagging switchbacks lead to an overlook with a clear, bird's-eye view of the village below. You'll understand immediately why travelers are drawn to this valley.

Stowe

Stowe earns its lofty reputation in part through the massive ridge of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, which looms over the village from the west, while the Stowe Recreation Path winds 5.3 miles (8.5 km) along the West Branch of the Little River. In the summer, serious hikers tackle sections of the Long Trail near Smugglers' Notch, a dramatic, narrow rocky pass flanked by cliffs and boulders the size of houses. When it's time to refuel, head up Luce Hill Road to the von Trapp Family Lodge. Founded by the family that inspired The Sound of Music, its on-site bierhall serves crisp Austrian-style lagers brewed right on the property.

Montpelier

As the least populous state capital in the country, Montpelier punches far above its weight compared to other small cities. The Vermont State House, with its golden dome visible from almost anywhere on Main Street, is open to the public and well worth a visit. Start your morning like a local with a cup of dark roast coffee at Capitol Grounds, explore the quirky exhibits at the Vermont History Museum, and then walk uphill from downtown into Hubbard Park. Follow the wooded trails to the old stone observation tower for a panoramic view of the capital.

Middlebury

Middlebury is a college town at heart. Middlebury College's historic limestone buildings anchor the hill high above the village, and the town's energy flows downward from the campus into Frog Hollow. In the middle of downtown, Otter Creek drops over Middlebury Falls, and the riverfront makes a perfect location to bask in the sun. On Park Street, the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History holds a carefully assembled collection of furniture, art, and household objects tied to Addison County and Vermont history.

Brattleboro

Situated at the confluence of the Connecticut and West Rivers, Brattleboro has spent decades cultivating a fierce arts and counterculture identity. For a dose of local culture, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, housed in a restored former railroad station, showcases rotating contemporary work throughout the year. If you need to clear your head, the Retreat Trails get you into more peaceful natural surroundings. To see why so many folks love Brattleboro, plan a weekend around the Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market on Western Avenue. In this bustling community hub, you'll find locals and travelers mingling under the trees, listening to live music, and eating global street food.

Shelburne

Most people simply drive right through Shelburne on Route 7 on their way up to Burlington, but they are seriously missing out. The Shelburne Museum alone justifies a full day of exploring. It features 39 historic buildings spread across 45 acres, including a working vintage carousel, a collection of American folk art, and the Ticonderoga, a massive Lake Champlain steamship. Just down the road is Shelburne Farms, a working farm, education center, and inn on the lakeshore planned with involvement of legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. After exploring the museum and farms, do what the locals do and head over to Fiddlehead Brewing Company for a fresh pour of their cult-favorite IPA, or step next door to Folino's for wood-fired artisan pizza.

Manchester

Manchester cleverly melds old-school Vermont and polished Vermont, and somehow both halves work perfectly together. The southern end of town around Manchester Center fills with premium outlet stores and weekend traffic. But the northern section, Manchester Village, is where you'll walk along wide sidewalks made of solid marble, past the white-columned Equinox Resort, and straight to the historic Hildene estate. Give yourself time to explore the formal gardens, step inside a restored Pullman rail car, and visit the estate's goat dairy, which makes fresh chevre on site. Afterward, fly-fishing enthusiasts should head to the nearby Orvis flagship store, then continue to the American Museum of Fly Fishing. Here, you'll find a compelling display of historic rods, reels, and tackle belonging to legendary historical figures.

Johnson

Situated in the scenic Lamoille River valley between Stowe and Hyde Park, Johnson is a working Vermont town, home to a busy hardware store, a classic diner, and the Power House Covered Bridge across Gihon River. The Vermont Studio Center, one of the best-known international artists' residency programs in the United States, operates out of a collection of converted historic mill buildings along the river. It attracts painters, writers, and sculptors from all over the world. To immerse yourself in local history, make a stop at the historic Johnson Woolen Mills factory store, a living monument to the town's industrial past. For an outdoor detour, visitors can access the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which follows a former railroad corridor through the surrounding river valley.

Must-See Vermont

What ties these eight towns together is how much they fit into small footprints. A working steamship sits on dry land in Shelburne, and a state capitol dome rises over a downtown of a few thousand people in Montpelier. College campuses, artist residencies, and century-old farms operate within walking distance of each village green. Vermont packs a surprising amount of history and working culture into places you can cross on foot in an afternoon.