Vermont is a small New England state of extraordinary natural beauty, famous for fiery fall foliage, world-class ski resorts, covered wooden bridges, and a thriving farm-to-table food culture. Burlington, its largest city, sits on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain and buzzes with craft breweries and independent shops. From the rolling Green Mountains to maple-syrup farms and award-winning cheese dairies, Vermont rewards travelers who seek authenticity over spectacle.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Stowe Village & Mount Mansfield
Stowe pairs a compact Vermont village of white church steeples and ski shops with direct access to Mount Mansfield, the state's highest peak. In summer the appeal is the auto toll road and gondola up Mansfield's ridge; in winter it's one of New England's oldest and best-known ski towns. The Stowe Recreation Path, a paved trail following the West Branch river for several miles, is a good lower-effort way to see the valley.
Highlights: Mount Mansfield Toll Road - a gravel auto road climbing toward the summit ridge for panoramic views · Stowe Mountain Resort gondola - an alternative to the toll road, running up toward Cliff House · Stowe Recreation Path - a flat paved path along the river connecting the village to outlying inns · Trapp Family Lodge - the von Trapp family's Austrian-style lodge just outside the village, with groomed trails · Stowe Community Church - the white steepled church that anchors the classic village green view
Woodstock & Quechee Gorge
Woodstock is one of Vermont's most intact 19th-century village greens, with brick storefronts and a covered bridge on Route 4 leading into town. A few miles east, Quechee Gorge cuts a 165-foot-deep slot through the bedrock, crossed by the Route 4 bridge with a short walking trail down to the river. The two together give a day that mixes a walkable town with one dramatic natural feature.
Highlights: Woodstock Village Green - the elm-lined green ringed by Federal and Greek Revival buildings · Middle Covered Bridge - a wooden covered bridge crossing the Ottauquechee River into the village center · Quechee Gorge - a steep river gorge viewable from the Route 4 bridge or via the trail down to the water · Billings Farm & Museum - a working dairy farm and museum on the edge of Woodstock covering Vermont agricultural history · Simon Pearce Mill - a glassblowing workshop and shop in Quechee, set in a converted mill on the river
Ben & Jerry's + Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Waterbury
This is a short, food-focused outing built around two Vermont-brand stops a few miles apart in Waterbury. The Ben & Jerry's factory runs a tour explaining how the ice cream is made, with a sample at the end and a small "flavor graveyard" for discontinued flavors outside. Cold Hollow Cider Mill presses cider on-site and sells cider doughnuts fried in-house, functioning more as a working mill and farm store than a formal attraction.
Highlights: Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour - a guided walk through the production line with a sample of the current flavor · Flavor Graveyard - a small hillside of mock tombstones for retired Ben & Jerry's flavors · Cold Hollow Cider Mill - an operating cider press visible from the shop, with fresh cider doughnuts made on site · Cabot Annex Store - an adjacent shop near Cold Hollow selling Vermont cheese and other local food products
Shelburne Museum & Shelburne Farms
These are two separate properties a short drive apart, both on the shore of Lake Champlain south of Burlington. Shelburne Museum is an assembled collection of relocated historic buildings, folk art, and Americana spread across a large campus, including the steamboat Ticonderoga on dry land and a genuine round barn. Shelburne Farms is a working farm and former Vanderbilt-family estate with a Queen Anne-style inn, a dairy barn, and cheese-making that visitors can watch.
Highlights: Steamboat Ticonderoga - a restored Lake Champlain steamboat preserved on land within the museum grounds · The Round Barn - a two-story round dairy barn relocated to the museum campus · Shelburne Farms Farm Barn - a large barn complex where cheddar is made on site, with a viewing area · Shelburne House - the Vanderbilt family's Queen Anne mansion, now operating as an inn, set on the lakeshore grounds · Walking trails at Shelburne Farms - farm roads and trails through pasture and along the lake
Lake Champlain Islands Drive
This is a driving route north from Burlington across causeways and bridges onto the Lake Champlain Islands - South Hero, North Hero, Isle La Motte, and Grand Isle - flat farmland surrounded by open water with the Adirondacks visible to the west. It's a low-key day built around the drive itself, orchard and farm stops, and lake views rather than any single headline attraction.
Highlights: Route 2 causeway - the roadway crossing the lake connecting the mainland to South Hero · Allenholm Farm - an apple orchard on South Hero with a farm stand and pick-your-own in season · Saint Anne's Shrine - a lakeside Catholic shrine on Isle La Motte marking Vermont's earliest French settlement · Hyde Log Cabin - a preserved early log cabin on Grand Isle, among the oldest in the United States · Knight Point State Park - a small lakeside park on North Hero with swimming and picnic areas
Montpelier — Vermont's Capital
Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the country by population, small enough to see its core on foot in an afternoon. The gold-domed Vermont State House anchors the town, with a compact downtown of independent shops and restaurants along State and Main Streets. It's a low-intensity day suited to combining with another nearby stop like Waterbury or the Mad River Valley.
Highlights: Vermont State House - the granite capitol building with its gold-leafed dome, open for self-guided and guided tours · Vermont History Museum - a museum on State Street covering the state's history, housed near the capitol · Hunger Mountain Coop - a well-known local food cooperative and market in downtown Montpelier · North Branch Nature Center - a nature center with trails along the North Branch river on the edge of town
Manchester & Hildene Estate
Manchester sits in the shadow of the Green Mountains and mixes an upscale shopping village with Hildene, the Georgian Revival estate built by Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son. Hildene's formal gardens and the house's original Lincoln family furnishings are the centerpiece, while Manchester Center's outlet stores and the Orvis flagship draw a different kind of visitor. At roughly two hours from Burlington, this is a longer day trip than most on this list.
Highlights: Hildene - Robert Todd Lincoln's Georgian Revival mansion, with period rooms and a working 1908 pipe organ · Hildene's formal gardens - a symmetrical garden laid out below the house terrace · Orvis Flagship Store - the original store of the fly-fishing and outdoor brand, founded in Manchester · Manchester Center outlet shops - a cluster of designer outlet stores along Route 7 · Equinox Mountain - the mountain overlooking Manchester, visible from town and accessible via a toll skyline drive
Mad River Valley (Sugarbush + Mad River Glen)
The Mad River Valley around Waitsfield and Warren holds two contrasting ski areas: Sugarbush, a larger modern resort with extensive lift-served terrain, and Mad River Glen, a smaller skier-owned cooperative famous for its single chairlift and no-snowmaking, natural-terrain policy. Outside ski season the valley is a quieter stop for scenic driving, covered bridges, and the general store culture of Warren and Waitsfield.
Highlights: Mad River Glen's Single Chair - the resort's original single-passenger chairlift, one of the last of its kind still running · Sugarbush Resort - a large ski area spanning two connected mountains, Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen · Warren Village Store - a classic Vermont general store in Warren village, a local gathering point · Waitsfield's covered bridge - a wooden covered bridge crossing the Mad River in the village of Waitsfield · German Flats Road - a scenic dirt back road connecting the valley toward Lincoln Gap
Lake Willoughby & Northeast Kingdom
Lake Willoughby sits in a narrow glacial trough between Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor, giving it a fjord-like profile that is unusual for Vermont. The Northeast Kingdom around it is the state's least developed corner, so the draw is the lake itself, the cliffs rising directly from the water, and the quiet of the surrounding forest roads rather than any town center. It suits travelers who want a hiking-and-swimming day rather than shopping or dining options, since services in the immediate area are limited.
Highlights: Mount Pisgah cliffs - the exposed rock face on the lake's east side, visible from the beach and from the water · South Trail up Mount Pisgah - the shorter, steeper route to the overlooks above the lake · Lake Willoughby's north and south beaches - swimming spots at either end of the lake with a clear contrast in shoreline character · Willoughby State Forest - the wooded land surrounding the lake, laced with the trails that reach both summits
Brattleboro Arts & Connecticut River Valley
Brattleboro is a small former mill town on the Connecticut River whose downtown has become known for its concentration of galleries and studio spaces, most visible during the monthly Gallery Walk. The day here is about walking Main Street, ducking into galleries and shops housed in old brick storefronts, and seeing how the town's arts scene coexists with its working river-town layout. It's a walkable, low-key day suited to browsing rather than a single headline attraction.
Highlights: Main Street - Brattleboro's central commercial street, lined with the galleries, bookstores, and cafes that anchor the day · Brattleboro Museum & Art Center - housed in the former Union Railroad Station at the bottom of Main Street, showing rotating contemporary exhibits · Connecticut River waterfront - the river that runs along the edge of downtown, with access points for a short walk away from the shops · In-Town Trail - a marked walking loop connecting downtown sites for visitors who want a structured route rather than random wandering
Fort Ticonderoga (New York, via Lake Champlain Ferry)
Fort Ticonderoga is a restored 18th-century fort on the New York side of Lake Champlain, built by the French and fought over repeatedly by the French, British, and Americans through the colonial and Revolutionary wars. The appeal of doing it from Vermont is the short ferry crossing itself - the Lake Champlain Transportation ferry from Larrabee's Point is a genuine car ferry, not a bridge substitute, so the trip includes a few minutes on the water with views back toward the Green Mountains. The fort grounds include restored buildings, a museum collection, and gardens, making it a fuller day than a quick photo stop.
Highlights: The restored fort walls and barracks - the reconstructed 18th-century structure that forms the core of the site · Fort Ticonderoga Museum - the collection housed within the fort, covering its French and Indian War and Revolutionary War history · The King's Garden - a formal garden on the fort grounds, a deliberate contrast to the military architecture · The Lake Champlain Transportation ferry crossing at Larrabee's Point - the short car-ferry ride across the lake that's part of the day, not just transportation
Smugglers' Notch & Sterling Pond
Smugglers' Notch is a narrow mountain pass on VT-108 between Stowe and Jeffersonville, squeezed between Mount Mansfield and Sterling Mountain, with a road that closes in winter and threads between huge roadside boulders in summer. Above the notch, a short but steep trail climbs to Sterling Pond, a small alpine pond near the top of Sterling Mountain. The day suits people who want a genuine, if brief, mountain hike combined with a scenic drive, rather than a full backcountry outing.
Highlights: The notch's boulder field - the jumble of large rocks along VT-108 at the height of the pass, some large enough to have sheltered smugglers historically · Sterling Pond - the alpine pond reached by trail above the notch, sitting near the top of the Sterling Mountain ski area · Big Spring - a roadside spring at the notch where the road narrows, a common stopping point on the drive through · Mount Mansfield's western flank - the views of Vermont's highest peak visible from the notch road and from higher points on the Sterling Pond trail
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Multi-day tours from Vermont
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
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Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Start early — most popular day-trip destinations get crowded by mid-morning.
Check return transport times before you leave — missing the last train or bus can be costly.
Carry water, snacks, and layers — weather and food options can be limited at smaller destinations.