Vermont - Killington and Burlington

Killington Ski Resort - check out the foliage

We decided to go to Vermont after New York City for two reasons, (1) we needed somewhere simple to hang out and recover from our crazy awesome NYC trip and (2) Vermont is so pretty and the timing was great for enjoying the changing colors of the fall foliage. We split the trip between Killington (staying in resort areas off season is great - we stayed at a fabulous airbnb right in town) and Burlington (lots to do in that area, though technically we stayed in a nice suburb - Shelburne).

Oh, and Craig got to enjoy the excellent craft beer scene in Vermont 🍻.

The beauty of the Killington resort area was relaxing and rejuvenating - even the air smelled remarkably clean and clear. It was beautiful everywhere, including the front yard of our airbnb:

Even the view at a nearby strip mall parking lot was amazing. Is that a post office with a view?!?!?!

On the other hand, we were a little disappointed in Vermont coffee - I think we expected more from the local beans, and we tried a LOT of different places/brands. I will say though, the little coffee shop we went to one day in downtown Killington had THE BEST snickerdoodle cookies (which are my favorite type of cookie). And, the other coffee shop on the main drag (only a block away) had some crazy latte flavors - it was called Liquid Art. They seem to take their coffee very seriously, another reason I was disappointed.

We decided to lower the intensity of our walks/hikes for a bit, so enjoyed more simple walks in the woods:

After a few days, it was time to drive north to Burlington, which is located on Lake Champlain, a much larger lake than I expected. I also didn’t realize that the west side of the lake is in New York State (Dina’s complete lack of understanding of Northeast geography strikes again!).

There was a great farm near where we were staying, with a ton of walking/hiking paths throughout the farm that were open to the public. Here’s the map of the trails and some of the great views:

We bought a bunch of their cheese/meat as a thank you for letting us use the trails. Not surprisingly, it was all delicious.

We also enjoyed beer and wine tasting in the area. Craig was excited to visit Alchemist Brewery, in nearby Stowe, which was everything he hoped for.

And, Lawson’s Finest Liquids (which were mostly craft beers) in Waitsfield. Craig thinks their Sip of Sunshine is the best IPA he’s ever had. Success!

On the other hand, our first wine tasting in the region was very disappointing. Extra disappointing because the tasting room was really cute and right next to the vineyard. We opted not to come back for their Sunday afternoon live music because I just couldn’t drink more of the wine (yes, that bad). There will be a much more in-depth wine tasting review post later.

Since Lake Champlain is so pretty, we decided to take a scenic drive in a big circle from Burlington north through some of the islands in the lake and then drive back south to Burlington. Our first stop on the drive was Snow Farm Vineyard & Distillery. This time, a lot of the wine was great, we even bought a couple of bottles of their interesting whites. Again, more details on the tasting in another post, but PHEW, I was SO much happier with this Vermont wine tasting, which was a big deal to me because I want wine tasting outside of California to be a regular retirement activity.

(UPDATE: see the wine tasting reviews posted here).

We were planning to do a little hiking on one of the other islands, but it started raining (and hiking in the mud is definitely not for me). The rain and sun kept switching places, so we did get some great rainbow photos:

For more Vermont photos, check out the gallery.