I believe skiing is a sport best left to Olympic athletes and the Swiss. Therefore, I don’t think of Vermont as a winter destination. We found the “Green Mountain State” has a lot going for it in the summer, when the mountains are still actually green.
In the lakeside city of Burlington alone, there are enough attractions and activities to fill a week. We began in the lake itself. While the afternoon was warm on sandy North Beach, the waters of Lake Champlain were chilly. We persevered, because we were on a mission to spot “Champ,” the lake serpent of local folklore.
There’s an entire exhibit devoted to Champ at the ECHO Lake Aquarium Science Center, which sits on the waterfront. ECHO (Ecology, Culture, History and Opportunity) features over 70 live species of marine life, more than 100 interactive experiences, seasonal exhibits and participatory events.
For our son, the highlight was the hurricane simulator booth, which replicated wind speeds of nearly 80 mph. He also enjoyed launching paper rockets with pressurized air at the “Pump it Up” and “Wing Zingers” displays. Our daughter preferred the Discovery Place, an activity room dedicated to toddlers and pre-schoolers. They both liked using a brush and chisel in the “Beluga Whale Dig.”
The largest group sighting of Champ supposedly occurred in 1984 during a lake cruise aboard the Ethan Allen, so we brought our binoculars along when we took a scenic ride. We had no luck spotting him/her/it, but we appreciated the views from the top deck, and the air-conditioned comfort of the dining room below, where we enjoyed a buffet lunch. The 90-minute narrated tour brought us to the center and deepest point of the lake, past shale outcroppings, scuba dive sites, several of the 70 small islands, and along Burlington’s coast.
There are a lot of factory tours in this region of Vermont. In 1983, Lake Champlain Chocolates began producing handmade, artisanal truffles, and have since expanded to chocolate bars, dipped fruit, ice cream and hot drinks. You can learn about the process and watch production on their weekday tours at the factory store and café. We left with factory seconds of broken chocolate-covered pretzels, which tasted just fine!
An enthusiastic “bear ambassador” will greet you with an “unbearably” corny joke at the start of your tour of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company’s factory in Shelburne, just south of Burlington. Along the way, you’ll learn about “Buddy,” the first bear born there in 1981, and all the “flavors” they come in, from honey to vanilla, buttercream and dark chocolate.
Along the way, the guide will describe production, from cutting fur, sewing, stuffing, to dressing. The tour ends in a gift shop with a station to make your own bear, which will be presented with a birth certificate, bow tie, and travel box.
–Traci L. Suppa
Traci drags her small-town family to see a quirky array of the “world’s largest” attractions, and blogs about it at Go BIG or Go Home.
Traci-
All great picks for families in and around Burlington! You are right our great state is a playground year-round. We hope you will come back again during another season for a visit.
Dana