Vermont Attractions

Think the covered bridges or ski slopes of Vermont see the most traffic? Think again. Ben & Jerry's ice cream headquarters is the single most visited attraction in the state. Located in Waterbury, about 25 miles from Burlington, the factory is great fun for kids (and grownups!) of all ages. You can tour the facility and learn how the ice cream is made, taste your favorite flavors and visit the flavor graveyard, where bad flavors go when they die.

Families will love spending time in downtown Burlington, located on the shores of Lake Champlain. In Vermont's largest city, kids will enjoy the Echo Lake Aquarium and Science Center, which has several permanent exhibits geared specifically toward children, like the Awesome Forces Theater, which has a water play area where kids can build dams and float boats, as well as a touch tank with snails and other critters. In Discovery Place kids can control a high-tech underwater adventure and see a replica of the historic General Butler shipwreck.

Church Street Marketplace is an open-air mall (open year-round) with shops, restaurants, fountains, sculptures, live music and street entertainers. Kids' Day at the Marketplace is May 15 every year.

Flynn Center for the Performing Arts hosts top-notch shows, many of which are family-friendly. The center entertains with musicians, comedians and dancers. If you're staying in Burlington, check out their schedule. At the writing of this article the center was presenting "Annie."

Talent Skatepark is an indoor skateboarding and in-line skating park in South Burlington. With 8000 square feet of territory, a half pipe, a street course and a bowl, it's a great spot for a rainy day with tweens and teens.

What kid doesn't love a scenic train ride? The Green Mountain Railroad has old-school diesel trains that run on three routes: the Green Mountain Flyer runs from Bellows Falls to Chester Depot, the Champlain Valley Flyer runs from Burlington to Charlotte, and the White River Flyer runs from White River Junction to Thetford. Coaches are restored and comfortable. Most excursions run in the spring and summer months, but there are Easter Bunny excursions in March, Halloween trains for adults and children in October, and Polar Express trips in December.

Beautiful, sprawling Lake Champlain is often called the sixth great lake. Its vast body covers 435 square miles, and family fun is everywhere you look. If you're seeking activities on the lake itself, you can choose from fishing charters, diving expeditions, waterskiing, sailing and ferry rides, among others. Biking is enormously popular around Lake Champlain, and there are numerous bikeways to follow.

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is worth a visit if you have school-age kids, as they can learn about the different species that live in the lake, as well as view wreckage from some of the more than 200 shipwrecks in the lake. If you're feeling a little more ambitious, take the Champlain Shipwreck Tour and you will be able to view sonar images of the wrecks from onboard a boat on the lake.

Looking to reconnect with nature? Hop on part of The Long Trail, the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, and predecessor of the better-known Appalachian Trail. The Long Trail runs along the ridge of the Green Mountains from the Massachusetts-Vermont border all the way up to the Canadian border, crossing over mountains and through woods and fields. Feeling really ambitious? You can camp out overnight in one of about 70 sites along the trail.

Maple sugaring, the making of maple syrup, is a longstanding tradition in Vermont. Show kids how it's done by visiting a sugar house, which is especially interesting if you are visiting during "boiling season" in early spring. This is a fun and educational opportunity for all (not to mention delicious!). Some sugar houses still collect sap the old-fashioned way (by hand with a bucket), while others have gone more high-tech. Either way, it's a great experience -- especially the taste testing. Some sugar houses are part of resorts or farms, and many offer on-site accommodations as well as a variety of other activities in addition to maple sugaring. One of the best known sugar makers is Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks in Montpelier, which offers tours all year long and has a theatre, beautiful carved dioramas and a maple trail.

Quechee (pronounced Kwee-Chee) Gorge is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the East, and with good reason. Located in southern Vermont, the chasm was formed by glacial activity about 13,000 years ago and is a popular tourist attraction for families. The gorge itself is breathtaking, and there are a variety of ways to view it. Quechee State Park is located along US Route 4 and has great views of Quechee Gorge. Those who prefer a bird's-eye view can take a hot air balloon ride, which is very popular and relatively affordable in this area of the state.

Quechee Gorge Village has restaurants and shops where you can buy souvenirs. There you'll find the Vermont Toy & Train Museum. Kids will love the mini-passenger train ride (open seasonally), and mom and dad will get a kick out of seeing some of the toys they played with as kids on display.

The Vermont Institute of Natural Science, located on 47 acres in Quechee, has walking trails along the Ottaquechee River, a popular Raptor Center, and a nature shop with gifts and books.

Covered bridges are a Vermont institution. Wherever your travels in Vermont take you, try to visit at least one of them along the way. An extended state-wide tour will likely not be on the agenda with kids, but stopping to investigate one or two is a must. Vermont has over 100 covered bridges, so there is bound to be one within driving distance from where you are. The bridges are a great place to stop and rest, have a picnic or go for a swim. The Pulp Mill Bridge in Middlebury is the oldest in the state, while the longest (277 feet) is the Scott Covered Bridge.

The Covered Bridge Museum, located at the Bennington Center for the Arts , is worth a visit for teens who express an interest -- but those with little ones will want to stick to the real thing.

Vermont has a number of excellent ski areas for families, which offer challenging slopes for serious enthusiasts, as well as gentle ones for beginner s and kids just starting out. All the major ones have kids' lessons and clinics, the majority of which are offered to kids beginning at around age 3. Our favorite Vermont Family Ski Resorts for families include Killington, Stowe Mountain, Okemo, Smuggler's Notch, Mt. Snow and Sugarbush.

A quaint town in central Vermont, Woodstock is a great place to visit. Its quaint shops and restaurants, as well as a variety of outdoor activities, are simply delightful. Woodstock is home to Vermont's first National Park, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, and the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion. You can take a tour of the mansion and gardens or explore over 20 miles of carriage roads and hiking trails.

The Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock is both a museum and working dairy farm. Kids will love checking out the horses, sheep, chickens and Jersey cows here. The farm hosts hands-on children's programs throughout the season, including Children's Day, Cow Appreciation Day and All about Apples.