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Welcome to Vermont
For extensive travel and lodging information, please see our online Seasonal Guide.
There is good reason to conclude that it is the definitive way the seasons change in Vermont that transforms so many people into regular visitors. For others, an ambling walk on a Vermont country lane at the height of the foliage season is a once in a lifetime experience, especially for those who may come from half-way around the world to experience the fabled color change.
And, like the array of foliage color in the autumn, the diversity of experiences visitors can enjoy in every season is difficult to match. Especially since they're every bit as authentic as the scarlet, gold and yellow of maple leaves. Of course, you have to be here for a while, or like so many, come back again, to fully appreciate the possibilities.
Maple syrup is the sweet harvest of the warming days as winter cedes to spring, and Vermont produces more pure maple syrup than any other state. Many sugarhouses are open to the public during the boiling season from March through April, and several welcome visitors year round. Maple syrup and maple candies can generally be found in local general stores, or at the weekly farmers' markets held in communities throughout Vermont well into the autumn.
Spring, given its perennial association with mud season, is probably under-appreciated by visitors. Fishing season opens to the rush of snow-melt through the mountain streams and cyclists along country roads. The emergence of spring foliage, which softens the landscape in green pastels and splashes of apple and lilac blossoms, has a visual beauty that rivals the drama of the autumn. It's an increasingly popular time for outdoor weddings, concerts, festivals and the first crafts fairs of the season.
Early summer basks under nearly 15 hours of daylight, encouraging the garden greens and fresh vegetables that will soon grace the menus of restaurants participating in the statewide Vermont Fresh Network. Vermont food producers have a well-founded reputation for high-quality products ranging from artisan cheeses to classic cheddars, fresh and cured meats, fresh fruit, berries and vegetables, micro-brews and local wines.
Performing arts events through the summer include the famed Marlboro Music Festival, the Mozart Festival, and outdoor concerts by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the nation's first and longest enduring state symphony orchestra. These annual mainstays are joined by professional, summer-stock theater companies in several towns and a variety of performing artists in such venues as clapboard town halls, converted barns, natural outdoor arenas, circus tents, or restored historic opera houses and art deco movie theaters.
Recreation in the out-of-doors is equally varied in the summer season. State parks and privately operated campgrounds provide everything from wilderness tent sites to complete hook-ups for RVs. Streams, ponds and lakes invite bass and trout fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and boating. Winding blacktop roads are ideal for touring by car, motorcycle, or bicycle. Mountain resorts offer chair-lift assist to hiking and mountain bike trails, or extensive facilities for tennis, golf and swimming.
Four-season resorts and hotels, roadside motels, classic country inns, and small bed & breakfast homes are popular options for travelers, though longer-stay visitors often rent cottages, camps or vacation homes, typically for a week or longer.
Whatever your preferences or interests, Vermont's hospitality and recreation services will make a Green Mountain experience something you'll want to repeat, and possibly expand upon, often in the future!
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