I enjoyed a peaceful long weekend in northern Vermont recently, and am sharing a day-by-day breakdown of everything I saw and ate while on the trip. The trip began on a Wednesday night and ended the following Sunday, giving us roughly four full days and four nights to explore the area. Even though the trip lasted roughly half of a week, we really saw and ate a lot in the Burlington & Lake Champlain region! From stunning scenery to mouth-watering food, Vermont is the perfect northeastern getaway. Continue reading for my guide on how to spend a long weekend in the Burlington, Vermont Area!
Where We Stayed
Our AirBnB was located in Richmond, VT, which is roughly a 25 minute drive from downtown Burlington. The town of Richmond is a great central location between Lake Champlain and Stowe. During our trip, we visited many towns throughout northern Vermont: Burlington, Shelburne, Charlotte, Waterbury, and Stowe. We also took the ferry across Lake Champlain to New York. Visitors and locals of Vermont can enjoy beautiful hikes/nature trails, and eating at the most incredible restaurants!
Wednesday (Night 1)
Dinner at The Big Spruce
My Boyfriend and I drove from northern New Jersey to Richmond, Vermont on Wednesday afternoon, arriving to our destination just in time for a late dinner. We dined in at The Big Spruce, a local taco restaurant in the quaint town of Richmond. The tacos are delicious here and were much appreciated after a long drive. The Big Spruce was offering outdoor seating when we visited in late August 2021. We started with the seasoned, house made tortilla chips paired with fresh guac and queso, which was very yummy. I ordered the crispy avocado taco and the fish taco, and both were delicious and decently sized. We finished off with thick, sugar-coated churros dipped in chocolate sauce. At The Big Spruce, the service is friendly, food is fresh, prices are reasonable, and atmosphere is welcoming and casual.
Thursday (Full Day 1)
Breakfast at Rustic Roots
Thursday morning was the start of our first full day in Vermont, and we knew that a fresh breakfast was just what we needed to officially kickstart our trip. My Boyfriend, his mom, and I drove to the town of Shelburne, where we dined at a very cute brunch place called Rustic Roots. We all enjoyed our meals here as they offer farm fresh options made with detail. I had the shirred eggs which are a delicious, baked egg dish with fresh vegetables and bacon. The buttered toast is also amazing here! We shared a stack of pancakes, which they serve with authentic maple syrup and butter. I rate Rustic Roots a solid 5/5 stars as they have a hearty menu full of farm fresh, house-made food. The service is friendly and atmosphere is very homey feeling.
Hiking Mt. Philo in Charlotte, VT
Following breakfast, the three of us did an easy to moderate hike at Mount Philo in Charlotte. It took us roughly an hour and a half to complete the entire hike including getting back to the parking lot and stopping at viewpoints for pictures. We started on the House Rock Trail which connects to the Summit Trail. The route we did takes roughly 30-45 minutes to reach the summit. Here you can get a beautiful view of Lake Champlain. I found this hike to be generally easy and enjoyable, with some man-made stairs and steeper ascents along the way. This is a family-friendly hiking spot with multiple scenic trail options to chose from!
Good Eats in Burlington
After our hike at Mt. Philo, we took a brief pitstop at Adams Berry Farm and grabbed a fresh popsicle. From there we drove back to Richmond and enjoyed some creemee’s at The Big Spruce. After our afternoon dessert, we headed back to our AirBnB to get ready for dinner in downtown Burlington. We dined at Pizzeria Verita and had a fantastic experience! The restaurant made a great effort to accommodate our large party of seven on a busy night. We sat at the bar and the service was speedy and friendly. Pizzeria Verita definitely delivers an exceptional and authentic Neapolitan pizza. I personally love a rustic bar pie, and that is exactly what you are going to get here. We also ordered the meatball appetizer to start which is superb here! By the time we finished dinner, it was getting late, so we briefly checked out Church Street (the main downtown street in Burlington) and got ice cream at Lake Champlain Chocolates. We explored Burlington more the following day.
Friday (Full Day 2)
Taking the Lake Champlain Ferry to New York
On Friday, we took the Lake Champlain ferry from Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY. We paid to transport our cars across the lake via the ferry and the ride was approximately twenty minutes. T his ferry ride offers beautiful views of Lake Champlain with the mountainous landscape in the distance. Once we arrived in the town of Essex, we briefly walked around and got some pictures in front of the lake.
Lunch in Plattsburg, NY
Following our walk through Essex, we drove about forty minutes north to Plattsburgh, NY and had a nice sit-down lunch at Our House Bistro. This restaurant has a large selection of unique mac & cheese dishes which most of us ordered. The crab rangoon mac & cheese comes as a hefty portion and is filled with immense flavor! Our House Bistro has a large menu with both classic and unique comfort food options, friendly service and a nice atmosphere. They also offer outdoor seating, which we enjoyed as it was a beautiful day when we visited.
Exploring Burlington, VT
From the restaurant we drove about 15 minutes to the Lake Champlain ferry departing from Plattsburgh, NY. The barely 15 minute ferry ride brought us to Grand Isle, VT. We drove from Grand Isle to downtown Burlington and explored the area. We walked up and down Church Street, which is the main street in downtown Burlington. Visitors and locals shop, dine and enjoy the occasional street performance here.
We continued to walk down to the waterfront, and then ran (literally) to the waterfront so we wouldn’t miss out on the perfect view of the sunset behind Lake Champlain. I highly recommend timing out your visit to the Burlington waterfront with the sunset as it truly offers a stunning vista. The waterfront has a long dock that people can walk on as well as grassy areas for picnicking, yoga classes, and relaxing vibes. You can easily spend a few hours, if not a whole day, exploring and enjoying the ambience, food and scenery of downtown Burlington!
Saturday (Full Day 3)
Waterbury Historic District
On the third full day of our trip, we decided to head out east and check out the Waterbury Historic District. This is a quaint downtown area that has a few restaurants, cafes, and local shops. We grabbed a quick bite for lunch at K.C.’s Bagel Cafe in Waterbury, and then drove to Mount Mansfield in Stowe. Downtown Stowe looks like a cute town with many shops and eateries, although we did not walk around it during our trip. I would love to come back and do a trip focused around the Stowe area.
Mt. Mansfield (Stowe)
When we arrived to Mt. Mansfield, we paid to drive our car to the top of the mountain on the famous Auto Toll Road. The cost to drive up is $26 for one vehicle with one person, plus $9.50 per additional passenger. With six of us in one vehicle, it costed $73.50 plus tax to do this excursion. Driving up the 4.5 mile windy road can be nerve-wracking for some as it is steep and you need to yield to cars driving down.
Despite my slight nerves, this was one of the coolest things we did on the entire trip. The drive offers beautiful views of the Adirondacks and even Lake Champlain from a distance. There are different points along the way that you can park your car and take in the breathtaking views of the ski trails in the off season. We drove up to the highest parking lot at an elevation of 3,850 feet where the visitor center is. From the visitor center, there are a few different hiking trails offered, but we decided to keep it short and sweet and jump straight to the view. We took a ten minute walk through a wooded area next to the visitor center, which leads to a stunning viewpoint overlooking Vermont’s mountainous landscape.
Ben & Jerry’s Factory
After driving back down to the bottom of Mt. Mansfield, we drove to the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury. We all enjoyed delicious ice cream, and while official tours of the factory were not being offered at the time we visited due to Covid, we were still able to walk around the property. We explored the flavor graveyard which showcases tombstones of retired flavors, and grabbed delicious ice cream sundaes. After our sweet treat at the Ben & Jerry’s factory, we enjoyed a relaxing evening at our AirBnB.
Sunday (Day 4)
Shelburne Farms
On Sunday, the last day of our amazing getaway, we spent a few hours exploring Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, VT. Shelburne Farms is a non-profit, working farm spread out over 1400 acres, offering many walking trails. We made our way to the farm barn to see the animals, and then continued on a long walk to the formal gardens and Lake Champlain. You can drive your car closer to the formal gardens and inn to save time on walking, but it is a beautiful walk if you have a few hours to spare. I recommend giving yourself at least 2 hours here (we spent almost 4) as it truly has a lot to offer and is very spread out. The farm has a market where visitors can purchase farm fresh cheese, produce and other goods.
An Incredible Creemee Find
After spending a lovely afternoon exploring Shelburne Farms, we headed back to our AirBnB in Richmond, packed our bags, and began our drive back home to New Jersey. We stopped at a gem of a dessert spot in North Ferrisburg, VT (about a 25 minute drive from Richmond) called Vermont Cookie Love. This bakery sells incredible creemee’s (I had a maple and coffee twist), hard ice cream, and fresh baked cookies. This was totally a sweet way to end our amazing weekend in the Green Mountain State!
HOW TO SPEND A LONG WEEKEND IN VERMONT (Listed Itinerary)
Wednesday (1st night):
- Dinner at The Big Spruce (Richmond, VT – 9/10, delicious tacos)
Thursday (Day 1):
- Breakfast at Rustic Roots (Shelburne, VT – 10/10, farm fresh food)
- Hiked Mt. Philo
- Stopped at Adams Berry Farm
- Creemee’s at the Big Spruce (Richmond, VT)
- Went to Downtown Burlington for dinner
- Dinner at Pizzeria Verita (10/10, delicious Neapolitan pizza)
- Ice Cream at Lake Champlain Chocolates
Friday (Day 2):
- Lake Champlain Ferry from Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY (we drove our cars onto ferry)
- Explored Essex (super small town)
- Drove up to Plattsburg, NY (40 minute drive from Essex)
- Lunch at Our House Bistro (Plattsburgh, NY – 9/10, mac & cheese was very unique and they had many options)
- Ferry back to Grand Isle, VT from Plattsburgh, NY
- Drove from Grand Isle to Burlington, VT
- Walked around Burlington (Church Street and waterfront)
- Ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s
Saturday (Day 3):
- Drove from our AirBnB in Richmond, VT to Waterbury Historic District (downtown area)
- Quick lunch at K.C.’s Bagel Cafe (Waterbury, VT)
- Drove to Mt. Mansfield in Stowe (recommend walking around downtown Stowe if you have time – looked like a cute town with shops/food etc…)
- Drove our car up Mt. Mansfield and was able to drive to parking lot A which is highest area you can drive to where you can access hiking trails)
- We did a short 10 minute trail hike to a nice viewpoint
- Drove from Mt. Mansfield to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury, and checked out the flavor graveyard (tours were closed when we visited)
Sunday (Day 4)
- Walked around Shelburne Farms and made our way to the farm barn to see the animals, and then continued on a long walk to the formal gardens and lake
- Creemees and cookies at Vermont Cookie Love on the way back home (North Ferrisburg, VT – 10/10 amazing dessert)
