LOTS TO LOVE IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Vermont boasts something that’s as vibrant and exciting to experience this time of year as its famed foliage: harvest time. In the Lake Champlain Region of Vermont, foliage and harvest go hand in hand. As the trees turn and fruits and vegetable ripen to perfection, the meaning of “delicious” multiplies. There’s the classic definition — in the fresh food found at farmers markets, in spots where you can pick produce yourselves and on the tables of the many amazing culinary spots across the region.
There’s the feast for your eyes thanks to the glorious trees in full color, and the wondrous beauty at the center of it all, Lake Champlain, sparkling blue against those colors and the autumn sky and majestic mountains of the region. Then there are the “delicious” experiences, so varied in the Lake Champlain region it’s almost surreal: soaring through those colorful trees on a zip line; poking along the city streets of Burlington, taking in live music, savoring smells and flavors and finding the perfect memento in cool shops.
And then there’s just standing still and breathing. The Champlain region is a feast in every way. And it’s packed with must-do’s everywhere you turn. First up, visit Ben & Jerry’s and tour a craft brewery.
Then there experiences made all the more special for being in the Lake Champlain region. Take apple picking. Two apple orchards in South Hero are located on an island on Lake Champlain, accessible by bridge. At Allenholm Farm (111 South St.), guests are encouraged to kiss the donkey. Actually, you put a mint in your mouth and their lovable donkey takes it from you with a kiss! Hackett’s Orchard (86 South St.) is one of the biggest orchards in the state. Just a 25-minute scenic drive from the city, each is worth a foliage season visit for picking apples, with the backdrop of trees, the lake and the soaring mountains. Equally scenic is Adams Apple Orchard (986 Old Stage Road, Williston), in the Champlain valley against the backdrop of the Green Mountains.
You don’t have to pick your own fruit to savor amazing local tastes though. Farm-to-table is practically a way of life in
the Lake Champlain region, with almost all dining spots offering at least some locally sourced goodness. You can tuck into a true Vermont sourced meal at your hotel, breakfast lunch or dinner spot, even on a dinner train winding through the autumn woods.
Some great local favorite spots include Waterworks Food + Drink (20 Winooski Falls Way, Winooski), and Butch + Babes, in Burlington’s thriving Old North End (258 N. Winooski Ave.). Butch + Babe’s feels like grandma’s old kitchen, yet turns out super trendy meals (and cocktails) using locally sourced ingredients.
At The Essex, Vermont’s Culinary Resort and Spa (70 Essex Way, Essex), you’ll relax into an incredible setting of classic whiteshingled buildings against a palette of autumn hues. There’s plenty to do — soak up relaxation in their spa or grab a bike and ride as far as you want. But it’s truly all about cuisine here. You can enjoy a stay in one of their culinary-themed guest rooms, featuring decor inspired by the colors and textures of food, and every guest savors their local sourced sustainable meals in the Lobby Cafe as well as at the two on-site restaurants, Junction and the Tavern.
You can even take home some skills: Their famed “Cook Academy” is on site and open to all. It is the perfect place for culinary exploration for seasoned kitchen pros as well as those who don’t know their hollandaise from their bearnaise. It’s a fun and festive experience for couples, families and even teambuilding events. Learn more at essexresort.com.
At the Hotel Vermont (41 Cherry St.) in the heart of Burlington, “local sourced” is about everything from the wood in the walls to the food on your plate, to the charm and knowledge of the front desk folks. For eclectic and unique, matched with amazing service, this is your spot to explore like a local and relax like it’s your job. Hotel Vermont even makes enjoying this colorful season a snap with their fall foliage itinerary that sends you off on a self-guided day of foliage and more, an adventure with the in-house activities coordinator or a tasty sip at the bar with their amazing beer concierge.
The days are warm, the nights are cozy, and the mountains are the color of fire. If that wasn’t enough, your floor has coffee drinks all day and freshmade sodas, as well as pastries in the morning and cheese in the afternoon. Don’t miss brunch at Juniper, too. Go to hotelvt.com for more details.
You can take your “savor all the local flavor” experience on the road — and the rails — too. No trip to the Lake Champlain region is complete without a visit to the Shelburne Museum, (6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne). Founded in 1947 by sugar heiress and pioneering folk art collector Electra Havemeyer Webb, Shelburne Museum is the largest art and history museum in northern New England and Vermont’s foremost public resource for visual art and material culture. Its magnificent setting is worth the trip alone, but while there you can enjoy spectacular art, including “New England Now,” a new biennial series.
New England Now challenges the notion of the Northeast’s long-accepted stereotype as stagnant and quaint, and instead plumbs its evolving identities and complex beauty. Building upon scholarship on the visual construction of the region, this exhibition explores the contemporary landscape, capturing the changing environment. Learn more at shelburne museum.org.
For an extra cool way to take it all in, the Green Mountain Railroad has your ticket, literally. Their cocktail and dinner trains wind you on tracks through foliage and past peaks. Green Mountain Railroad has made a commitment to offering passengers locally sourced meals, and you can enjoy this experience on GMR’s historic dining cars. On a dinner train you nosh on locally sourced threecourse meals. On the Friday night cocktail trips, you can nibble on appetizers (again, with local flair) and sip cocktails while chugging alongside the Connecticut River.
Due to it’s popularity, the Green Mountain Railroad is extending the Champlain Valley Dinner Train experience into October next year, and has the family friendly Halloween Express on tap for fall fun Oct. 27 and 28. Learn more at rails-vt.com. (All fall foliage trains leave out of Chester, Vt., south of Burlington.)
Locally sourced food. Naturally local experiences. Lake Champlain has it all during foliage season. Learn more at vermont.org.