Northern Vermont
Northern Vermont has some of our most rural places - and some of our most charming and sophisticated small cities.
It is a region of interesting contrasts, from the broad, farmed Champlain Valley to the forested hills and pristine lakes of the Northeast Kingdom. Cities like Burlington, St. Albans, Newport and St. Johnsbury are centers of commerce and entertainment, but the predominant character of the region is rural.
There are delightful, clean, clear lakes spread across northern Vermont, and the largest of them is Lake Champlain, the sixth-largest lake in the United States. Viewed from the waterfront in Burlington, Vermont's largest city, a Lake Champlain sunset is an experience to be remembered always - even Rudyard Kipling thought so! Camping near Lake Champlain offers a wide variety of recreational possibilities. Westward, the lake beckons from a dozen beaches and state parks, while to the east there are scenic drives, historic villages, and hiking trails that lead far into the mountains.
Burlington itself is a world-class collection of fine architecture, and the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum has art shows throughout the season. At the Burlington Boathouse, on the waterfront, you can buy a hot dog, take a cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen II or rent a sea kayak and paddle off into the sunset!
Just south of Burlington, Shelburne Farms is an enormous estate now open to the public with a wide array of agricultural and nature activities throughout the year. Nearby, the Shelburne Museum presents a vast collection of art and Americana. Either of these landmarks is worth a day of exploring.
Just north of Burlington are the Lake Champlain islands, known collectively as Grand Isle. The three major islands of North Hero, South Hero, and Isle La Motte are one of Vermont's quiet secrets - a small lake-bound world just minutes from the state's busiest city. The eastern shore of Lake Champlain near Swanton and St. Albans also offers access to the bays and marinas of the big lake.
East of the Green Mountains, Vermont's northern sector is known as the Northeast Kingdom and though it is remote, rural, forested and farmed, it is far from uncivilized. The region has perhaps the highest per capita concentration of artists, musicians, and writers of any part of Vermont. The programs in St. Johnsbury at the Catamount Arts Center, the Fairbanks Museum, and the Athenaeum - a small, elegant public library - offer a regular taste of the region's strong commitment to the arts.
Northeastern Vermont is home to Vermont's "lakes country," where dozens of lakes and ponds are nestled in a delightfully unspoiled rural landscape of farmland, forests, clear streams and rolling mountains. There are numerous small, attractive villages located throughout the region, and campers have their choice of clean, clear waters in which to fish, boat, and swim. Some of the region's lakes are large and spectacular, others small and intimate. But they all offer clean, clear waters and pleasant beaches for swimming.
Perhaps the most picturesque lake in the region is Lake Willoughby in Westmore, with its southern end overshadowed by huge, towering cliffs. But there are many other lakes of equal allure scattered throughout the region, usually within a few minutes' drive of any camping area. Newport's big, beautiful Lake Memphremagog, for example, rivals Lake Champlain and has an attractive waterfront with its own tour boat.
