Fall/Winter 2011-2012 Business Travel Guide

Mixing Family Fun with Business

Bring your family for a mini-vacation while you’re doing business in northern Vermont. They’ll find a rich variety of things to do that are educational, recreational, and downright fun.

A visit to the area is not complete without spending time in Vermont’s most populous city. Burlington boasts many lake and mountain views and an award-winning, outdoor downtown shopping mall: the Church Street Marketplace. The rejuvenated waterfront features offshore breezes, a park, skateboard park and bike paths, art galleries, shops, and restaurants, and a boathouse and mooring area.

The 90-mile trip to Montreal from Burlington takes a pleasant hour and a half. It’s a little more than three hours for the 225 miles to Boston. At 293 miles, New York City is over five hours away.
The city’s active arts and entertainment scene is enlivened by the large population at the five area colleges.
Several other engaging towns and cities are within an hour’s drive of Burlington — Middlebury, St. Albans, Montpelier, and Barre — each worthy of a visit. Farmers markets can be found across the state.
Col. Joseph Battell, a Vermonter whose interest in preserving and promoting the Morgan — America’s first breed of horse — and saved it from extinction, gave his farm to the U.S. Government in 1907. In ‘51, the government gave the farm to the University of Vermont. The UVM Morgan Horse Farm is in Weybridge. Open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May through October. A small admission is charged. 388-2011. http://asci.uvm.edu/morgan.
The Ethan Allen Homestead, off Vermont 127 in Burlington, is set in the middle of a 284-acre public park. It includes an orientation center in a 1700s tavern, historical exhibits, heirloom gardens and landscaping, and a glimpse of what life was like for Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen and his family in the late 1700s. Open 10–4, Thursday–Monday, mid May–mid October. Admission to the park is free. Admission for the historic site and museum: adults, $7; seniors and Vermont residents, $5; children 3–6, $3. 865-4556. www.ethanallenhomestead.org.
The Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont is one of New England’s finest art museums, home to outstanding collections of American and European art, as well as permanent exhibits of African and ancient Egyptian art. Call for current exhibits and information on other area galleries. Closed Mondays and major holiday weekends. Adults, $5; family, $10; students and seniors, $3. 656-2090. www.uvm.edu/~fleming.
ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain is a lake aquarium and science center on Burlington’s waterfront. The design interprets the ecological, geological, biological, and cultural history of the Lake Champlain basin. Exhibits change periodically; permanent exhibits include the Awesome Forces Theater, a water-play space for children, an Atlantic tide pool touch tank, a working miniature lighthouse, and a replica of the historic General Butler shipwreck. Open year-round (except Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and Day) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Café, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Adults 18–59, $10.50; 60 and older or students with ID, $9.50; children 3–17, $8.50. 864-1848. www.echovermont.org.
Lake Champlain Chocolates, 750 Pine St., Burlington. Visit the factory, retail store, and café; watch chocolate-making from the observation deck. Purchase firsts and seconds from the shop. 864-1808. www.lakechamplainchocolates.com.
Shelburne Museum, south of Burlington on U.S. 7 in Shelburne, offers 150,000 things to look at in its collection of buildings, folk art, paintings and artifacts. There are 39 exhibition buildings and historic homes, including a lighthouse, a railroad station with a vintage private rail car, and a paddle-wheel steamship, all on 45 lush acres. Open daily mid May–October. Adults, $20; children 5–18, $10; Vermont residents half price. Discount after 3 p.m. Vermont residents half price. 985-3346. www.shelburnemuseum.org.
Shelburne Farms, a 1,400-acre National Historic Landmark property that boasts a restored inn and restaurant with tours of its formal gardens, a huge farm barn with cheese-making, a bakery, a children’s farmyard and lots of farm animals. The turn-of-the-century estate is a working farm amid beautiful, natural landscapes, and lake views. Open mid May–mid October, but the farm holds events year-round. General property admission is $8; seniors, $6; children 3–17, $5. Members and Shelburne residents free. The Welcome Center is on Harbor Road, off U.S. 7 in Shelburne. 985-8442. The inn serves breakfast and dinner daily and Sunday brunch until mid-October. For reservations (required) for dining or accommodations, call 985-8498. www.shelburnefarms.org.
Award-winning wineries and their vineyards lie in breathtaking Vermont landscapes. Tastings are offered at all of them, but phone for hours. Shelburne Vineyard, 985-8222; Charlotte Village Winery, 425-4599; Boyden Valley Winery in Cambridge, 644-8151; and Lincoln Peak Vineyard in New Haven, 388-7368.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Co. gives tours of its factory at 6655 Shelburne Road
(U.S. 7), Shelburne. The company designs, manufactures, and sells hand-crafted teddy bears. Open daily except major holidays. Factory tours are every half hour from 9:30 a.m. July–mid October; 10 a.m. mid October–June. Adults, $2; 12 and under, free. 985-3001, ext. 2. www.vermontteddybear.com.
The Vermont Wildflower Farm, a few miles south of Vermont Teddy Bear on the opposite side of U.S. 7, has six acres of fields vibrant with wildflowers and crisscrossed by walking trails. The shop and information center sells wildflower seeds for all areas of North America plus gifts and garden products. Open daily early April–late October. (855) 846-9453. www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com.
Vermont State Historic Sites are peppered around the state. Hours and fees vary per site, so check www.historicvermont.org. Chimney Point, an 18th-century tavern at Lake Champlain in Addison with an exhibit on early Native American and French settlements, is closed during construction of a nearby bridge; 759-2412. Mount Independence is in Orwell, just across the lake from Fort Ticonderoga, N.Y.; 948-2000. Hubbardton Battlefield is the site of the only Revolutionary War battle fought entirely in Vermont. 273-2282. The Calvin Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth is where Coolidge was sworn in as president by his father on Aug. 3, 1923. 672-3773. At the Chester A. Arthur Historic Site near Fairfield is a re-creation of the parsonage where the 21st president of the United States grew up. 933-8362. The Justin Smith Morrill Homestead in South Strafford is a Gothic Revival estate that was home to a high school dropout who was the author of the acts that established the land-grant colleges. 765-4484. Underwater Shipwrecks: For certified divers, five underwater historic preserves in Lake Champlain are maintained by the Division for Historic Preservation. Information on all state sites can be found at www.historicvermont.org.
The St. Albans Historical Society Museum on Church Street overlooks historic Taylor Park. The museum contains rooms devoted to the Central Vermont Railway, children’s toys and furniture, and military history, including the famed Confederate raid of 1864. Open Tuesday–Saturday, mid May–mid October. 527-7933. www.stamuseum.com.
The Vermont State House in Montpelier is one of the oldest and best-preserved capitol buildings in the nation. Free, self-guided tours all year; free guided tours July–October. Phone ahead to schedule group tours. The legislative session begins in January, and weekdays, visitors can watch lawmakers at work. 828-2228. www.vtstatehouse.org.
According to surveys, the biggest tourist attraction in the area is the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory tour on Vermont 100 in Waterbury with its scoop and gift shop. The company is now part of a large conglomerate, but its heart, headquarters, and factory are still here in the Green Mountains. Open seven days a week except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day; times vary by season. Adults, $3; seniors, $2; children 12 and under, free. 882-1240, ext. 2300. www.benjerry.com.
Up the road from Ben & Jerry’s, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, on Vermont 100 in Waterbury Center, offers free samples, old-fashioned apple products, specialty foods, Vermont crafts, and maple products. Visitors can watch apple cider being made. Open daily. Admission is free. 244-8771. www.coldhollow.com.
From the Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm on North Fayston Road in Waitsfield, you can ride through the Mad River Valley on one of the farm’s horses. The Icelandic horse is one of the oldest breeds in the world and the only naturally five-gaited horse. Rides: $50–$190; treks available. Call ahead 24 hours for reservations. 496-7141. www.icelandichorses.com.
New England Maple Museum & Maple Market, north of Rutland on U.S. 7 in Pittsford, presents the story of maple sugaring from sap to syrup through demonstrations and slide shows. The world’s largest maple museum offers food and syrup tastings. Open daily mid March–December. Hours vary by season. 483-9414. Adults $2.50; children $0.75. Senior and AAA discounts offered. www.maplemuseum.com.
Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium on Main Street in St. Johnsbury is two hours from Burlington, but well worth the scenic ride. The museum is filled with more than 165,000 mounted animals, tools, dolls, dinosaurs, and exhibits from Vermont and around the world. Museum is open daily year-round (closed Mondays, November–March); the planetarium is open weekends year-round, daily July and August. Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Museum: adults, $8; seniors and children 5–17, $6. Planetarium: $5. 748-2372. www.fairbanksmuseum.org.
Other attractions include Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington, 434-3068; the Rock of Ages Granite Quarry in Barre, 476-3119; the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum on Basin Harbor Road in Vergennes, 475-2022; and the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, 388-4964.