Introduction to Vermont

Vermont's rolling, cow-spotted hills, shaggy peaks, sugar maples, and towns clustered along river valleys give it a distinct sense of place. Still primarily rural, the state is filled with dairy farms, dirt roads, and small-scale enterprises. The towns here are home to an intriguing mix of old-time Vermonters, back-to-the-landers who showed up in VW buses in the 1960s and stayed (many getting involved with municipal affairs; think Ben and Jerry), and newer, moneyed arrivals from New York or Boston who came to ski or B&B and never could quite leave.

This place captures a sense of America as it once was -- because, here, it still is. Vermonters continue to share a sense of community, and they respect the ideals of thrift and parsimony above those of commercialism (it took years for Wal-Mart to get approval to build in Vermont, for instance). Locals prize their villages, and they understand what makes them special. Vermont's governor once said that one of the state's strengths was knowing "where our towns begin and end." That seems a simple notion, but it speaks volumes when one considers the erosion of identity that has afflicted so many East Coast small towns swallowed up by a creeping megalopolis.

For travelers, Vermont remains a superb destination for country drives, mountain rambles, and overnights at country inns. A good map opens the door to back-road adventures, and it's not hard to get a taste of Vermont's way of life. The numbers tell the story: Burlington, Vermont's largest city, counts just 39,000 year-round residents; Montpelier, the state capital, about 8,000; Brattleboro and Bennington, perhaps 8,500 and 9,500; Woodstock, about 1,000; Newfane, about 160. The state's total population is just a shade over 600,000, making it one of only a handful of states with more senators (2) than representatives (1) in Congress.

Of course, numbers don't tell the whole story. You have to let the people do that. Former Governor Howard Dean -- no, he wasn't born here, but some consider him an adopted son -- made a national splash in 2004 as a presidential candidate speaking with unusual candor. That was more or less in tune with the state's hard-worn identity as a place of its own mind (for 14 years during the late 18th c., Vermont had essentially functioned as an independent republic).

As one of the state's better-known former residents, Nobel Prize-winning author Sinclair Lewis, wrote more than 70 years ago: "I like Vermont because it is quiet, because you have a population that is solid and not driven mad by the American mania -- that mania which considers a town of 4,000 twice as good as a town of 2,000. Following that reasoning, one would get the charming paradox that Chicago would be 10 times better than the entire state of Vermont, but I have been in Chicago and not found it so."

Southern and central Vermont are defined by rolling hills, shady valleys, and historic villages. Throughout you'll find antiques shops and handsome inns, fast-flowing streams and inviting restaurants. It's anchored at each corner by the towns of Bennington and Brattleboro; between them and running northward is the spine of the Green Mountains, much of which is part of the Green Mountain National Forest, and all of which rewards explorers who find dirt roads an irresistible temptation.

Here and there are remnants of former industries -- marble quarrying around Rutland, converging train tracks at White River Junction -- but mostly it's rural living, with cow pastures high on the hills, clapboard farmhouses under spreading trees, maple-sugaring operations come spring, and the distant sound of timber being twitched out of a woodlot on the far side of a high ridge. The steep hills also host many of the state's popular ski resorts, such as Okemo, Killington, Sugarbush, and Mount Snow.

Though it is the closest part of northern New England to New York City, southern Vermont has mostly resisted the encroachment of progress (except at a ski resort on a winter weekend). This area remains a wonderful introduction to one of America's most wonderful states.

One of the greatest challenges of planning a vacation in northern New England is narrowing down the options: Where to start? Here's an entirely biased list of destinations, the places I enjoy returning to time and again. Over years of traveling through the region, I've discovered that these places are worth more than just a quick stop when I'm in the area; they're worth a major detour.