Northeast Kingdom in the Summer
Top Picks in the Northeast Kingdom
Summer is your gateway to the sense of wonder and well-being that comes with slowing down and taking in your surroundings in Vermont. Plunge into a swimming hole, stroll a local festival, or simply find togetherness on the lakeshore or around the campfire. Hand-picked by the editors of Yankee Magazine, these 5 highlights are just some of what the Northeast Kingdom offers in the summer.
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Dog Mountain
Stephen Huneck loved dogs. Along with his paintings, sculptures, and books featuring his black Labrador, Sally, the late Vermont folk artist paid tribute to man’s best friend by creating Dog Mountain, a 150-acre park for pups and their people. Leash-free, dogs can wander trails, splash in a pond, and romp with other four-legged visitors across hilltop meadows. At the heart of the preserve is the dog chapel, crowned by a weathervane sculpture of Huneck’s famous angel-winged dog. Inside, the carved pews and stained glass windows carry on the canine motif, and the walls are covered with visitors’ photos and remembrances of pets who have passed on. A nearby gallery shop offers prints, apparel, and gifts, all with a certain tail-wagging theme. Check the calendar for free, family-friendly events like summer and fall dog parties, and outdoor concerts presented by the Levitt AMP St. Johnsbury Music Series.
Averill, Vermont
Quimby Country
A fixture of the Northeast Kingdom since being founded as a sportsman’s retreat in 1893, Quimby Country is a backwoods family retreat with outdoor appeal to spare. It’s got Forest Lake on its doorstep, Big Averill Lake in its backyard, and more than 1,000 acres of mostly wild and wooded land all around. Though Quimby is open from late spring to fall, summer is the time to experience its all-inclusive, one-week family vacations. They’re a beloved tradition for many whose families have been coming here for generations: bunking down in century-old lakefront, meeting up for meals in the main lodge, and filling the days with everything from hiking and swimming to archery lessons and impromptu soccer games.
Danville, Vermont
Great Vermont Corn Maze
A third-generation dairy farm is the setting for New England’s biggest corn maze, which opens in mid-summer and keeps the mind-bending fun going well into October. The 24-acre living puzzle gets a creative new design every year, though some features never change (like an underground tunnel and a landlocked 28-foot boat). It takes about three hours to run the maze from start to finish; an officially sanctioned scenic shortcut takes less than an hour. Beyond the maze is the Pretendin’ Play Area, with a Western-style mini village, frolicking goats, and a twist on mini golf known as “barnyard golf.”
Glover, Vermont
Bread & Puppet Theater & the Museum of Everyday Life
Though it has only about a thousand residents, Glover is home to not one but two of the NEK’s most distinctive attractions. Bread and Puppet Theater, a puppeteering troupe whose legacy of activism goes back to the Vietnam War protests, has amassed one of the world’s largest collections of oversize puppets and masks at its on-site museum. If a performance is scheduled that day, visitors see how these vivid storytelling tools are applied to today’s social and political issues. The nearby Museum of Everyday Life, packed into a roadside barn, sets its informal tone with a note asking visitors to turn off the lights when they leave. Inside are keys and keyholes, alarm clocks, a violin made of matchsticks, a safety-pin curtain, discarded shopping lists, and much more of the world’s quirky relics.
Brownington, Vermont
Old Stone House Museum
A granite monument to one man’s vision and perseverance, the Old Stone House is a testament to the importance of education in early Vermont. The four-story 1836 structure was built by Vermont native Alexander Lucius Twilight, the first African American to earn a college degree or to serve in a state legislature. Arriving at Brownington in 1829 as the newly hired principal of the Orleans County Grammar School, he saw the need for a new dormitory and classroom building and constructed what he called “Athenian Hall” largely with his own money. It serves today as the museum of the Orleans County Historical Society. Twilight is buried in the village churchyard, alongside Prospect Hill and its observation tower.
More to See and Do
Places to Visit In the Summer
Yankee Magazine’s editors hand-picked 5 places to visit in each Vermont region. Explore things to do in summer statewide.
