Northwest Vermont in the Spring
Top Picks in Northwest Vermont
In the spring, Vermont’s landscapes wake up from their long winter’s slumber into the riot and color of renewal. Maple sap flows in forests, warm days make for sunny spring skiing, and trees and flowers begin to bud. Hand-picked by the editors of Yankee Magazine, these 5 highlights are just some of what Northwest Vermont offers as the Green Mountains come alive.
Montgomery Covered Bridges
The covered bridge is a Vermont icon, and no town in the state boasts more of these picturesque structures than Montgomery. The town is interlaced with streams, and back in the 1800s it needed a lot of bridges to connect its farms and settlements. Luckily, Montgomery had the Jewett brothers to build them. Using the “Town Lattice” style of criss-cross framing, the Jewetts constructed all six of Montgomery’s original covered bridges, five of which are accessible today, plus another bridge that the town shares with Enosburgh. The Comstock, Longley, Hutchins, and Hopkins bridges cross the Trout River; the Fuller sits among the tidy homes in Montgomery Village. Most remote of all, the pedestrians-only Creamery Bridge straddles a waterfall on West Hill Brook.
Richford to St. Albans, Vermont
Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail
The old roadbed of the New England Central Rail Line is once again a link between the Canadian border town of Richford, and the city of St. Albans on Lake Champlain. Today, however, it carries hikers and cyclists instead of freight trains along its scenic 26.4-mile length. Passing through farmland and forest as it follows the course of its namesake river, the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail is a cyclist’s dream. It’s paved with crushed stone and limited to easy grades of three percent or less, and no motorized vehicles are seen here except in winter, when snowmobiles are allowed. The trail offers views of Jay Peak and the northern Green Mountains, and you’ll find access to lodging and restaurants at roughly the halfway point, in Enosburgh.
St. Albans, Vermont
The Drake Bar & Kitchen
Opened in 2020, The Drake Bar & Kitchen quickly became the sort of place that locals love to love and visitors love to travel out of their way for. It was created by Eben and Tess Hill, who formerly ran the Broken Arrow Café food truck in South Hero and now bring their farm-to-fork cooking to this cozy downtown spot. The Drake’s dinners (and Saturday lunches) draw on ingredients from producers within Franklin County. The result: steak frites made with ribeye from less than five miles away, four-cheese ravioli featuring Champlain Islands cheeses, cheesecake sweetened with 100 percent Vermont maple syrup, and more. The inventive cocktails are a standout, too, especially the seasonally changing Scorpion Bowl for two.
VERMONT MAPLE FEST
– St. Albans, Vermont
For over half a century, the Vermont Maple Festival has signaled the arrival of spring in St. Albans. The festivities across three days in April include a maple-themed parade, an 8.5-mile Sap Run, and the largest maple syrup contest in the state. Food is another strong selling point, from pancake breakfasts to maple frosted doughnuts, maple cotton candy, maple creemees, maple milk shakes, and good old-fashioned sugar on snow. Live music and carnival rides add to the high-energy atmosphere. Those who feel inspired to bring more maple into their lives can pick up a copy of The Vermont Maple Festival Blue Ribbon Recipes to take back home.
GREEN MOUNTAIN BLUE CHEESE
– Highgate, Vermont
Boucher Family Farm has been a fixture in Highgate since the 1940s, but the family’s Canadian farming legacy stretches back hundreds of years. By that measure, cheesemaking—which started here in the 1990s—is a new addition. And a successful one, earning awards for the signature mild Boucher Blue, the nutty Madison Blue, and the buttery and sharp Gore-Dawn Zola. Cheesemaker Kayleigh Boucher represents the fourth generation of her family to work the Highgate farm, where 200 cows are currently in service, and farm tours are available by appointment.
More to See and Do
Places to Visit In the Spring
Yankee Magazine’s editors hand-picked 5 places to visit in each Vermont region. Explore things to do in spring statewide.
