Vermont for Valentine's

For Valentine’s Day this year, Connor and I decided to make a little road trip for the long weekend instead of a traditional dinner date. I will admit we ended up doing both so on Friday, we made the 3.5 hour drive up to Charlotte, VT. On day 1, we spent the day in Shelburne and Burlington, day 2 was skiing in Smuggler’s Notch, and day 3 was a quick trip to Quechee. I am so excited to share all the stops we managed to fit in this trip!

Vermont Teddy Bear Factory (Shelburne, VT)

If you are an adult, this place can be for you. If you are an adult with kids, this place can also be for you. VT Teddy Bear factory produces handmade teddy bears where humans assemble every single part of a lifetime protected teddy. They even have a “Dr.Nancy” on site to repair any VT Teddy Bears that have seen some unfortunate days. It was incredible to walk through each step of the process and we even got a little cut out teddy bear from the scrap fabric to take home!

Shelburne Farms (Shelburne, VT)

Shelburne Farms is settled on Lake Champlain with rolling hills excellent for sleds/snow shoeing/cross country skiing, sleigh rides, dairy farms, stables, an Inn, and even a Vanderbilt Estate! I was absolutely blown away by how beautiful and serene the views were. Since it was so cold and frozen out, we basically had the property to ourselves which made the experience even more magical. On the contrary, our Airbnb host told us that in the summertime, there are about 4 weddings a day. We’ll definitely have to come back to see a whole other perspective! Afterwards, we stopped by at the Visitor’s Center to pick up a delicious block of 3 year aged reserve cheddar (that I had to leave on the car’s windshield to chill when we came home) and maple zucchini relish.

Shelburne Vineyard (Shelburne, VT)

Shelburne Vineyard’s has a pretty small tasting room with high ceilings and on that weekend was offering 5 wine tastings with macaron pairings for $8/person. The best part? You got to keep the wine glass. Every weekend, they do different kind of pairings with cheese or chocolate, and the number of tastings/price vary, but it is an extremely reasonable deal! The tasting room has huge windows that overlooks their vineyard. Though it was covered in snow at the time, I am sure it is even more spectacular in the summer.

Fiddlehead Brewery + Folino’s Wood Fired Pizza (Shelburne, VT)

Keep in mind, everything that I just told you about is literally 10 minutes within each other, but this brewery+pizza shop is literally across the shop from the vineyard. Without even moving the car, Connor and I walked across Route 7 to share a Truffle Pig pizza. We weren’t able to secure a spot in the brewery, but there are so many more in the area to be tried!

Queen City Park (South Burlington, VT)

If you know me or even my relationship, catching the sunset is of utmost importance. As the sun began to set, Connor and I intended to head for the Waterfront of Burlington, but decided halfway to make a detour to Queen City Park. Boy, were we not disappointed. We parked in the upper lot and then ran through the snowy trees and trails (just a mere 0.3 miles) to the clearing/beach area. I was blown away by the unobstructed view of Lake Champlain which was entirely frozen over. The hues of the Adirondack mountains were in the backdrop as the sunset cast varying tone of orange-yellow on the horizon. We encountered about 3 other people (+ a beautiful dog) and even a man practicing on his film camera who asked to use our silhouette in his picture. The view was truly remarkable.

Crow Bookshop (Burlington, VT)

It’s been a while since I’ve found the time to do a little recreational reading, but while perusing Church St in Burlington, we came across this local independent bookshop that sells new and used books. I ended up picking up a used book about the last unsupported expedition into Antartica and read it within two days (a book about sub 0 temperatures was foreshadowing future blizzarding events). Would highly recommend!

Smuggler’s Notch (Jeffersonville, VT)

Connor and I decided on Smuggler’s Notch over Stowe because of the price difference, so we woke up at 7AM to drive an hour to Jeffersonville, VT for a day on the mountain. We parked near Madonna’s lift, secured some rentals/passes, and then skied down a trail that connected to Morse’s Mountain which is more fit for beginner skiers and green trails. Smuggler’s Notch’s lifts are paired so the lines are a bit slower (along with the fact that the lift itself is quite slow), but the skiing in the Vermont mountains are so beautiful that it was nice to be able to take in the view. We made a few stops throughout the day to warm up with lunch at the grill, and then later on to share a scoop of ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s. On our drive home, we even stopped at one of the many maple farms along the way for a jug of dark maple syrup and warm apple cider.

Citizen’s Cider (Burlington, VT)

As I mentioned, there are many many breweries in the area, but I also love hard cider. Connor and I had attempted to make a stop in Citizen’s Cider the night before, but it was too crowded. This time, we waited about 15 minutes before a spot cleared up for us at the bar (keep in mind, they have both bar and picnic-bench style seating). You can choose a flight of 5 ciders for just $7 and we also fueled our post ski trip with a kale salad and artichoke dip.

Simon Pearce (Quechee, VT)

The original plan was to spend our third day in Portland, ME, but a random snow storm forced us to start driving our way back down to Boston. However, I quickly pulled this idea from my childhood memory. Simon Pearce is a glassblowing factory sitting on the Ottauquechee River that fuels a hydroelectric turbine. First, we went to the lower level to observe the wine glasses that the glassblowers were making that day and then we stood on their deck for a brief moment to observe the beauty of the nearly frozen waterfall. A huge bonus of the day was that we arrived just as their restaurant opened up and we got a corner view overlooking the beautiful frozen waterfall through floor to ceiling windows. But I know that this isn’t the full perspective - I cannot wait to come visit all these places again in the summertime!