We finally made it back to northern Vermont for some more hiking and exploration. This time we had a little bit of extra time on the arrival day to explore the nearby capitol of Vermont, Montpelier. If you weren't aware, this is one of the prettiest state capital houses and is most definitely a worthy photo op. The town itself recently suffered some pretty severe flooding so we weren't sure exactly what would be close during our visit. Luckily for us it didn't impact us at all once we left downtown.
A little known area to outsiders is Hubbard Park. Near my own town is another park with the same name, so you know I had to visit this one! This park is located in the hills directly behind the state capital building and is a series of crisscrossing trails. The main attraction being the Hubbard Park Tower. While the view from the top is obscured, it's easily the best little hike in the area for those on a small time budget. There is a main entrance to the park that we missed, and instead we went in by ascending an insanely steep road. Don't be like us!
We finished our quick visit to the capital by stopping for dinner at restaurant that was recommended to us by a local. Sarducci's is a fine Italian restaurant located in the heart of down town and has a lovely patio perched over the water. The amazing view is only topped by the quality of the food. This might be one of the best Bolognese I've ever had and I've made sure to return here since just to eat it again! We have since tried the Salmon, most of the desserts and several other pasta dishes. I have yet to find anything here that wasn't perfectly made, and to top it off the service is excellent as well. If you'd prefer to dine inside they have plenty of space and during the warmer months they have several tables out front near the patio as well. This easily makes it my number 1 restaurant recommendation for the entire state.
Finally making it to Stowe, we spent our first morning hiking one of the favorite local trails, the "stowe Pinnacle". This is a simple out and back trail straight up the side of the mountain. Almost entirely taking palce under the shade of trees, making it a comfortable climb even if it's entirely up hill. The trail only gets steep in a few small places but we did find the top of the trail to be unusually muddy so beware. The entire trip out and back took under 2 hours, with the way up taking a full hour. Keep in mind I stop to take photos and talk to myself in a camera so you're speed will vary. Keep an eye out for the large teepee someone constructed on the trail as well. When you make it to the top you're welcomed by an impressive panorama which makes the trail well worth the effort:
The highest mountain in Vermont is Mt. Mansfield, standing at 4,395' tall, this impressive landmark has panoramic views over the town of Stowe, Burlington, and lake Champlain. You can see The Adirondacks across the lake in New York on a clear day from the top and the best part is that there are several ways to reach the peak. While you can hike from the very bottom of the mountain from any manner of trail, there are two easier ways for people who don't have an entire day to devote to this hike.
You can take a gondola up the mountain and then hike a steep side trail that connects to the main trail about half a mile from the summit. The other option is what we chose, we took the auto road for a small fee and drove to the main parking lot of the visitor center and then hiked about a mile to the summit.
There are a number of fun features and rock scrambles on this trail. At points it reminds me of jumping across the jetty at the beach. You'll encounter a TON of people on this trail so do not expect to be alone at any point. Everything from kids, families and hardcore hikers will be found here and we shared the summit with no less than 40 people. Luckily for us we made it back just before it started to rain, but I can't say the same for those who were behind us!
We finished the long day of hiking with a quick dinner at the Matterhorn restaurant, located just a quick drive south from Mt. Mansfield and on the way back to our hotel. This place has a dive bar atmosphere and is definitely the go to spot for sushi in this area. Raw fish in the mountains? I know, strange concept, but I love my sushi. It wouldn't surprise me if this place was somehow related to Delanyes hole in the wall in New Hampshire, as the menus and food itself were almost identical in every way!
After a LONG day of hiking up two mountains we wanted to keep day 3 a little bit more relaxing. We woke up later than normal and drove into the heart of Stowe to eat at the best breakfast joint in town. Butlers pantry is a favorite of mine for a reason. We had to wait to get a seat as this place is packed continuously but it's worth it, without a doubt. The simple eggs, toast and home fries are accompanied by a local home made maple syrup infused sausage that is out of this world. The pancakes are fluffy and filling, and of course scratch made to order like everything else. Hosted in the lower level(or outside) of a beautiful colonial house, this restaurant punches way above its weight.
With breakfast out of the way we headed off in our car to the town of Burlington Vermont. This is the most populace city in the entire state... but has the same population as my little home town! It retain much of it's charm and small town feel but has a lot of the services you wouldn't get in the smaller villages and hamlets around the state.
One thing I really was looking forward to doing was exploring some of the spots around town I didn't get to see the last time I was here some years ago. The first location was north of the downtown at the Ethan Allen tower. This tiny little hike culminates in another tower with a spectacular panoramic view of the area. I'm really starting to amass a collection of tower hikes over here I guess, maybe I'll do a highlight of the best ones some day.
We took the midday to explore downtown Burlington. The most popular and well known area is probably church street. This fantastic walking street is filled with shops, restaurants, buskers and great photo opportunities. The last time I was here we only grabbed a quick bite to eat so I wasn't able to really explore much. This time we took a while to in an peruse all the various stores and look for some gifts. We also used this time to wait out the clock on some lunch reservations. Being as popular as it is, some of the better restaurants can have a really big wait!
Farm house tap and grill came highly recommended for its farm to table menu, but it was SLAMMED, and that told us it was probably as good as we'd heard. I ordered the fish and chips and while I needed to add some salt, it was very fresh and clean compared to most dives where I order it! Another big thing for me is that I often have trouble eating apples, despite loving them, the pesticides used on apples cause a lot of people to have stomach discomfort and I'm one of them. I was assured this wouldn't happen here and sure enough their farm to table apple pie went down with out a problem. I'm not entirely sure why but I HIGHLY recommend it, obviously :)
While you're in Burlington, Don't forget to visit the Waterfront Park. While parking can be a nightmare here at times, the view is amazing. They even have these wonderful swinging chairs for the public right near the water. A bicycle path runs along the shore if you're into that and if you have kids the little science center museum for the kids is a cute way to teach them about the marine life of the lake.
Of course, you could also be like me and seek out entirely non-serious tourist traps for the fun of it. Located south of downtown is the worlds largest filing cabinet. Appropriately found in the middle of a random parking lot. Not much else to say about this, but I love it. I wonder how many folks have tried to climb it...
We visit here not only because I find it funny, but also because it was on the way to our next location. South of Burlington and located on a little peninsula is Red Rocks park. This is moderately large recreation area that includes multiple criss-crossing trails, a small beach, some history and great views. It's also a very popular spot with the locals. Parking is plentiful but is a strange "side of the road" concept that might make you think this place is smaller than it really is. While there are a lot of trails you can't really get lost as maps are in abundance on sign posts and the trails all weave back to the start eventually.
Finally, we returned to our hotel for the evening, but we also walked around downtown Stowe to enjoy the views after dark. This is a quintessential New England town and adorable in every way, but walking around at night with all the buildings lit up is something special. Some additional ideas in this area from our last trip is Moss Glen Falls and Bingham Falls.
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