Tip: There are a lot of different ways to travel. The last time I visited the New England area was in the summer as a teenager and we saw EVERYTHING. It was go go go from one stop to another New England is a great spot for a road trip as there are so many sites within a reasonable distance. However, this particular trip was not a ‘travel and see lots of places’ kind of trip. This was a four day girl’s get away inspired by that iconic opening scene of Gilmore Girls. It was about slowing down, relaxing, catching up, and making decisions as we went along about what we wanted to do that day. In my travel plan, I had a basic outline of a few things to do each day with a list of options for food and activities. The only concrete plan I made was for a cruise around Lake Champlain. Other than that, we just took it day by day and did whatever felt right in the moment. It is important to establish the vibe you and your travel companions are looking for, especially when traveling with a group.
Day 1
Morning
Fly into Hartford, CT and pick up your rental car. I use Expedia for my car and hotel rentals. Their customer service is excellent and I participate in their rewards program. On the drive to Stowe, VT, stop at Yankee Candle Village. This is a great stop for coffee as well as a little shopping. The best part of this cluster of stores is the Christmas section. It’s like a little Christmas village full of picture perfect displays spilling over with an incredible selection of ornaments and decor. I particularly loved the huge display of Christmas village houses and ended up purchasing one for my dad as a gift. Even though we were visiting in the fall, Christmas was right around the corner and this put me in the seasonal mood! Continue the drive and stop at Quechee Gorge. It’s a short hike down to the water and provides a great place to stretch your legs, maybe pick up a snack, and start immersing yourself in the fall foliage.
Afternoon
After arriving in Stowe, check into your hotel and drive around town. A lot of hotels will let you check in early if you simply ask. So if you arrive earlier than expected, give it a shot. We stayed in Stowe Motel and Snowdrift Inn. The rooms were affordable, included a kitchen and fridge, and the hotel offered free bike rentals. If you are interested in bike rentals, but your hotel doesn’t offer them for free, you can check out AJ’s Ski and Sports. If you decide to rent bikes, I highly recommend a full day or two as it’s an easy and fun way to get around town. You’ll find Stowe is an easy area to navigate. There is one big main street with your quintessential church on the corner, lined by two rows of shops, coffee spots, breweries, and restaurants. It’s truly adorable. There is also a river and a bike path that winds through the town.
Evening
Head to an early dinner at Idletyme which is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. There is indoor and outdoor seating, an outdoor bar, fire pits, and Adirondack chairs all around for lounging while you wait. Heaters are provided so eating outside in the crisp Autumn air is not a problem. The food is homey but upscale. I cannot recommend the butternut squash ravioli enough.
Day 2
Morning
But First…Coffee. Black Cap Coffee to be precise. This was our spot for pretty much the entire trip. You guys, this place is perfect. The coffee and pastries are something from a European bakery and the vibe is humming with friendliness and community chatter. After enjoying coffee and a flaky almond croissant, we sat outside with a refill to people watch and pet all the dogs. It was a foggy morning, but even the mist couldn’t wash out the scent of autumn in the air.
Next, take a hike, well more like stroll. Pay the $26 toll to drive up Mount Mansfield to the visitor center where the trailheads are located. You will find yourself surrounded by the spectrum of fall colors in the trees. The views along the drive are worth the toll in itself, but this also provides access to a great light hike to view Stowe from above. I highly recommend having a playlist handy, rolling down your windows, and just letting yourself be enveloped by all things fall. There are several hiking options in the area depending on your interests. The Stowe Pinacle trailhead provides a 3.6 mile hike from Upper Hollow Rd, or a 2.6 mile hike from Pinnacles Meadow Lot. Smugglers Notch is another hiking recommendation. Check out Stowe.com for more hiking information.
There are a few places you can park along the toll road if you want more of a walk up to the visitor’s center and start of the trail. The trailhead starts with a walk through a dense, mossy, wooded area which feels like something out of a fairy tail. Then you emerge onto a very rocky area with a 360 degree view. We found a place to nestle in the rocks and just relax. The views were great, but honestly to truly enjoy the foliage, I preferred driving to the hike.
Afternoon
Head back to the hotel to freshen up (the town is small enough so you are never really driving more than 10 minutes from spot to spot). We rented the free bikes offered by our hotel and hopped on the recreation path which meanders through pretty much every part of town and along a babbling brook. There are plenty of spots to park your bike along the way. We stopped at PK Coffee for iced coffee and pumpkin scones and sat outside for a bit just enjoying the weather. The bike path is an easy ride (no hills) and we rode past breweries, beautiful open fields, across bridges, and along the river surrounded by quiet forests full of colorful leaves.
Evening
I recommend hitting up another restaurant in Stowe or planning for an evening in the nearby town of Burlington. We ended up driving into Burlington twice in order to pick up a travel companion, but it’s barely an hour drive so no big deal. Burlington is a Hallmark looking town with hipster vibes located on Lake Champlain. It was dark when we got there, but the main street had lots of little shops and restaurants and people out and about. We grabbed some hot chocolate and beignets at a food truck before picking up our last group member and swinging by Charlie’s Chicken before going back to Stowe. If you are interested in spending more time in Burlington, it’s another fabulous fall spot. Look into Ellison Winery and make reservations.
Day 3
Morning
Start with coffee. After all, it’s what Lorelai and Rory would do. And like Lorelai and Rory, we were creatures of habit and once again started our day at Black Cap Coffee–I cannot recommend it enough. There are a lot of amazing places for coffee in Stowe including Stowe Bee Bakery which we stopped at on our last day. Black Cap Coffee just felt so homey and was located basically in the center of the main street. I’m not always a creature of habit on trips, but this was one of those slow paced vacations where it just felt right to go back to the same places again and again since we truly enjoyed them. We then took a couple of hours to meander down both sides of main street. There are lots of shops to pick up fun souvenirs, possible Christmas gifts, boutique clothing, cute trinkets and paper products, as well as a few cute museums like the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum.
Afternoon
Drive to Burlington for a cruise around Lake Champlain. I booked our tickets through The Spirit of Ethan Allen cruise company. They depart from Burlington Boathouse 1 at College Street. On the way there we listened to ghost stories. Again, there’s not a lot of major driving on this trip, but it was fun to have some fall playlists and podcasts to put us in the spirit. I pre-ordered food and tickets which was nice because we were able to skip the line and find a spot on the boat. The cruise’s Picnic Package was really affordable. For about $40 per person (4 people) we got the cruise tickets, a charcuterie board, wine, champagne, and a celebratory cake. There are indoor and outdoor seating options, but since the weather wasn’t too cold we opted for outside where the view was perfect. The captain provides information about the area as you cruise around and we enjoyed our charcuterie board and wine as we took in the views of the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. If you purchase the package I would plan on that being lunch as it is a generous platter. The best part was towards the end of the cruise when I surprised one of our girls with cake and champagne as a mini baby shower celebration. In the ordering process you can pick out celebration options. They even let me provide a description of what I wanted on the cake–Yay For Baby Nash. This is a great and surprisingly inexpensive touch if you have something to celebrate on your trip.
Evening
Spend some more time outdoors soaking up the fall weather. We opted for another bike ride in the late afternoon. After all, it was a travel wish list item to enjoy the fall flora during the autumn months in New England. It could not get more idyllic. We repeated our evening by riding our bikes along the recreation path which goes right by several restaurants, stores, and breweries including Idletyme. We stopped there again for drinks by the fire..may I recommend the apple cider bourbon… and dinner. This time, I opted for the french onion soup with a side of pumpkin spice salad. *Chef’s Kiss* There are a lot of other dining options of course that come highly recommended for dinner including Whip Bar and Grill which was noted for its outstanding cocktails. We enjoyed the evening but did not factor in sunset and found our tipsy selves riding bikes home in the dark which was both spooky and hysterical.
Day 4
Morning
Start your last day with coffee and little more shopping followed by a leaf peeping drive. The town of Stowe provides suggestions on scenic drives. We took some time to just drive down any road that looked interesting. There are some beautiful properties nestled in the hills with views that would keep me from ever leaving the house. Another great spot to drive up to and possibly eat or stay at is the Trapp Family Lodge. We drove up to take a look around at the views. If you are a Sound of Music fan, then I definitely recommend the spot. The von Trap family actually started this business after touring the area as the von Trapp Family Singers. It feels like a step into a mini alpine wonderland. I visited as a child and there is video floating around somewhere of my mom running through the grassy hills singing The Hills Are Alive. What I wouldn’t give to find that video. Like I said before, its a short distance from one place to another in Stowe, so it makes sense to take a leisurely joyride and take in the fall views.
Afternoon
No trip to New England in the Fall is complete without something apple related! Don’t skip out on a stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mill which is located in Waterbury. It’s the next town over and has several tourist spots as well. At the cider mill, there is a large general store full of all kinds of goodies and souvenirs. I love places like this because it’s easy to create a cute basket full of unique gift items. Inside the general store area is where they make their famous apple cider donuts. The smell is heavenly and you can watch the hot donuts stroll across the conveyer belt as they cook. Across from the store is the Apple Cider bar. You can order a flight of hard ciders and sit in or outside the facility to enjoy sampling cider and munching on apple donuts. It’s a quintessential fall activity.
If you are looking for other activities close by, there is the Ben and Jerry’s location in Waterbury which offers tours and the Cabot Creamery which is a perfect VT activity. There is also the Percy Farm Corn Maze in Stowe for some more fall fun, or check out Spa at Spruce Peak for some extra relaxation.
Evening
For your last night out, try something new and put your name in at the Bench for dinner. They don’t take reservations, and although I never felt like Stowe was incredibly crowded, it’s still a popular spot for leaf peepers so be prepared for a little bit of wait time here and there. We went back over to Idletyme for a drink by the fire while waiting. Dinner at the Bench was fantastic. They have all kinds of comfort food and the Cabot mac was a nice salute to VT and a great way to wrap up the evening.
The next morning we made the 3 1/2 hour drive back to Hartford, CT to catch our flights home. The leaves, the fall weather, and the tranquil atmosphere made this the perfect spot for a Gilmore Girl esque girls trip.
