Vermont's peaceful beauty is unique in the Northeast. It is a place where farm fields still roll right up to the edge of villages and where lofty mountains and crystal clear lakes are everyday companions. Wild deer still occasionally browse on the lawn at the Vermont State House in Montpelier, and nature is close at hand everywhere. Vermont is un-crowded and serene, a place to renew yourself and have a great time doing it! The scale is small and intimate, and the state’s many small cities, from Burlington to Brattleboro, St. Johnsbury, Newport and St. Albans, are filled with interesting restaurants, shops and inns. You can spend an hour at a farmers' market, visit an artist's studio and cap the visit off with a stop nearby for a snack or fine food. Places like Barre, Bennington, Lyndonville, Rutland, Middlebury and Bellows Falls are treasure troves of 19th and even 18th century architecture.

Shopping and antiquing are year-round pastimes and there is almost always a wide selection of concerts, plays, and other arts events to choose from, often presented in an historic theater or opera house. You'll find the hospitality warm in Vermont, where a free and outdoorsy style of living is encouraged throughout the year. Every Vermonter has a favorite swimming hole on one of the state's clear flowing streams and rivers. If it is big water you want, try sailing or sea kayaking on Lake Champlain or an evening ferryboat ride across the lake.

Whether it is an evening walk, a bike ride down a dirt road, a swim at a state park, or a hike on the 270-mile Long Trail, which traverses the entire length of the Green Mountains, you'll find just what you're looking for in our gorgeous, unspoiled countryside. Imagine a state where there are more artists per capita than any other; one with a national reputation for the production and sale of high quality crafts. Imagine a state where architecture, historic sites, and unparalleled museums grace its landscape. Vermont's rich cultural heritage is as much a part of its communities as the people who live in them. Cross one of its nearly 100 wooden covered bridges, and see for yourself.

Landscape & Goods
Vermont's long traditions of farming and environmental conservation have kept its landscape open, productive, fresh and pristine. In a state where the air is fresh, the land open and the waters sparkling clean, it is only natural to expect that farm and food products will be of the highest quality. Likewise, Vermont has a long history of high-quality manufacturing and crafts production. While you're in Vermont, sample the maple syrup, cheese, vegetables, breads and many other wholesome food products. You can taste Vermont’s tradition of farming excellence in every bite and see it in the landscape!

Vermont's natural beauty starts with the Green Mountains. Wherever you travel the rolling ridgeline shapes the horizon. These gentle mountains beckon the visitor to explore the winding trails through cool, green forests. The Long Trail, part of the Appalachian Trail, follows the spine of the Greens from the Massachusetts line to the Canadian border.

Winter Sports In Vermont
Skiing is, of course, synonymous with Vermont, as well it should be. But there's more to winter sports here than skiing. Long before Vermont pioneers started the sport and built legendary ski resorts such as Stowe, Bromley and Mad River Glen, Vermonters went ice fishing, skating, snow shoeing and sledding. They created a winter tradition of outdoor recreation that is still found in Vermont. The wonderful diversity of its inns and lodges, restaurant cuisine and cafes, craft shops, country stores and activities make it the ideal state to discover winter.

If downhill isn't your thing, you can get away from it all by cross country skiing in the woods and fields here. With more than 40 cross-country ski centers—the most in New England—Vermont provides great opportunities. No matter where you are in Vermont, a great trek is just a few steps away. Ride on 5,000 miles of spectacular snowmobile trails, take in exciting dog sled races, try a horse or sleigh ride, see maple syrup made and micro-beers brewed, get pampered at a Vermont spa, and delight your eyes and ears with our crafts and music, museums and galleries.

If you'd rather watch a snowmobile than ride one, check out the Northeast Kingdom Snocross Classic during March in Lyndonville, or take part in the spectacle of the annual Winter Carnival at Killington and Pico, where snow sculpture contests and chili cook-offs are just two of the many events. After an invigorating day of activity in the clean, crisp air and sparkling white snow, what better way to end the day than warming yourself in front of a fireplace at a quiet country inn, or enjoying a sumptuous dinner at one of many fine restaurants that populate snow country.

A Summer Paradise
Vermont is a place where time is your ally, bidding you to slow down and soak up the good things in life. It's a place where the realities of your day-to-day existence—deadlines, skyscrapers and traffic—are delightfully absent. Vermont’s landscape is a constantly changing, amazing kaleidoscope: peaks and pastoral hillsides, open fields and dark forests, sinuous brooks, rocky waterfalls and covered bridges. Whether you stay at one of its state parks or at one of its many campgrounds you can get close to the natural wonders that are Vermont.

There's the wonder of wild turkeys grazing in a field, and a moose wading by the shore of a woodland lake. Or the incredible sounds of thousands of snow geese circling around the Dead Creek wildlife sanctuary near Lake Champlain, and the lonesome hoot of a barred owl echoing near your campsite. Summer in Vermont also conjures up images of strolling through village streets, lazing near a dockside at a summer camp or cycling a bike trail just outside of town.

The Color of Fall
Vermont's foliage season usually begins during early or mid-September and extends into October. The magic moment of the "best" foliage can be found at many different times and places as the season progresses. Different varieties of trees change at different times, and even the same species may change earlier or later depending upon exposure, soil conditions, and elevation. The earliest foliage change is generally in the northern part of the state near the Canadian border and at higher elevations. Red maples are among the first to change. Often, groups of trees with brilliant color can be found throughout September. By mid-September full color begins to appear across the north, moving progressively south during October. Although a popular rumor persists that Vermont's population doubles during the foliage season, it's not quite that bad. More beds are available to travelers, too. Both summer and winter resorts are open, and in many communities, private homes offer bed & breakfast lodging. Many travelers prefer to spend their evenings in the midst of Vermont's fall splendor.

Spring Forward to Vermont
Maple sugar makers are careful not to over tap and rob the trees of their lifeblood. While locals treasure the maple syrup and sugar the sap boils down to, it also provides sustenance to the tree and its leaves. To assure the trees are healthy, sugar makers limit the number of taps per tree and may even skip a year on some trees. Gradually, as the days lengthen and warm, the treetops develop an increasing tapestry of leaves and sugaring stops. To some long-time residents, this is the beginning of Vermont's "other" foliage season. First, you notice the various browns in the treetops as different species bud out. By mid-May leaves have made their entry into the skyline, reaching for the sun. Each kind of tree has a different hue of green that you only notice in mid to late May. The color mix becomes even richer when you add fields full of apple and other fruit trees in full blossom.

Area: 9615 sq.mi, Land 9249 sq. mi., Water 366 sq.mi.

State Capital: Montpelier.

Location: 44.26648 N, 072.57185 W.

Border States: Massachusetts - New Hampshire - New York.

Agriculture: Dairy products, cattle, hay, apples, maple products.

Industry: Electronic equipment, fabricated metal products, printing and publishing, paper products, tourism.

Flag: The picture on a deep blue field is a scene painting. You see a tall pine tree, a cow and sheaves of wheat. The Green Mountains are in the distance. Pine boughs extend around a shield. The name "Vermont" and the state motto "Freedom and Unity" are displayed on a crimson banner. At the top of the shield is a stag's head.

State Motto: Freedom and unity.

Origin of state's name: Based on "verts monts," French for green mountains.

Population: 593,740; 49th, 12/99.

Statehood: March 4, 1791.

Topography: Green Mountains create north-south backbone 20-36 miles wide; average altitude, 1,000 feet.

Largest City: Burlington.

Geographic Center: Washington, 3 miles east of Roxbury.

Highest Point: Mt. Mansfield; 4,393 feet, 26th.

Lowest Point: Lake Champlain; 95 feet, 28th.

State Bird: Hermit Thrush.

State Flower: Red Clover - Trifolium pratense.

State Nickname: Green Mountain State.

State Song: Hail, Vermont.

State Tree: Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum.