Touring Kid-Friendly Vermont

The carful of kids are in Vermont after exploring Niagara Falls yesterday. We are on a mission to eat our way across Vermont in our own kid-approved farm tour.

After a long trek across Upstate New York (over 350 miles), we settled into our room late, last night at the Best Western Inn and Suites in Rutland/Killington. If you are in the area, they have suites with equipped kitchens, great for families.

Hammond Covered Bridge, 1843

The carful of kids are still 75 miles from Waterbury, Vermont, but we want to check out some Covered Bridges in Pittsford; there are four west of the town. The bridges are enclosed with walls and a roof to protect the timber-trussing from the weather. They are quintessentially quaint and easy-to-find.

Cooley Covered Bridge, 1849

The next on our list is Shelburne Farms, 1400-acre working farm, seven miles south of Burlington, Vermont; they have an excellent kids' program ($8/adults, $5/kids, 3 to 17) focused on sustainability. They are open year-round  (9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) and they feature an inn and restaurant along with the farm tours.

The carful of kids head to the Children's Farmyard (open mid-May to mid-October) to milk a Brown Swiss diary cow and walk around in the chicken coop--there are goats and kids, sheep and lambs, pigs and piglets, rabbits, turkeys, miniature donkeys and horses. All the animals in the Children's Farmyard are docile and used to kids petting them; there are several informative displays explaining the basic principles of agriculture as well.

Shelburne Farms has a farm store to buy their farm-made products--we grab some fresh baked bread and farmhouse cheddar to make turkey sandwiches. There is a Farm Cart open seasonally for prepared lunches and if you forgot dessert, there is a bakery on site as well.

Shelburne Farms is a great introduction to local, sustainable agriculture, make it your first stop. The carful of kids head to Cold Hollow Cider Mill (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.--free) to see how cider is made. The original owners started pressing apples in 1974, you can get their cider by the gallon plus their cider donuts.

The carful of kids love cheese so we stop by Cabot Annex Store (open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) for samples and load up. You can find Lake Champlain Chocolates and Danforth Pewter retail locations as well; all the businesses have factory tours nearby.

We have waited all day for dessert so we are headed to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. Scooping since 1978, they have factory tours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., $4/adults, kids 12 and under free) and don't forget to visit the flavor graveyard.

The last stop of the day is Trapp Family Lodge, a resort that the von Trapp family started after they immigrated to the US. A great stop for fans of The Sound of Music.

There is a lot more to do in the Waterbury/Stowe area of Vermont and the carful of kids would love to stay a few more days but we have to move on.

Next Stop: Burlington and Montreal, Canada.