Hey Guys!
This post continues our time in New Hampshire & Vermont.
Our travel dates were Oct 5 – 12, 2024.
Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here & Day 4 here. Click here to see links to all of my blog posts over the years.
As you know by now, we are in Stowe, Vermont staying at the Field Guide Lodge.
Stowe is one of the most, if not the most, popular town to stay in when visiting Vermont during the fall.
So, you will need to make your hotel reservations early if you ever plan on visiting during this time of year.
Tip: I book all of our hotels through Booking and Travelocity and then keep checking prices up until the time we leave for our trip. Just be sure to book a hotel that you can cancel a few days prior to your arrival date.
This morning we decided to have breakfast at a restaurant called, the Skinny Pancake.
The restaurant was right across from our hotel.
We arrived before 8 am to find that they were already opened so we headed inside.
We had thought we were going to be able to order pancakes with some of that delicious Vermont maple syrup, however, these were not the kind of “pancakes” we were expecting!
Instead, they were crepes. Their menu included sweet and savory crepes and breakfast sandwiches.
My hubby decided on the Noah’s Ark which was 2 eggs, sausage and two “cinnamon roll” style crepes with a side of potatoes.
I chose the Early Riser which was two eggs with Cabot cheddar cheese in a crepe. I also added bacon to my crepe.
The food was just ok. It wasn’t terrible….it’s just that it wasn’t what we were expecting or wanting.
Read reviews here & Click here for best breakfast in Stowe
After breakfast, we walked back to our hotel.
Tip: Another popular restaurant that was directly across from our hotel was, The Bench
After getting back to our hotel, we headed to our first stop of the day which was located in Stowe and just a minutes drive from the hotel.
We would be taking pictures of the most photographed church in Vermont called the Stowe Community Church.
Tip: Click here for the 11 best “instagrammable” spots in Stowe
This viewpoint can be found in the same parking lot as Salon Salon, a hair salon in Stowe.
Tip: Upon entering the parking area, you’ll find a dedicated lower lot for the viewpoint.
The white-steepled New England colonial-style church was completed in 1863.
Unfortunately, they were doing repairs to the church when we were there and there was scaffolding around the steeple.
It still made for some beautiful pictures but the lighting wasn’t the greatest either.
Our next stop would be another popular stop in Stowe, the Gold Brook Covered Bridge aka Emily’s bridge.
The bridge is located 7 mins from the viewpoint for the church.
It was built in 1844 and is a single-lane, 50-foot-long bridge.
This bridge is often referred to as Emily’s Bridge because legend has it that back in the mid-1800s, Emily was supposed to meet her secret lover at the bridge to elope.
When he never showed up, it’s said that Emily took her own life from the rafters of the covered bridge.
The bridge is now believed to be haunted by the spirit of Emily.
Ok, ok….I don’t believe in all of that stuff but we couldn’t pass up having our pictures taken at the bridge!
Tip: Get here early because it gets crowded! I’m talking tour buses come here!
Tip: Read reviews for the bridge here
After leaving the bridge, we spotted an overlook that gave us beautiful views of Stowe!
We could see the Stowe Community Church from this overlook as well!
We then headed to our next stop of the day, the Stowe Gondola Sky ride.
Our drive took us back through the town of Stowe and I was able to snap a quick picture of the church as we were passing by.
The gondola was located 20 mins from Emily’s Bridge.
When we arrived to the gondola, a thick layer of clouds was blocking the views of the mountains!
I had already pre purchased our tickets prior to leaving for our trip so, we decided to go ahead and take the gondola to the top since we had already paid $40 pp!
After arriving, we had to go to the ticket booth to show them our online reservations so they could give us a paper ticket instead.
Tip: You can take the gondola during the winter months too as you can ski here. Stowe is very popular during the winter!
After getting our tickets, we headed to the Stowe sign to have someone take our picture!
Once we had our picture, we headed inside to get in line for the gondola.
There was no wait at all which was surprising as I had read that during the fall, you could wait over an hour to board the gondola at the bottom and at the top when you come back down!
I’m sure the weather had something to do with the crowds but it also had to due with us being there as soon as the place opened….it doesn’t open until 10 am and the last ticket is sold at 4:15 pm.
On the gondola on our way up to the highest mountain in Stowe, Mt Mansfield!
The mountain reaches an elevation of 4,393 feet above sea level. It is also the highest peak in the Green Mountains.
Tip: You can also drive the toll road to the top. Read reviews here
The gondola provided spectacular views of the mountains ablaze in fall colors!
However, as we got closer to the top, we couldn’t see anything!
Once you reach the top, you can spend a couple of hours enjoying the summit.
There is a restaurant where you can have lunch, or if you prefer, you could pack a lunch and eat at the picnic tables at the top.
There is also a hike which is quite rocky so make sure you wear proper shoes, but it provides stunning views once you reach the top. There is also a zipline if you prefer to zip down instead of taking the gondola.
I had actually made reservations at the very popular Cliff House restaurant on top of the mountain but the reservations were for 11:15 am and we arrived to the top around 10:15 …not only were we not hungry at the time but we didn’t want to wait around until 11:00 to eat especially when the views were obscured by the clouds!
Click here for a list of restaurants in Stowe
Also at the top is a small gift shop.
There were a few signs hanging on the walls that told about the history of the area.
One of the employees pointed out that it had been snowing right before we arrived!
After spending a few minutes at the top, we boarded the gondola and headed back down the mountain.
The views were spectacular on the way down!
Just enjoying the views!
The closer we got to the bottom, the more fall colors came into view.
After leaving here, we headed to another very popular site that was only 7 mins from the gondola called, Smuggler’s Notch.
The famous Smugglers’ Notch is a narrow pass through the Green Mountains. Lined with 1,000-foot cliffs, the winding road is closed in winter.
In the earlier days, only a footpath and trail for horses existed here.
It got its name after President Thomas Jefferson passed an embargo in 1807 that forbid American trade with Great Britain and Canada and Vermonters used this notch to continue trading with them illegally.
Later, fugitive slaves used the Notch as an escape route to Canada. During the Prohibition years, liquor was smuggled from Canada over the improved road built in 1922.
Smugglers Notch is now a gorgeous scenic drive that is very popular during the fall months.
The road is free to drive but it does have strict vehicle restrictions since it’s a very narrow road.
The road is only about 4 miles long and passes through picturesque forests and rock outcroppings. The road lies within the Smugglers’ Notch State Park and Mt. Mansfield State Forest.
It is the first officially designated “Scenic Highway” in the State of Vermont.
The road is known for being narrow, winding, and steep, with hairpin turns, giant boulders, and cliffs.
Click here to read about other scenic drives in Vermont
The trees were not at their peak colors but it was still a gorgeous drive!
After driving for a few minutes, we pulled over to check out these huge boulders!
Click here to read about the hiking trails along this drive
The trees were so beautiful!
After taking a few pictures, we continued our drive.
We passed this beautiful, roadside waterfall.
More views along the way
Read reviews for this drive here
Tip: At the end of the Smuggler’s Notch road is where you will find the Smuggler’s Notch Resort
After finishing the drive, we stopped off at a “sugar house” called, Wyckoff Family Maple.
A sugar house is where maple sap is boiled down to create maple syrup and maple sugar.
They are often small, wood buildings that are unheated and typically located near or in a strand of maple trees.
There are over 3,000 sugar houses in Vermont!
Many of these sugar houses have been family owned for generations and use methods to produce syrup that have changed little over the years.
Tip: Click here for the oldest sugar house in Vermont….it’s 35 mins from Stowe.
After going inside, we were greeted by a really sweet lady who offered to give us a short tour of the facility.
She explained how they made their maple syrup and showed us the equipment they use.
She told us they have 6,200 maple trees that are tapped to collect the sap they use to make their syrup and that it takes, get this, 43 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup!!
The sap, that is made up of 98% water and 2% sugar, can only be collected during specific temperature conditions. Above freezing during the day, and freezing at night and no leaves on the trees….is that not crazy?!
After our short tour, she took us back to the front of the sugar house to do a tasting.
This particular sugar house offered 11 different flavors of maple syrup!
Oh,My.Gosh. is all I could say…I couldn’t believe how delicious this syrup was!
This family also infuses their maple syrup with things like lavender, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, ginger, coffee beans and more.
My hubby and I loved all of them but our favorites were vanilla, lavender, coffee and cinnamon!
The colors of the syrup will dictate the flavor you end up with.
The golden color gives you a light maple flavor, the amber color gives you a rich taste that is the most popular for pancakes, the dark color is more robust and is good for cooking and the darkest colors gives you the strongest maple flavor that is great for baking or BBQ sauce.
Tip: You can purchase their maple syrup online….that’s exactly what I did when I got back home!
Tip: Did you know that maple syrup is full of vitamins and nutrients? I use their flavored maple syrup to flavor my coffee!
After our tasting, we continued our drive.
We were now in Jeffersonville.
We made a quick stop when we spotted this beautiful, old church!
We also passed the very popular Hanley’s General Store.
The store has been in operation since the early 1900s and has become a popular destination for tourists.
Our next stop would be in Jeffersonville.
During my research, I had read about these amazing murals that were painted on old silos.
After seeing pictures of them online, I had to see them for myself!
The silos were located in the middle of town so they weren’t hard to find.
After getting parked, we headed towards the silos to take pictures.
There was a small pool of water on the ground near one of the silos that made for some cool shots!
These murals were completed in 2016 by local artist Sarah Rutherford.
The two silos were once remnants of the old Bell-Gates Lumber operation.
The south silo was once originally used as a kiln to dry lumber while the north silo was used to store sawdust.
The murals represent the towns past and future.
On the North Silo you will see a male farmer who portrays the past and current generations while the covered bridge, church clock tower/steeple, and horses drawing logs represent the town’s history.
The South Silo illustrates the winter and spring seasons, with the bandstand that once sat at the head of Main Street and a child representing the area’s future.
This silo used to bear an image of a zebra. The current artist had tried to incorporate the zebra into her mural but felt it didn’t fit into her vision of Vermont “in the future” so she painted over it.
Both of these silos feature the thrush and red clover, which are Vermont symbols.
Each silo is thirty-six feet tall; at 5,000 square feet total, the two comprise the largest outdoor mural in Vermont.
After taking way too many pictures, we continued our drive!
Shortly later, we spotted a small cafe called the Farm Store and decided to stop and purchase a cup of coffee.
We spotted these old horse head hitching posts in the parking lot.
Once inside the cafe, we looked over the menu…..so many choices!
We both decided on the maple latte and they were so good!
After our coffee, we decided it was time for lunch!
We thought about eating at the Burger Barn but decided to eat our leftover pizza instead!
After lunch, we headed to our next stop, a covered bridge called the Grist Mill Covered Bridge.
The bridge is located in the Brewster River Park.
No one really knows the exact date that this bridge was built or the exact name of the bridge.
It’s also known as the Bryant Bridge, Canyon Bridge, and Scott Bridge.
Before the Flood of 1927, Jeffersonville was home to 13 covered bridges. Now there are only three.
Views from the bridge
After leaving this bridge, we spotted another bridge. I’m not sure which bridge this was as we just snapped a picture from our car.
We also spotted another beautiful church …this one was called Community Christian Fellowship.
We then headed to our next stop, Fairfax Falls in Fairfax.
Once we arrived, we realized it was just a falls that was created by a hydroelectric dam and we couldn’t find anywhere to take a good picture of it so we headed to our next stop.
We spotted the Fairfax Covered Bridge along the way so stopped for a quick picture.
Built in 1865, it is the town’s only historic covered bridge, and is a rare two-lane covered bridge in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
After the bridge, we continued our drive and passed this beautiful, picture perfect house along the way!
We are now in Westford where we passed this civil war memorial.
This iconic building was built in 1840 as a church and has now been transformed into the Westford Common Hall.
As we continued our drive, we entered into the town of Essex and passed this beautiful house!
And this Christmas tree farm!
About twenty minutes after leaving Fairfax, we arrived to Jericho where we would find our next stop, the The Chittenden Mills
The mill was declared a National Historic Site in 1972. It is one of two remaining mills out of eight that were once sited on the Brown’s River.
The Chittenden Mills has the longest and most interesting history.
Chittenden Mills aka the “Old Red Mill” is named after Thomas Chittenden who was the first and third governor of Vermont.
The Mill house located adjacent to the mill was built in 1859.
After getting parked, we headed inside the mill.
The old mill now houses the Historical Society Museum, Snowflake Bentley Exhibit and a Craft Shop.
Old pictures hanging inside the mill
Priceless mementos of “Snowflake” Bentley, original milling machinery and the products of Jericho’s water powered mills are all on display.
I had no idea who Snowflake Bentley was until I started writing this blog.
He was an American meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their features.
His photographs and publications provide valuable scientific records of snow crystals and their many types. Five hundred of his snowflake photos now reside in the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
After taking pictures of the inside, we headed back outside to photograph the mill from the outside.
The mill is located in the Old Mill Park, a 12 acre park that offers picnicking, hiking, & cross-country skiing on trails that wind along the Browns River.
You will not want to miss photographing this mills as it is so amazing!
After leaving here, we headed to our next stop in Jericho called, Palmer Lane Maple. 
Palmer Lane Maple is a small, family run maple syrup farm and I had read that they had amazing creemees!
After getting parked, we headed inside.
The small store sells their maple syrup along with other Vermont made items.
After looking over their creemee menu, my hubby and I both decided to order the maple sundae.
The maple sundae was a small maple creemee in a cup, drizzled with pure Vermont maple syrup and topped with their original maple sprinkles!
After making our purchase, we headed back outside and sat on the store’s front porch and ate our delicious creemees!
After gobbling up our creemees, we decided to drive around and check out the town.
We first spotted this beautiful, old church!
As you can see, we love covered bridges, churches, and creemees!
It was so hard not taking pictures of everything we came across as there was so many historical buildings in Vermont and they are all so picturesque….especially during the fall!
We then spotted the most beautiful house we had ever seen…..well, maybe not ever seen but it was way up there!!
Many of the historic homes in Jericho were built by the successful mill owners.
Most of the historic homes here were built between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
I took way too many pictures of this house!
We had parked at the church and were walking along the sidewalk taking pictures of all the beautiful homes!
After coming up on the Jericho Town Hall, we turned around and headed back to our car.
Tip: When visiting Jericho, don’t miss the historic Joe’s Snack Bar!
Continuing our drive
Shortly after leaving Jericho, we arrived to the small town of Richmond.
There are so many awesome small towns in Vermont and we loved them all!
We passed these beautiful, old homes shortly after arrivng!
Driving through the main downtown area
Tip: Richmond is located 25 mins from Burlington, VT and 30 mins from Montpelier which is the capital of Vermont
As we were driving through town, we saw a sign for the historic round church so, of course, we decided to go check it out.
And, we were so glad we did!
Just look at this church!
The sixteen sided church was built in 1812-13 under the direction of local craftsman William Rhodes to be the Town Meeting Hall and place of worship for members of five denominations in the area.
Eighteen men worked a combined 922 days to erect the building. William Rhodes received $3,000 for labor and materials. Three other men received from $12 to $20 per month and the rest were volunteers.
The Round Church is the most well-known historical site in Richmond. The Old Round Church became a national landmark in 1996 due to its unique architecture as a place of worship.
The church ceased to be used for regular religious services in the 1880s but continued to serve the town as a meetinghouse until 1973 when State regulations declared the church unsafe for public use.
In 1976 the town deeded the church to the Richmond Historical Society for forty years so that restoration could proceed with federal assistance. This was renewed for an additional forty years in 2016.
We headed inside to check it out.
The inside was so unique as the seats were enclosed….I had never seen anything like it!
The inside of the couch had been completely restored.
There were a few signs inside the church that told about the history.
They still had the old furnace in the church.
How special to have something like this in your town!
After leaving this church, we spotted another awesome church in Richmond.
The church, built in 1879, now serves as a library.
It served as a church until 1956, when the congregation decided to disband and sell the property to Richmond resident Walter A. Griffith.
After taking our pictures of this church, we continued our drive where twenty minutes later we arrived to the town of Waterbury.
In Waterbury, we passed the Colby Mansion.
The house was built in 1870 by George J. Colby. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
About 25 minutes after arriving to Waterbury, we arrived to our next stop which was back in Stowe which was Moss Glen Falls. 
Tip: Click here for more waterfall hikes in Stowe & Click here for the best waterfalls in Vermont
Read reviews for the falls here
The 1/4 mile hike to the falls started out on a wooden boardwalk.
On the way, we spotted a tree that a beaver had chewed through!
Not long after starting the hike, the wooden boardwalk ended and the trail turned into a dirt path.
We then arrived to several concrete steps that were pretty steep!
Arriving to the falls!
Moss Glen Falls is the tallest waterfall in Vermont, cascading 85 feet!
It was difficult to get a good shot of the falls as the trail had been roped off due to recent flooding in the area.
I walked to different vantage points trying to get a good picture!
This area is dangerous as it has sheer drop offs!
After getting our pictures, we headed back to our car.
We continued to our next stop and passed beautiful farms along the way.
We stopped when we spotted the popular Spear Barn!!
The barn was built in 1850 and is a popular place to take pictures in Stowe.
There’s a huge maple tree that sits in front of the barn and during the fall, it makes for a beautiful picture.
However, the tree had already lost most of its leaves but it was still pretty!
We walked to the side of the barn and were able to get a shot of the barn with some cows standing near the barn.
After leaving the barn, we arrived to our last stop of the day, the Trapp Family Lodge.
If you are familiar with the movie, the Sound of Music, then you will be familiar with the Trapp Family!
Yes, this lodge is owned by that Trapp family!
In the early 1940s, the von Trapp family toured the United States as the Trapp Family Singers before eventually settling in Stowe, Vermont.
In 1950, they began welcoming guests to a rustic, 27-room family home/lodge. After a devastating fire in 1980, the original structure was replaced by the new Trapp Family Lodge that sits on 2600 acres. The entire property is still owned and operated by the von Trapp family.
After getting parked and taking pictures of the outside of the lodge, we headed inside to check it out.
Tip: It’s free to park here but you will have to pay $17 pp to walk the trails, see their farm animals, etc. They have lots of different tours. There’s an old historic church you can hike to that was built by the Von Trapp family. It takes 20 mins to hike and it’s uphill. The trail pass is $15 pp.
The inside of the hotel was very plain….nothing fancy. However, I had read that if you went downstairs, you would find lots of pictures and history about the Trapp Family.
So, that’s where we headed.
After making it downstairs, we found the pictures of the family.
There were several so we spent a few minutes looking at each of them.
We were shocked when we found out that the movie exaggerated the truth about the family….can you believe that?! 😉
The family didn’t flee Austria in the middle of the night like the movie portrays …they were actually on a train to the US to perform when they found out about the Nazi regime and just never went back.
Maria did marry the Captain but they also had three children together and it’s one of those children that run the lodge today. That child is Johannes Von Trapp and he’s the last living child of Maria and the Captain.
Johannes and his two children, Kristina and Sam live on property with their families at Trapp Family Lodge.
Tip: You can also book a reservation to eat here and tons of other neat experiences
After taking pictures on the inside, we headed back outside to take a few more pictures.
I had read that the Trapp family was buried in front of the lodge so, we asked one of the employees where the cemetery was located.
The small cemetery is located to the left of the lodge.
Maria, Captain von Trapp and six of the von Trapp children are buried here.
After taking pictures of the cemetery, we headed back to our car to go find something to eat.
As we were leaving, we saw lots of people walking down to see the Highland cows that are on the Von Trapp property.
So, we parked again, and headed down to the pasture to see the cows!
The Trapp Family Lodge has a herd of 75 Scottish Highland Cattle that have been on property since Johannes von Trapp introduced them in 1963.
I was so excited as I had always wanted to see highland cows because they are so darn cute!
And all of them were so close to the fence!
We took so many pictures of these cute little cows!
I would love to have one for myself! 😉
After taking 1500 pictures of the cows, we headed into Stowe to find something to eat.
We decided on a place that I had read about that was laid back and didn’t require reservations …it was called Doc Ponds.
We arrived around 5:30 pm and were seated right away!
We couldn’t believe that we didn’t have to wait for a table!
After being seated, we took a few minutes to look over the menu.
We both ended up ordering the mushroom and Swiss burger with fries.
Ya’ll this burger was out of this world delicious!!
Their fries were really good too!
Read reviews here
After dinner, we looked for somewhere in Stowe to purchase souvenirs as we would be checking out of our hotel in the morning and heading to Woodstock.
We headed to Shaw’s General Store but unfortunately, the store was already closed.
We then headed to Stowe Mercantile but they were closed too!
Since we had no luck with souvenirs, we headed to a Stowe mural that I had read about during my research.
The mural is located on the side of the Laughing Moon Chocolate’s building.
It was dark when we arrived to the mural so we had to use our flash.
After taking our pictures, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night!
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for Day 6!
Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here and Day 4 here. Click here to see links to all of my blog posts
