Mid Vermont for All Seasons

Mid Vermont for All Seasons covers Addison County in west-central Vermont, the rolling country between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain. The terrain shifts from the lake-edge dairy farms at Vergennes up through the broad Champlain Valley to the Green Mountain National Forest’s western edge along the Long Trail. Lake Dunmore and Lake Champlain define the western and southwestern boundaries. Addison County is the only county in the region. Middlebury (the largest town, with Middlebury College) anchors the region; Vergennes (the smallest city in Vermont) holds the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum at Basin Harbor; Bristol holds the Robert Frost Wayside (his summer home for many years); Brandon (just over the Rutland line) anchors the southern edge. The Green Mountain National Forest, Branbury State Park on Lake Dunmore, and the Long Trail through the eastern Green Mountains anchor the major outdoor scenery. Most trips here run college-and-farm focused. Middlebury handles the college-town and downtown itinerary — Middlebury College, the Middlebury Inn, the Vermont Folklife Center; the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum at Basin Harbor draws maritime-history visitors; the Otter Creek wineries and the Robert Frost Trail fill scenic-driving days; the Champlain Valley dairy farms anchor the agritourism side.