This is a gorgeous waterfall and swimming hole about a 45 minute drive from Burlington, VT! My…read morewife, two teenage sons, mini-poodle, and I came here in July 2024 on a hot summer day to cool off for an hour. Lots of pluses. First, it has a wide receiving pool area that is conducive to large groups and is more kid-friendly than other swimming holes (such as Warren Falls). Second, parking is generally available on the side of the road above the falls. You can descend along the second pathway down which is less steep than the first pathway. Third, dogs with a leash are allowed in the area. Would strongly recommend bringing water shoes (river shoes) if you don't like the pain of multiple rocks on your bare feet. Also, it tends to be a bit more quiet from 3pm-4pm, but got crowded when we departed at 5pm. Overall, this is a great place to experience a swimming hole in Vermont - especially if you are staying nearby in Burlington, VT.

I am into cold plunging for health and wellness. It was a cold rainy Aug. day and we headed to…read moreBristol for food and falls. Bartlett falls are amazing. Very accessible and pristine. We had a lovely swim. We parked on the side of the road and walked down..easy peasy.

At the top of Hubbard Park is the Hubbard Tower that was built between 1915 and 1930. Only 65 steps…read moreto the top, it is made of stones gathered from nearby abandoned walls and fences when the park was used as grasing pastures. It was designed to look a bit like a medieval ruin and contains a metal stairway that seemed safe enough to climb today. I opted to drive about as close to the tower as I could and was able to pull off to the side of the road. That left about a half-mile hike to the summit and then the tower. Pretty nice view of the surrounding area from the top. [Review 18520 overall - 118 in Vermont - 2042 of 2022.]

Great place for sliding or snow tubing with the kiddos. Parking adjacent to the hill. Loved it…read more.. depending on where you are, it might be a drive.... nice options for lunch in the city, too !

We were on Route 4 just outside of Woodstock Vermont and happened across this beautiful spot on the…read moreroad. The Bridge actually. We saw a ton of vehicles in a small roadside parking lot & decided to stop. Walked along the bridge and found this astounding view of the Gorge. Just breathtaking to be honest. Apparently you can hike down but I believe the best view has to be from the bridge. This location is less than a mile from the town of Woodstock. Definitely worth the stop.

Rating: 4.5 Came to…read morethe quechee gorge trail. We started our trail at the visitor center and when up stream towards the dam and the fall first and then made it down back down toward down stream. We also stopped at the bridge and looked at the gorge as well from both sides. It was a comfortable hike about 1.5 mile or so. The trail was mostly gravel and some leaves and twigs here and there. There is a pond upstream which was beautiful. Downstream there is a area where you can go down to the water and look and feel the streams coming from the gorge. Lots of flowers, mushrooms and trees. It's cool to see the sediments that water curved over the years at the downstream. Overall a cool hike. Must see if you are in quechee area or passing by. Took about 1.5 hours or so.

Solid spot to see small waterfalls. Very peaceful and not a lot of rushing water…read more Parking is available on the shoulder at the lower and middle falls, located further up the road, and also at the upper falls at the end of the road. No restrooms available here

This is a kid-friendly swimming hole that is only a few miles away from Ludlow, VT. Our family…read morestopped by for a visit with our dog in July 2026. Here are 3 tips for newbies. First, it can get very crowded along the road (there is no official parking lot). Be sure to pack your patience. If you arrive mid-afternoon, more spaces near the entrance may open. Second, no public restrooms are available. So, plan accordingly. Third, the middle falls are easiest to access if you're here for a short time. Overall, it was a nice place for a quick visit. However, Buttermilks Falls are not as impressive as other Vermont locations with swimming holes such as Bartlett Falls or Warren Falls. The latter is particularly scenic with a high cliff jump that is for brave teenagers and adults only. The state of Vermont is blessed to have so many natural swimming areas!

Middlebury's Village Green got an addition in the summer of 2021. Triangle Park is on the site of…read morethe former Lazarus Department Store and is adjacent to the entrance to the new rail tunnel that goes underneath downtown Middlebury. And it's next to the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The park has a big green space on a nice incline that would make it a challenge for a picnic or a festival .But there's a pretty fountain, called the "Fontana di Trevi" of course. There is street parking, unless it's closed for something. [Review 18488 overall - 87 in Vermont - 2010 of 2022.]

Loved it! Good…read moreForeSt Wide easy paths Great views of Lake Champlain & Mt Philo Not crowded Perhaps RRP is my favorite of the Burlington parks as this is more of a real forest with canopied trees. Good views of red rock walls and rocks along the trail. We went with a local who knew the park well and we very much enjoyed the short easy hike!

We wanted to take a morning stroll with our coffee and this was perfect! It's a short walk to the…read morebeach and it was nice and quiet. There was a decent amount of parking spots but can easily see them filling up during a busier time of the day.

It may be a good spot if you are swimming and hanging out. If you are coming to walk the loop, find…read moreanother trail. It was not marked well and unimpressive. I did not feel it was worth the $5 per person entry fee.

Beautiful reservoir about nine miles long. We enjoyed kayaking and canoeing for a few hours…read more There are many people paddle boarding as well. A great way to spend a sunny day in Waterbury state park. There are also picnic tables and barbecue grills for those who enjoy picnics. Swimming too! State Park Admission: $8 Renting canoes and kayaks: $35 for 2 hours, $10 each additional hour.

Always a pleasure to go here to swim cook an just enjoy freedom outside with family fun an food…read more Love going here it always brings back childhood memories. Used to come here as a kid now get the chance to bring the new families here to enjoy the same kind of entertainment. What a pleasure.

We had a great time at the beach! There is also a playground, but my guys didn't get out of the…read morewater. There was also a large area so that my fiancé & his friends could play horseshoes. My only problem was that they didn't have a lot of sizes left for their t shirts at the gift shop, but it was mid August when we were there. It didn't stop me from buying a bunch of stuff from them. We'll definitely be back next year!

If you ever plan to visit Vermont to see the fall colors, this has got to be a go to place on your…read morelist. The views are stunning, beautiful and will surely mesmerize you. Once you cross the the auto toll road and the gondola ride (for Mt. Mansfield) you'll be entering this zigzag, twisty scenic road which will bring you to the notch. The enire road is breathtaking. It's scenic during peak fall foilage and you'll see people stopping along to take pictures. The road is very narrow and there would be cars parked on either side so i'd recommend to drive slow and yield to people walking along and the oncoming traffic. There's a visitor center which will help you find your way to a couple of hikes/ trails. There were also porta potty which were clean. The parking is limited and you'll have to wait and search through. During our visit, there was no one in the visitor center. There are helpful signs and boards to guide you along the trails there which was helpful. The sterling pond hike starts from the visitor center and it is about a 1,000 ft elevation total. The smugglers cave is a few steps away from this visitor center. The entire smugglers notch is scenic and makes for great photo opportunities. There are a couple of great hikes/ trails from here and i'd reommend anyone visiting vermont to check out this place during the fall season.

Smuggler's Notch State Park provides hiking, camping, nature programs, and mountain biking…read more Smuggler's Notch Park got its name because In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson passed an embargo act forbidding American trade with Great Britain and Canada. This was a severe hardship for northern Vermonters, since Montreal was closer than other markets in the US. Many local people continued illegal trade with Canada, herding cattle and carrying other goods through the Notch. 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. My mother and I just rode through and it was miles of the park with different areas to explore. The we're many hikers and explorers out. All I can say is the mountains are beautiful and the atmosphere is amazing. I would definitely want to come back in fall to see the trees change colors.

I have never been here myself, but my daughter is a student at UVM and today was her second time at…read moreSugarBush. She was having a great time until she hit some big icy patches on a black diamond and she went down. Big thank you to ski patrol, and Theyer for getting her off the mountain safely and checking her out. I also appreciate him calling me. While she's 18, she's also still my kid. Thankfully just a minor ankle sprain. They were also kind enough to give her a day pass to come back another day. Thankful for all their help!

Sprawling. Crowded. Pricey. As a longtime skier in the northeast, I lose a little bit of ski soul…read moreevery time I encounter the reality of $249/day window rate lift ticket pricing, like what Sugarbush and its corporate overlord Alterra have unleashed on former independent gems like Sugarbush. Yes, most people will never pay $249/day because they're buying $200 online tickets, but sit with that for a second... $200/day x 2 days for a weekend + food/gas/etc means at least $500 for an average weekend of skiing before you even get to lodging. And that's absurd. Its no exaggeration to say that setting day-of pricing to over $200/day is a marketing (read: extortion) ploy to advance sales of even more expensive multi-mountain passes like Ikon, intended to lock customers into a collection of other overpriced mega-mountains, ensuring customers never know what alternatives there are out there to the over-priced, over-skied, nickel-and-dime experience that modern corporate skiing with has become. And while most customers will mindlessly one-click renew their Epic (Vail) and Ikon (Alterra) passes each year, economically the only reason these passes makes sense is when you have plans for a week away at a different exotic ski resort under the same corporate ownership that epouses equivalently over-priced day rates. In case you missed it, that's an increasingly large array of Vail and Alterra's mega resorts, as consolidation within the ski industry continues its supernova trajectory, targeting any mountain nearing triple-digit trail counts as the next pin in their corporate hats. If that sounds extreme, it's not. It's the reality many of us who've been around a while have seen play out. And it's important to understand because of the very real, far superior options available to the mainstream corporate pass skiing experience. Let me illustrate by a simple comparison: one day at a local independent mountain (Bolton Valley) vs one day at a corporate machine (Sugarbush). SUNDAY AT SUGARBUSH: riding up high-speed 5m lifts with few lines, but dumped into crowded trails laden with bumpy pockets of snow atop an icy, unpredictable base - a natural consequence of pushing hordes of skiers faster and faster up a mountain without any ticket limits that might ensure a better skiing experience. I consider myself an expert skier, who's skied some of the steepest terrain in the world, but skiing icy, unpredictable slopes like Sunday at Sugarbush force-limits anyone's ability to improve, by defaulting to minimum viable slopes stripped of any natural snowfall. It's the equivalent of the mafia offering to fix your garbage problem that it, itself, created. It's the false claim of fixing over-crowded, over-skied trails with more snow-making and faster lifts... which just put more bodies, scraping more snow, creating more of a problem than existed before. However, more bodies on mountain = more food/bev sales for corporate coffers, which ever-present signage reminding you of $1/paper cup charges won't let you forget. Heaven help anyone who just paid $249/day at the window is not also paying for double-digit drinks and $38 pizzas - the horror! SATURDAY AT BOLTON VALLEY: riding up 10m lifts with zero lift lines, skiing uncrowded glades/trails laden with soft, natural powder atop zero ice - a natural consequence of force-limiting ticket sales with smaller parking lots, less traffic, and a family-friendly, independent focus. Window pricing $49 - $109/day, but equally skiable for an entire weekend on a modest $300 season pass (Indy). TL;DR: a split-view compare of independently-owned resorts who prioritize experience over exploitation, independence over incorporation, and presence over pace. Most folks reading this review will assume it's an advert for competitors. It's not. It's a rare insight into two mountains 45m from each other who've taken entirely different paths to profitability and achieved radically different outcomes: one driven to maximize pricing and bodies on the hill, another by nearly six decades of family ownership that's driven by affordability and great experience. As with all things consumer, we all have a choice of where to spend our dollars. Having spent decades skiing the mega-mountains, traveling across the world to ski other Alterra/Ikon resorts like A-Basin, Mammoth, Stratton, and Palisades I can legitimately say the experience is the same: over-crowded, icy weekend skiing in the corporate Frankenstiens trying to solve an unsolvable problem of over-sold slopes with fake snow and higher pricing vs the still-here, uncrowded Indies indexing for reliability, affordability, and uniqueness. There's value in slowing things down, taking in stunning vistas, and paying a lot less to experience a lot more. See beyond trail counts and lift speed and you'll find an entire world of better skiing by generations of family-owned resorts beholden to a different master: your enjoyment, not corporate's bottom line.