Travel: Vermont

Deluxe ski resorts, historic architecture, and smart shops brimming with antiques make the Green Mountains a winter wonderland well worth a road trip

Written by Stephanie Breakstone

Fifty-five percent of Vermont’s roads are unpaved. Billboards are verboten. The state flag depicts a cow standing under a pine tree. And Wal-Marts and Starbuckses are in very short supply, which is exactly how everybody likes it. "Vermont is a place of pure air and pure water," says Ben Cohen, a founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a longtime resident. "And it’s sparsely populated, which is a huge part of what makes this place what it is."

So it stands to reason that if you’re looking for an ideal winter excursion far from the madding crowd, few places equal Vermont, particularly the stretch from Bennington to Stowe, in the Green Mountains. Cruising routes 4, 7A, and 100 will bring you face-to-face with some of the oldest covered bridges and postcard-worthy barns in the country, not to mention great skiing, terrific antiques shops, and award-winning restaurants.

A great place to begin a winter trek (rent a four-wheel-drive, just to be on the safe side) is Bennington, a town nestled between the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. While not a full-fledged tourist destination—Bennington is best known for the college that shares its name—it has a few notable gems. Bennington Museum has the largest public collection of paintings by Grandma Moses. Robert Frost is buried at the Old First Church, the state’s oldest house of worship. And Bennington Potters has been crafting its ceramics for more than half a century. "Johnny Carson bought our trigger mug in blue agate," boasts the director of product development, Joyce Hall.

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