A Foodie Road Trip: Fun Things To Do Near Stowe, Vermont
Absolutely thinking this post should be titled delicious things to eat near Stowe, Vermont but nonetheless, if you’re a fan of good food and enjoy eating or drinking your way around town, this one’s for you! Here are 8 fun things to do near Stowe, Vermont.
For our road trip, Jon and I (and of course, our pup Lincoln) were actually staying about an hour outside of Stowe in Topsham. Quite simply, we picked our stay because it was within budget for our two-week stop in Vermont along our 5-Month New England Road Trip.
If you’re in town for only a few days or you want to maximize your Vermont experience, we recommend staying directly in Stowe or about 45 minutes away from Stowe in Burlington. When we make the trip back to Stowe in the future (we’ll be here during peak fall foliage one year, I’m declaring it!), we’d stay right in town.
It’s gorgeous, there’s a ton to do between the food and the hikes, and Stowe is a destination year-round (we were there in the summer, fall is picturesque leaf-peeping, and skiing is huge in the winter).
So whenever you’re in town, you’re sure to find tons to do in Stowe including (…drumroll please…) this Foodie Road Trip.
Since we were visiting Stowe from Topsham, we took a few different activities and turned them into a full-on, day-long Foodie Road Trip. You can pick one or two things to enjoy on different days during your visit, or try to pack everything into one epic foodie adventure.
Here’s how to replicate our Food-Focused Road Trip in Stowe, Vermont, or how to plan your own!
From Topsham: Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, Ben & Jerry’s Factory, Cabot Farmers’ Store, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Mount Hunger, Stowe Cider, The Alchemist Brewery, and Stowe Maple Products
We’re showing the trip starting from Topsham because that’s where we were starting from, but you can take this road trip from Stowe, Burlington, Montpelier, Barre, Woodstock, or anywhere else. The closer your starting point is to Stowe, the shorter the driving portion of your trip will be (and the more time you can spend hanging out at each stop along the way).
You’ll see in the image above that there are a few extra, bonus stops you can make (and we highly recommend these stops if you have time or you can split this Foodie Road Trip over a few days). More on those below!
Feel free to pick whichever place sounds best to you as Stop #1. But then once you’ve picked, we recommend following the map and visiting each next place in order, so you’re not doing any extra driving than you have to (and again, you maximize your time to enjoy each location instead).
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Ben & Jerry’s Waterbury Factory
Even a few locals told us that no trip to Stowe is complete without visiting Ben & Jerry’s (and taking a stroll through the Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard).
This stop actually first came on our radar thanks to my brother and sister-in-law, who had one of their very first dates at the factory. They told us about the tour, the graveyard, and how much fun they had spending a day at the Ben & Jerry’s campus.
So, of course, we had to add it to our list as well and realized how perfectly we could pair ice cream with cheese and cider donuts (both of which are just a short drive down the road).
The Ben & Jerry’s Waterbury Factory is located at 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Route 100, Waterbury, Vt 05676. You can learn more about tours, hours, and the outside window service for ice cream on the Ben & Jerry’s website here.
Jon and I had Lincoln with us for our Foodie Road Trip, so we weren’t able to make it inside for the factory tour. We did however wait 30+ minutes for ice cream (fine to do once, wouldn’t do it again) and strolled through the Flavor Graveyard. We bought Lincoln a doggie ice cream (pumpkin flavor), and she wouldn’t touch it (but would happily eat our Cherry Garcia). So we’d skip that next time too!
(Dogs are not allowed inside or on the factory tour, but they can wait in line for ice cream with you and visit the Flavor Graveyard.)
Cabot Cheese Farmers’ Store
This Cabot Cheese store was not on our original itinerary. But we found it when researching Ben & Jerry’s and Cold Hollow Cider Mill (it’s directly between the two and on the same road so a VERY easy stop) and, when we were watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, our friend Charles Boyle (a man with a refined food palate) gives Captain Holt a ‘sharp Vermont Cabot’ to eat and we were sold.
Fate (by way of Brooklyn Nine-Nine) introduced us to the ‘World’s Best Cheddar’ and we’re grateful. This was one of our favorite stops along our Vermont Foodie Road Trip and Vermont Cabot is a cheese we have since bought MANY times.
The Cabot Cheese Farmers’ Store is located at 2657 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. You can find more information, hours, and even additional ideas to add to your road trip on their website here.
We expected to just pop in quickly and pick up a block of cheese or two but were surprised to find tons of tasting options around the store and even a Cider & Cheese Tasting from Stowe Cider. (Ciders were paired with different Cabot cheeses, and we loved this so much that we took home a 4-pack of cider and three different blocks of cheese. Our favorite was ‘Lamberton’.) You could spend longer than you’d think here!
(Dogs are not allowed inside the store.)
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
This was one of the reasons I was so excited to visit Vermont. In fact, this was one of the main reasons I wanted a New England Travel Season.
I wanted to experience a New England Fall, and cider mills (complete with hot apple cider and apple cider donuts) were most definitely a part of that experience in my mind.
Researching cider mills in Vermont, the Cold Hollow Cider Mill quickly rose to the top of the list. It was mentioned just about everywhere, and after visiting, I get it. It was exactly what I had imagined when I thought of visiting cider mills in New England (and we went in the summer!), and if I lived in Stowe, I’d be popping by every weekend for a hot apple cider to go.
This is a place you could spend a morning (sipping hot or cold apple cider and eating cider donuts) or an afternoon (they also have a restaurant and hard cider tasting room on site, so plan your trip based on which you’d prefer checking out), and a place you can stop by for takeout.
Inside Cold Hollow Cider Mill, you’ll also find a self-guided tour of their working cider mill and free tastings. Have I sold you yet?! You. must. go. (if you like apple cider or the feeling of fall bundled up in a store). You can learn more about the Cold Hollow Cider Mill here!
(Dogs aren’t allowed inside, but they are allowed on the grounds outside. Which means you can sit on the picnic tables out front and enjoy your treats alongside your pup.)
Stowe Cider
The next two stops along your Foodie Road Trip are not technically foods (although Stowe Cider did have a grilled-cheese food truck out front and it was delicious!), but if you have the time or can split your road trip up over a few days, these two cideries and breweries are among the best things to do in Stowe.
Considering how I felt about hot apple cider, it’s probably not a stretch that hard cider is on my list of favorite things, too. If we’d had more time, I would have loved to enjoy a hard cider flight at Cold Hollow Cider Mill’s tasting room. But luckily, we had another weekend to make a trip back to Stowe (we split this road trip up over two weekends for more time to enjoy everything!), and were able to visit the taproom at Stowe Cider.
(Remember how Cabot was hosting cider and cheese pairings? We found out then that Stowe Cider is very dog-friendly and decided to check it out the following weekend.)
We sat out back in the garden, and it was great. A musician started playing just as we left, so this is another place you could easily spend a few hours. Learn more about Stowe Cider here!
Alchemist Brewing Company
Another stop not originally on our radar, this was a recommendation from a friend. In fact, they said this was a bucket-list brewery that we had to check out. (When other friends heard we went, word got around asking for the review and our favorite beers… and more than a few were jealous, ha. Apparently, this place is well known in the beer world!)
Unfortunately, the Alchemist Brewing Company is not dog-friendly, so this cut our time short, but we were able to have a drink and enjoy the lawn before we had to go.
I’m not a huge beer fan (and definitely not usually a fan of IPAs), but the Zomerbier was amazing! And Jon really enjoyed his beer (Heady Topper) as well. Learn more about the Alchemist Brewing Company here.
Stowe Maple Products
We were visiting during off-season (for Maple season- we were there in July) so the store was smaller than I expected, but the maple candies we picked up were delicious. A sugar rush in bite-size form.
Whether you’re there during maple season (usually February to April) or not, this is worth a quick stop if you’re a maple fan and want to taste Vermont maple syrup!
Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks
Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks is actually in Montpelier, so this stop is best if you’re heading back toward Topsham, Barre, or Woodstock. In full transparency, we didn’t make the stop even though this was on the way for us because we were too full and too tired (see the bonus activity below for why).
But if we hadn’t recently toured a maple farm in Ontario (complete with a maple charcuterie board), we probably would have made the stop anyway. Because Morse Farm is open year-round (hours vary) and offers free sugar house tours and tastings, nature trails, and more.
Plus, it’s worth trying their renowned ‘maple creemee’ made with lots of maple syrup. (I’m still wishing we had tried it… so please try it for me and let me know how it is?!) Learn more about a visit to Morse Farm here.
Bonus: Mount Hunger Hike
Is there a more appropriately named hike to add to your foodie road trip?! Why not work up an appetite before eating and drinking your way through Stowe, Vermont by hiking Mount Hunger.
This is what we did (Mount Hunger > Cold Hollow > Stowe Maple Products > Cabot Farmers’ Store > Ben & Jerry’s- then saved Stowe Cider and The Alchemist plus more cabot cheese and to-go cider + donuts for the following weekend) but in full disclose: this hike was hard.
It was one of our first hikes of the season and 4.1 miles long (with an elevation gain of 2,296 feet). The views are gorgeous on top of Mount Hunger (360 degree views), but if you can only pick one hike in Stowe, I’d actually recommend Stowe Pinnacle instead. (The terrain was more fun.)
If you’re a fan of hiking then eating (there’s not much better than a hike followed by an afternoon at a cidery in my opinion!), tackle a hike then pick one or two of these stops to round out your day in Stowe, Vermont. If you just want to focus on food, then we recommend skipping the hike and hitting as many of these other places as you can!
Keep planning your perfect trip to Stowe, Vermont
Looking for more things to do in Stowe, Vermont? Check back as we add our favorite hikes in Stowe and favorite things to do with one day in Burlington, Vermont!
Your turn! What’s your favorite road trip or the next on your list?
We’re always looking for inspiration, and would love to hear about your adventures too! What’s the best foodie road trip you’ve ever taken (and why), or what’s an upcoming trip you can’t wait to schedule? Please share with us in the comments below!
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