St. Johnsbury, Vermont Things To Do

Whether you’re a biker, hiker, skier or snowmobiler, you’ll enjoy the gently rolling hills, the smell of fresh air, the taste of clean water and the hospitality of the local general store.

Enjoy the area’s natural beauty and true Vermont Green Mountain hospitality.

Recreation

• Burke Mountain. Burke Mountain offers more than 80 kilometers of skiing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing in Vermont's incredible Northeast Kingdom. For alpine skiing, Burke Mountain offers a 2,011 foot vertical drop with 40 trails and glades. This incredible mountain has produced 36 Olympians and 76 US Ski team members. Burke can accommodate skiers of every experience level with 25% novice trails, 45% intermediate trails, 30% expert trails. All trails are at least 12 feet wide and groomed for classic as well as skating. The loops range from roughly 1 to 12 kilometers. Tickets, equipment rentals, maps, and repairs are always available, along with bits of information about the area’s history, nature and the weather. Be sure to check out the moose board for recent sightings. Their classic Vermont style has given the facility recognition as one of the best cross country centers in New England. For information, call (866) 359-8204.  [Top]
  
  
• Jay Peak. Further north and to the west of Interstate 91 lies the other jewel of the north, the Jay Peak Ski Resort. Jay Peak features 64 trails and glades and seven lifts (including Vermont's only aerial tramway that transports 60 skiers), plus a vertical of 2,153 feet for radical alpine skiing. Trail difficulty ratings are 20% novice, 40% intermediate and 40% advanced. The season averages 156 ski days and the average snowfall is 318 inches. Snowboarding has gained enormous popularity in recent years, and at Jay Peak the whole mountain is open to snowboarding, including 285 trail acres and 100+ acres of glades. For information, call (866) 359-8204.  [Top]
  
  
• Cannon Mountain. Canon features 163 skiable acres with a vertical drop of 2,146 for incredible alpine skiing. Located approximately 20 minutes from the Fairbanks Inn, this mountain offers skiers a wide variety of terrain: 9 novice, 26 intermediate, and 20 expert trails and runs.  [Top]
  
  
• Snowshoeing. Snowshoeing has become a popular winter sport in Vermont, partially because the equipment has been revolutionized. People of all ages can master the sport in minutes. Explore the back country or the trails that traverse Vermont and enjoy a healthy and fun family adventure. For more information on snowshoeing go to www.tubbssnowshoes.com or call the Fairbanks Inn directly and ask for information on "Snowshoeing Packages" and rentals.  [Top]
  
  
• Cross Country Skiing. Vermont is the first state in the nation to develop a network of trails on public and private lands where cross-country skiers reign. Thanks to the work of the Catamount Trail Association, nordic skiers and snowshoers can trek from Vermont's northern to southern-most border on more than 280 miles of trails.  [Top]
  
  
• Dog Sledding. Experience dog sledding in the woods of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom - a region known for its wild beauty and large tracts of forests. Enjoy a wintertime north woods experience with a dog team. Call Hardscrabble Mt. Sled Dog Tours at (866) 359-8204 for information on dog sledding packages ranging from a short experience to ½-day adventures.  [Top]
  
  
• Fishing. Vermont offers the greatest variety of high-quality fresh water fishing in the Northeast. From the start of trout fishing on the second Saturday in April to the cool weather of late Autumn, Vermont's waters provide fantastic opportunities for anglers of all tastes. Vermont's lakes and streams are home to more than 20 popular species of game and panfish, offering fishing for anglers of all tastes and experience levels. Vermont is well known for its "cold-water" trout and landlocked salmon fishing. Innumerable icy brooks seep down off the Green Mountains into beaver ponds and streams, providing superb angling for native brook trout, as well as larger rainbow and brown trout. Lake Willoughby, located only twenty minutes from the hotel is renowned for its lake trout and landlocked salmon fishing. To learn more about Vermont's outstanding fishing opportunities and to help plan your next Vermont fishing trip, contact the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and ask for a "Vermont Fishing Kit’ at (866) 359-8204, or visit www.anr.state.vt.us/fw/fwhome.  [Top]
  
  
• Golf. Vermont may be the Green Mountain State, but it's also a state with green fairways. Golf in Vermont's hills with splendid scenery, offering some of the finest settings and most exhilarating challenges in the whole country. Four local courses are available to hotel guests including the State's finest, St. Johnsbury Country Club. Discounts are available for golfers choosing to play more than one round per day.  [Top]
  
  
• Vermont suits golfers. and their non-golfing families - to a tee. Remember, the best part of golfing in Vermont is that after a round, you're surrounded by all the other fun things there are to do in the Kingdom. Golf packages are available on a limited basis for two, three or four night stays at the Fairbanks Inn.  [Top]
  
  
• Boating Deep, clear, glacially formed bodies of water in the Northeast Kingdom invite wildlife and its viewers. It's easy to get boats of all kinds into many of the state's 808 lakes and ponds. Lake Willoughby, located only twenty minutes from the hotel, is breathtaking and one of the Kingdom's best kept secrets.  [Top]
  
  
• Bird Watching. Because of Vermont's variety of landscape, elevation and seasons, few places in the world have as many different birds in so compact an area. Great horned owls are already sitting on their nests in March and the last of the great hawk migrations can still be seen from Vermont peaks in November. Once you've enjoyed Vermont's birds from a mountain peak, from a picnic blanket in an open field, along a mountain stream and on a hiking trail, the poetry will be your own. [Top]
  
  
• Local Farms No trip to Vermont would be complete without a visit to the Vermont family dairy farm. With 1,700 dairy farms, and numerous maple farms, flower farms, beef farms and others, any visitor will quickly realize the pride Vermont farmers have in their products and their contribution to the Vermont landscape they manage. Take the family to one of Vermont’s beautiful farms and "pick your-own" strawberries, blueberries or apples in season.  [Top]
  
  
• Mountain Biking. - Mountain biking is one of Vermont's most popular summer sports. Vermont’s rolling hills and big mountains offer a variety of terrain, with vast forests providing a beautiful backdrop to a biking adventure. Kingdom Trails have created a spectacular 100-mile mapped complex of off-road trails and single track and the highest ratio of moose to mountain bikers in the US! Mountain bikers enjoy the pastoral and wild setting in the rolling hills of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom while traversing the challenging network of quiet, picturesque recreational trails and paths. Trek miles of winding single track, long-forgotten cart roads, broad fire roads, and scenic country roads for challenging and panoramic biking adventures.  [Top]
  
  
• Christmas Tree Farm. Visit a local Christmas Tree Farm and choose your own tree and wreath. Have it shipped at holiday time or make an early December return visit to Vermont for a family tradition to cut down the tree.  [Top]
  
  
• Kingdom Trails. - Vermont's largest recreational trail system, this 100-mile trail network invites mountain biking, trail running, hiking, walking, nature study, cross-country skiing, back-country skiing, and snowshoeing. In the rolling hills of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom lies what, until now, has been a well-kept secret. Those "in the know" are aware of an extensive network of quiet, scenic recreational trails. Mile after mile of winding singletrack, long-forgotten logging roads, broad fire roads and scenic country roads beg for exploration on foot, bicycle, skis, or snowshoes.
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Attractions / Landmarks

• The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. A national historic landmark, the Athanaeum has served as a center of culture and learning for 130 years. This free public library and art gallery is home to a permanent collection of 19th-century paintings including Albert Bierstadt's majestic "Domes of the Yosemite."  [Top]
  
  
• Fairbanks Museum The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium is northern New England's premiere museum of natural history. The Museum was founded in 1889 by St. Johnsbury industrialist Franklin Fairbanks. At the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, you will discover an award-winning museum, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and accredited by the American Association of Museums. Explore over 18,000 square feet of exhibits and 150,000 objects from nature and cultures around the world, including comprehensive collections of northern New England's birds and wildlife and a spectacular array of large mounted mammals. Head for the stars in Vermont's only public planetarium, or catch the latest forecast at the Northern New England Weather Center. Step into an awe-inspiring exhibition hall that blends the flavor of the 19th century with 21st century programs and services.  [Top]
  
  
• Covered Bridges. Vermont has more covered bridges, for its size, than any other state. More than 100 of them dot the landscape, ranging from 20-foot spans serving single homesteads to giants like the 465-foot Connecticut River crossing that Windsor, Vermont shares with Cornish, New Hampshire. As with many other aspects of Vermont life, diversity rules, to the delight of the many people who take on the challenge of visiting all the bridges. Some are in bustling villages, others in idyllic pastoral settings. People often wonder, why were the bridges covered? The same reason as for wooden barns, which they so much resemble: because dry wood lasts, and wet wood rots.  [Top]
  
  
• Cabot Creamery. The world renowned creamery is nestled on a hillside in one of Vermont's smallest towns. From the Visitors' Center, you can watch an informative video and then take a walking tour into the working plant. See how they transform milk from local farms into the "Best Cheddar in the World,” awarded at the 22nd Biennial World Championship Cheese Contest. Nibble on all the cheeses and sample many other Vermont products. Stock up on Factory Specials! Please allow 45 minutes to one hour.  [Top]
  
  
• Chutter’s General Store. Chutter’s General Store is home to the "World's Longest Candy Counter" and is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records! Located in Littleton, NH since 1995, their mission is to bring back the good old days in a brand-new way.  [Top]
  
  
• The Maple Grove Maple Museum and Factory. The Maple Grove Maple Museum and Factory - "The Maple Center of the World” - is one of Vermont's largest tourist attractions, visited by over 100,000 people annually. See sap boiling in the old sugar house, interesting museum exhibits, a color video of sap gathering, and tour the world's largest maple candy factory. The Maple Cabin Gift Shop features Vermont handcrafts, Vermont cheese, and many fine Maple Grove Products.  [Top]
  
  
• The Basin. At the base of the beautiful waterfall located at this site is a granite pothole of 20 feet in diameter. This pothole was believed to have been eroded 15,000 years ago while the North American ice sheet was melting and has been smoothed by small stones and sand whirled around by the Pemigewasset River.  [Top]
  
  
• Flume Gorge. One of Franconia Notch's geological wonders, the Flume Gorge offers a spectacular 2-mile walk through a natural chasm on wide gravel paths and wooden walkways. Visitors travel through covered bridges, past waterfalls and through an 800-foot long gorge with its sheer 90 foot walls. Scenic pools, glacial boulders and mountain views abound.  [Top]
  
  
• Cannon Mountain Ariel Tram. The first passenger aerial tramway in North America began operation on this site in 1938. Almost 7 million passengers were carried to the top by the first tram. Tram II was opened in 1980, and today, you can take a scenic 7.5-minute ride in one of the two enclosed cable cars to the 4,200-foot summit of Cannon Mountain and enjoy panoramic views of the distant valleys and mountains. Each tram car has a capacity of 80 persons and ascends 2,022 feet vertically over a horizontal distance of more than one mile. Walking trails to a summit observation tower leave from the tram station.  [Top]
  
  
• Jay Peak Tram. Ride to the top of Vermont via Vermont's only aerial tramway. Enjoy a breathtaking view of four states and Canada from the 4,000 foot summit. The Aerial Tramway operates daily, July 1 - September 4, from 10 AM - 4 PM. Tickets can be purchased in the Pizza Parlor under the Tram dock.  [Top]
  
  
• Cold Hollow Cider Mill. You and your family will apple-solutely love New England's most famous cider mill. Watch cider making year round and enjoy the free samples.  [Top]
  
  
• Ben & Jerry's. Nestled in the heart of the Green Mountains, this famous ice cream factory sits on a rolling pasture overlooking the Worchester Range, just north of the small town of Waterbury. The guided factory tour is fun and educational for all ages. Guests will learn about the ice cream production process and how the Company's three-part mission statement is incorporated into day-to-day business decisions.  [Top]
  
  
• Six Gun City. You'll laugh, smile, scream, and enjoy the thrills of this affordable western village and water park. Experience the miniature horse show and cowboy skits with your children helping to catch the outlaws. View over 100 horse-drawn vehicles, pan for gemstones, play miniature golf, and enjoy 13 rides including, Sawmill, Stagecoach, Bumper Boats, Pedal boats, and spectacular waterslides (swimwear required).  [Top]
  
  
• Santa's Village. For a merry day full of festivities with a touch of magic, come to Santa's Village! At Santa's summer home, you'll meet Santa and his band of elves, and pet his reindeer. There are fun-filled shows, delicious goodies to eat, places to shop and play, and you'll love the exciting rides. Splash down the Yule Log Flume, ride Rudy's Rapid Transit, a thrilling rollercoaster, go 'round and 'round on the Christmas Ferris Wheel, go up and down Reindeer Carousel or fly away on Santa's Skyway Sleigh, a unique monorail adventure. Steer your way to fun on the Old Time Car Ride, cool off on Santa's Red Hot Firehouse Racers, or have a hot time on the Himalaya Ride. Listen for the train whistle and catch the Jingle Bell Junction Train that takes you around the Village. You never know who you'll bump into on Santa's Smackers Bumper Cars or who you'll mix it up with on the Pixie Mix!  [Top]
  
  
• Loon's Scenic Summit Skyride. Enjoy unlimited rides aboard the scenic gondola skyride to the summit of Loon Mountain. At the summit, take time to climb the Observation Tower for magnificent views of the surrounding mountains and valley. Explore Glacial Caves and our Nature Walk. Visit with Wajoid the Mountain Man at his summit cabin. Shop in the Nature's Bounty Gift Shop or enjoy a light bite or meal on the deck of the Summit Cafe overlooking Loon Pond.  [Top]
  
  
• Clark's Trading Post. Trained bear shows, antique Americana, steam trains, Wolfman and the Grimmy Family Circus are all part of this unique attraction. Step back in time as you enter the mysterious Tuttle House, Avery's Garage, the photo parlor, Fire Station, and Mystical Mansion. Sounds of antique music machines fill the air as you enter the museums and ice cream parlor. Enjoy rides on the train and bumper boats.  [Top]
  
  
• Hobo Railroad. All aboard for a 15-mile round trip excursion lasting approximately an hour and a half. The train runs through a picturesque, woodsy setting, along the Pemigewasset River in restored vintage coaches. Most train rides are narrated. Lunch is available at an additional charge.  [Top]
  
  
• Whales Tales. Enjoy the sites and sounds of the ocean in the heart of the White Mountains. Whale Tales is the region’s only full-sized waterpark. Experience ocean-sized breakers in the huge wave pool or relax in the Lazy River. For faster paced activity, try one of their six thrilling water slides. Children will love Whale Harbor and Orca Park Play Island.  [Top]
  
  
• Old Man in the Mountain. Unfortunately, this historic site collapsed in the spring of 2003. Plans for a memorial or reconstruction of the rock formation continue to be discussed. "The Old Man in the Mountain" was composed of Conway red granite and formed an illusion that when lined up correctly give the appearance of an old man with an easterly gaze. The Old Man in the Mountain site can be viewed from Interstate 93, northbound, in Franconia State Park from several parking areas. The area is well marked and viewing areas are easy to locate. Southbound on Interstate 93, take Exit 2 into the Canon Mountain Tramway parking lot and follow the signs for the "Old Man viewing area.”
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Shopping

• • Visit the quaint downtown districts of St. Johnsbury or Littleton, New Hampshire for exceptional shopping experiences. Be sure to visit our "Distinguished Guests" page to see offers from our local retailers.
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