Jaunted - VT

Fall Foliage Travel: Amtrak To True Maple Syrup In Vermont

JetSetCD — 2009-09-14T14:13:52-05:00

Live in on the east coast and have a serious craving for some real, true maple syrup on your pancakes before you head out for fall foliage-spotting? There's no other option for such a weekend trip then other than Vermont, with its 50 state parks and late September fall foliage peak.

Actually, the trip to Vermont should be just as packed with red, orange and yellow scenery if you hop on Amtrak's Vermonter, which originates in Washington DC, and goes up through Delaware, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont almost to the Canadian border.

Tube The Rivers Of Vermont Before They're Back To Being Frozen

kjb — 2009-08-13T14:42:52-05:00

When you think of warm weather, Vermont isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind. However, temperatures this weekend will be in the upper 80s in some places, so it’s fine to put the off the yard work for another week and hit the river. Vermont River Tubing fired up the tubing season in June, and things will run through Labor Day weekend—so you only have a few more weeks to start floating.

Reservations aren’t required, so you can just show up and drop your butt in a tube. It’s only $10 to take a trip down the White River, and you’ll be rewarded with an afternoon of relaxation. If you get lost looking for the place, just ask locals where the Stockbridge Yacht Club is located—they’ll know where you’re talking about.

Things start each day at 10:00, so if you get there around opening you’ll be able to get in a couple trips before the sun starts to set. Lately the river has been doing pretty well, so you don’t have to worry about dragging your lower half along the rocky river bed. Still, wear some old sneakers to protect your tootsies, just in case.

Related Stories:
· Vermont River Tubing [Official Site]
· Seattle's Terrain Is Good For At Least One Thing: Rivers For Tubing [Jaunted]
· Tubing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of wacky tubers in another location: Evil Erin]

Lake Champlain Turns the Big 4-0-0

BS — 2009-06-09T10:54:29-05:00

It's not every day you turn 400. Heck, it's not every day anything turns 400, but that big birthday is coming up for our old friend Lake Champlain—the Northeast's far quainter answer to the Great Lakes.

Okay well, the lake itself is probably a lot older than 400, but July 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s first sighting of it, and Vermont is going all out for its favorite body of water.

So how exactly do you throw a birthday party for a lake? Vermont has interpreted it as an excuse to celebrate all things aquatic, French, or both. The festivities kick off July 2nd in Burlington with Celebrate Champlain Burlington International Waterfront, a 13-day festival complete with French food, Quebecois artists, and concerts from big names like Tony Bennett and The Roots.

Events coming up in the ensuing months include a boat tour of more than 300 shipwrecks sunk beneath Lake Champlain, a French heritage festival in the tiny town of Vergennes, and tons more historical and education programs throughout the state all year long. For a full list, check out the Celebrate Champlain website.

Related Stories:
· Penguin Plunges Keep Burlington Fit [Jaunted]
· Eat 'n Sleep in Burlington :: Trattoria Delia and Lang House [Jaunted]
· Summer's Swimming Holes [Jaunted]

[Photo: john w]

Get the Scoop at Ben & Jerry's Vermont Factory

egw — 2009-05-01T09:16:48-05:00

Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the best factory tours the world over.

Summer's on its way and nothing says scorching-hot temperatures like a waffle cone the size of your head. Even if you missed Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day last week, celebrate what's cool at the company factory in Vermont.

Famously begun by two hippies who took a correspondence course on how to make ice cream, Ben and Jerry's is now owned by multinational conglomerate Unilever, but the factory tour retains the tie-dyed kookiness of its founders. After watching the manufacturing process over the factory floor, waddle off to the FlavoRoom for the beloved free samples. When your appetite is whetted, take your cone from the scoop shop and walk to the flavor graveyard out by the parking lot to mourn discontinued flavors like Peanut Butter and Jelly and (irony!) 1987's Economic Crunch.

Tours run every day, every 30 minutes starting at 10AM (9AM in July). $3 gets you on a tour (free to kids 12 and under), but $21 gets you a package including a T-shirt and pint coupon.

Related Stories:
· Factory Tours [BenJerry.com]
· Air Canada Makes It All Better With Cookies and Ice Cream [Jaunted]
· Penguin Plunges Keep Burlington Fit [Jaunted]

[Photo: wenzday01]

Penguin Plunges Keep Burlington Fit

BS — 2009-01-09T10:45:46-05:00

Don't know about you all, but we've spent the past week in heavy denial that the holidays are over. It's just so depressing--not only the whole back-to-work thing, but transitioning from two weeks of festive eating and drinking into a time when we're all supposed to be dieting and getting fit. Ugh.

So while we're certainly not about to stop writing about chili half smokes and 22,000-pound cakes, we'll at least make an effort to cover some healthy places too.

So where are these healthy destinations? According to the CDC, Burlington, Vermont is the healthiest city in America. Despite its proximity to the Ben and Jerry's factory, a full 92 percent of Burlingtonians are supposedly in good health. So what are all these hippies doing to stay so healthy, and how can we get in on it?

Active Travel: Biking Through the Fall Colors of Vermont

kjb — 2008-09-22T12:15:32-05:00

Bike Vermont, an outfitter in New England that's been around for more than three decades, still has plenty of availability left in October for you to enjoy one last ride before the leaf-covered trees become covered with snow.

Local guides familiar with the area lead all biking tours and you'll be followed by a support vehicle just in case you can't channel your inner Lance Armstrong. You'll stop over at historic country inns and take time to enjoy local specialties for breakfast and dinner to keep you going along the route.

Rates for a three-night trip through the Champlain Islands start at $745, but if you've got more time they have longer options as well. You'll relax on your arrival day, but after that you're looking at about thirty miles as you get underway and then about twenty miles each additional day. If biking in Vermont in the fall is a little too cliché for you, the guides also offer a weeklong biking adventure in Italy for only $2895.

Related Stories:
· Bike Vermont [Official Site]
· Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: stop.down]

Summer Vacation with an Edge: Over Hill, Over Dale

egw — 2008-06-18T13:45:01-05:00

The advent of summer weather may be an inspiration to you to take up a new exercise routine, either to fit into that bathing suit or to get some fresh air. But no novice runner should start with the Green Mountain Relay, a 200-mile race that goes over the hills and through the woods of Vermont.

It's designed for a team, but the high-altitude course, above, is still no slouch, even if you have the maximum competition allowance of 12 runners. (That's still more than a half marathon per person, albeit over two days.)

It's too late to sign up for this year's Green Mountain Rally, but if you hang out in Bennington this weekend cheering on the racers (and buying them pasta dinners), maybe you'll get some tips for 2009?

Related Stories:
· Green Mountain Relay [Official Site]
· Adventure Travel coverage [Jaunted]