5 Summer-time Activities
in (and around)
Burlington, Vermont

From the beautiful, tiny airport to the dog-friendly vibes, Vermont is the perfect place for an adventurous and fun summertime vacation! Here's my top 5 recommendations:

By: Katie
Feb 2025

1. Church Street Marketplace

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The famous Church Street Marketplace is the perfect place to spend the day shopping, eating, and enjoying the beautiful lakeside breeze. It was ranked the "#1 Best Public Square in America" by USA Today and it definitely is deserving of that title. It really has that quaint, Hallmark-like, Vermont feel mixed with a subtle modern touch that makes this shop-a-holic very happy.

To start your day, I highly recommend grabbing some coffee from Vivid Coffee Roasters before you start exploring the streets of Marketplace.

Spend the day shopping at some of your favorite familiar stores including Lululemon, Patagonia, Free People, Urban Outfitters, and more.

One of the best things about Vermont culture is their support of local businesses. Church Street Marketplace is FULL of lively culture and thriving local businesses including Lake Champlain Chocolates, Saratoga Olive Oil Co (YUM!), Whim boutique, and more! Outdoor Gear Exchange was our favorite place for multiple reasons - they had TONS of high-quality athletic gear (including racks and racks of sale items), they not only allowed, but loved having dogs in the store, and they had tons of mountain biking gear and even souvenirs to take home!

Now, of course, with all this shopping you'll probably get a little hungry. For a casual lunch, I recommend stopping at Ken's Pizza and Pub, Pokeworks, or any of the many Cart vendors near the Marketplace. The best dinner option, in my opinion, is Leunig's Bistro and Cafe. It's the cutest corner French restaurant that has the best vibes, delectable food, and fabulous drinks. We really enjoyed our corner booth with an open window - felt like a patio while also enjoying the gorgeous restaurant!

The website is extremely helpful when navigating your shopping day: https://churchstmarketplace.com/

2. Lake Champlain

Whether you're shopping at the Church Street Marketplace, biking on the local bike paths, or sailing on your sailboat - the beautiful Lake Champlain is hard to miss!

As the largest lake in the Adirondack mountains, it separates the States of Vermont and New York and is home to a many beautiful boats and even a famous monster named Champ! It has served as a popular home for people in all stages of US history and gets its current name after European explorer Samuel de Champlain.

During the summertime, the lake is the center of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. Make sure to grab your paddle board or kayak and enjoy a workout on the water, have a picnic at Waterfront Park, or snag a spot on a boat charter.

We had the best time on a Sunset Cruise with Spirit of Ethan Allen - the service was great, food options were delicious, the sunset was breathtaking, and the DJ really helped us dance the night away. I highly recommend catching a sunset on the lake on one of these charters.

If you're not really a boat person, don't worry - I highly recommend grabbing dinner at Splash at the Boathouse (careful with those Margaritas!) or The Spot on the Dock. These lake-side restaurants really give you the best view of a beautiful waterfront sunset.

Either way - I highly recommend ordering some Champagne on Chaplain ;)

3. Hiking

We made the mistake of heading up to Sterling Pond Trail too late, and couldn't find anywhere to park. I recommend getting up there early in the day to get your hike started. I'll do it next time!

We didn't have as much time to hike as we'd like to on our most recent trip to Vermont, but we did do a quick hike right off the road - Bingham Falls Trail - which was a gorgeous 0.5 mile, 20 minute, out and back trail that provides incredible waterfall views and a peek at the beauty of the northeast mountains.

Always check out AllTrails for the best hiking information and recommendations with photos.

4. Visit Stowe, VT

If you're looking for the perfect Hallmark Movie experience in Vermont, Stowe is definitely the place to be. While not a far drive from Burlington (45 minutes), It's historic, yet cute style makes for the perfect place to explore and walk around. You can shop for souvenirs and home items at places like Stowe Mercantile, grab some lunch on the patio at Butlers Pantry, and even grab a Starbucks coffee!

We saw the cutest places to stay including The Stowe Village Inn and The Green Mountain Inn that really cultivate that small town feel and are the perfect walkable distance to all things Stowe.

I'm counting down to my next visit to Stowe, and someday I'll stay and ski at the beautiful Stowe Ski Resort :)

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5. Sights to See

We definitely took the long way home back to Burlington and saw some of the most beautiful Vermont scenery.

We were pretty hungry after exploring Stowe and enjoying a short hike, so we stopped at Piecasso and BOY, was that a good choice. The patio made for a great way to cool off after our hike, and they really impressed us by having gluten-free, dairy-free pizza that actually tastes good! You can wash down your pizza with some von Trapp Brewing beer.

Did you know the von Trapp family (yes THAT von Trapp family from The Sound of Music) settled in Vermont when they moved from Austria in 1950?! They settled on a 2500+ land in the mountains which is now home to the Trapp Family Lodge where you can stay and experience a European-style mountain getaway. As a Sound of Music fan, this was very exciting news to hear and the resort is just as beautiful as you'd imagine.

We also stopped at the Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, VT. You can take guided tours where you learn how to make ice cream, taste all your favorite B&J flavors, and can even take home some very important ice cream supplies. The Factory property is family-friendly and a fun way to enjoy a summer day with a sweet treat.