Fall in Burlington

To celebrate Jon’s birthday this year we took a long weekend up in Burlington,VT. We had hoped to see more of the fall foliage but with cooler temps this summer came just after peak but still saw some amazing colors before winter started (and it was only mid-Oct). We opted to stay in downtown Burlington at the Hotel Vermont. It was right next door to Hen of the Woods, which we have heard rave reviews about but unfortunately even after a month of stalking OpenTable could not get a reservation. However, the hotel put us a short 5 minute walk to downtown where we had so many dining restaurants that did not disappoint.

After a long, but beautiful, 5-hour ride up to Burlington from Westchester we needed to stretch our legs. Seeing as though it was early afternoon we thought it was too late to go hiking so instead we opted for a bike ride on the Island Line rail trail along Lake Champlain. It was gorgeous, the lake surrounded by mountains full of fall foliage and since it was a sunny day were not alone. We opted to do a long 20-mile R/T bike ride to take it all in and definitely got us ready for dinner where we planned to celebrate Jon’s birthday.  We opted for a steak dinner (Jon’s favorite) at EB Strong’s on Church Street and it was the perfect steak house. It was perfectly located for a walk down the main square to walk off some of that steak and potatoes, even though our legs were definitely tired after that bike ride.

We woke up the next morning ready for hiking but in need of some provisions – both breakfast and lunch. We found the perfect spot at Myer’s Bagels, which had both regular and gluten free options. I was still feeling a bit full from the night before and not quite ready for a big breakfast so instead opted for a turkey sandwich on my gluten free bagel while Jon got a sandwich for the hike and started the day with a lox cream cheese bagel for breakfast (if the birthday boy wants 2 bagels he gets 2 bagels).  We knew after our trip to Acadia to pre-plan hikes as friends of ours had said the hiking in VT was great but definitely not for the faint of heart when it comes to heights. We opted for the Frost Trail hike, which gave us plenty of elevation (even some minor rock climbing) and lots of views. About half way through and after the never-ending ascent we came upon the Butler Lodge lean-to where we enjoyed our bagel sandwiches while taking in the views. This was a great stop as shortly thereafter we started our (much needed) descent. After hiking (and that bike ride, was still feeling it) we decided to drive around to check out Ben & Jerry’s and scope out Stowe for a possible ski trip this winter.

We ended up being pretty tired by the time we made it back to Hotel Vermont so we opted for a very casual dinner to end our trip. American Flatbread was the perfect choice as it had gluten free (and vegan options) pizza and regular pizza for Jon. They were only serving outside, which my mid-October in Burlington, was a bit too chilly for us so after some debate we decided to do take-out. Even with the short walk back to our hotel the pizza was delicious – I only wish they sold the plain gluten free crust locally.

Burlington we will be back for peak foliage!