A Secret Scenic Drive from Montpelier to Middlebury Vermont

This is one of my favorite drives.  While I was writing this page in early August of 2008, however, severe weather has washed out part of VT-125 and has damaged the Texas Falls Recreation Area.  You should check the Vermont Highway information site before taking this trip.  You should also check with the Green Mountain National Forest Service before visiting Texas Falls.  VT-125 should be fixed soon and the trip to Middlebury is still enjoyable even if you have to skip Texas Falls.

This scenic drive takes you from Vermont’s Capital City of Montpelier to the college town of Middlebury.  This route, takes you over Vermont’s Green Mountains at Middlebury Gap and takes a little over an hour to drive, but I’d allot two days for this drive as there are so many things to see along the way.  This, by the way, is a drive for the summer and fall as snowy weather in the winter and early spring would make driving the mountain pass difficult.

Starting in the city of Montpelier you can take time to have breakfast in one of its many restaurants.  I’d recommend La Brioche of the New England Culinary Institute for a quick bite or Coffee Corner across the street for an old fashion diner experience.  On State Street I’d recommend taking some time to browse the exhibits at the Vermont Historical Society Museum and to take a tour of Vermont’s State House as you travel west on US-2.

About three and a half miles out of Montpelier, you will turn left onto VT-100B.  You will pass the Middlesex Country Store where you might want to purchase a sandwich as I have a picnic planned for you along the way to Middlebury.  VT-100B will turn onto VT-100 south into the town of Waitsfield.  There are many shops to investigate in this quaint little ski town.  La Patisserie Bakery in the Irasville Commons shops is a great place to stop by and get a little dessert for your picnic.  They also have a nice selections of wines from which to choose.

Continuing down 100 south, you will travel past the town of Warren, a nice place to stop by on another trip or if you want to take some more time with this drive.  Warren, by the way, is the home of Vermont’s Sugarbush ski area. You could spend a week visiting Sugarbush whether you visit in the winter for skiing or in the summer for golf, mountain biking, or to ride their new aerial zip line.  But today we are going to drive by on our way to Middlebury.

As you continue along VT-100 south, you will travel through the town of Granville and pass the magnificent Moss Glen Falls.  There are actually two falls named Moss Glen in Vermont, the other one, beautiful in its own right, is in the town of Stowe.  The Moss Glen Falls in Granville is right along the roadway and worth stopping to take a closer look.  Don’t take your picnic out yet, because there is another place along this trip to have a picnic near some falls.  After you have taken some photographs, it is time to move on to the town of Hancock where Vt-100 meets Vt-125 to go over Middlebury gap.

Once you’ve come to the junction of Vt-100 and VT-125, it is time to head west, up Middlebury gap and over Vermont’s Green Mountains.  About two and one-half miles up VT-125 you will see a sign for Texas Falls on your right.  Texas Falls is truly one of Vermont’s beautiful secrets.  This Forest Service recreation area has a beautiful set of falls, nature trails that take you in and around the falls, and a number of private picnic spots for you to relax and enjoy your lunch.  Now you can finally take a break and enjoy your lunch and soak up the beautiful Vermont scenery.

Once you have enjoyed your lunch, it is time to head west over Middlebury Gap and down into the college town of Middlebury.  On your way up the gap, you will be passing poet Robert Frost’s summer home and Middlebury College’s Breadloaf Campus.  Middlebury College hold’s a writer’s conference at Breadloaf each summer and this is what origionally brought Robert Frost here in 1938.  The campus is absolutely breathtaking.  I recommend that you check out the conference schedule to find a reading that is open to the public.  As you begin heading down VT-125 into the town of Middlebury, you will also be passing the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, home the college’s downhill ski team.

We are almost done with our drive but there is one more destination that I would like you to take note of and this one has a basis in fantasy and reality.  You might remember the show Newhart from the 1980’s, where Bob Newhart was a Vermont inn-keeper.  While the show was filmed in California, the opening scene was filmed in Vermont and featured the  Waybury Inn.  While you won’t meet Bob Newhart, the Waybury Inn would make a perfect place to stop for supper or for the whole evening.  After a good night’s rest, you can make a day of visiting Middlebury, but I’ll save that for another secret road trip.