A Quiet Retreat to Stowe, Vermont

My reason for visiting Stowe, Vermont on my last road trip

was mainly to visit the haunted Emily's Bridge (article here), but

the reasons why I stayed and fell in love with the town are much

less creepy. Stowe is an adorable little resort town and everything

has this suuuper chill vibe to it. It just incites relaxation and while

I was there I found myself taking things easy with no anxiety in

sight. This place would also be a wonderful winter destination

with the option for skiing on Mount Mansfield! So if you are looking

for a quiet place to retreat to in Vermont this is it! Read all

about my visit below!

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I began my drive to Stowe from a hotel about an hour outside

of Salem, Massachusetts. However, I kind of took a round-a-bout

way of getting there for two reasons:

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1.) I wanted to stop and see the supposedly haunted

Hoosac Tunnel (article on that coming soon!)

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2.) I wanted to take the famously scenic Vermont Rt 100 biway.

My GPS argued with me on the way to Stowe trying to

keep me off Route 100 and instead put me on the

fastest route, but eventually I just turned it off

and stayed on the biway using the road signs (trusting my directionally

challenged self to get me to Stowe without GPS was definitely

one of the riskiest things I have ever done on a trip, but somehow

I made it!) and I am so glad I did. It

was absolutely gorgeous.

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I arrived in Stowe waaaay after dark and checked into the

Innsbruck Inn. It was this cute little inn and my room was HUGE

in comparison to the other rooms I had stayed in on the trip. I also

was pretty excited because I got to place an order for a full

to-go breakfast the next morning and it was included

with my room! So dope!

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This was my breakfast the next morning!

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About 11am the next day, a couple hours after my big breakfast, I headed

out to explore Stowe! My friend Kristin told me that while I was up

here I needed to find some apple cider donuts to try and so

I made my first stop that day be the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. 

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I walked inside the mill and followed the apples on the floor

to the place where I could watch them make the cider!

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In the viewing room I got to watch them press the apples and make cider!

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After they squeeze all the juice out of them the apples go to local farms for the piggies!

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After watching the process I had to try out some of the

cider for myself of course and y’all it tasted sooo good. 

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I could have easily just stayed in there watching them press

the apples and drinking cider all day long. The people who

worked at the cider mill were also very nice and I had a really

nice little conversation with one of them while I was there. 

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Next I walked back through their gift shop area and

ordered 2 apple cider donuts.

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You can watch the donuts being made!

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I took the donuts outside to the picnic tables out front of the

cider mill and sat in the cold eating my donuts and reading

my book of the moment “The Woman in Cabin 10.” 

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After I finished eating my donuts I decided to continue on my

sweet treat journey and went just a little ways down the street

to the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory.

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I parked in the parking lot and then began an uphill journey

to see the flavor graveyard. Oooo spooky. Lol 

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Here at the flavor graveyard you can walk around to the different

tombstones and pay your respects to the flavors that are no

longer with Ben & Jerry’s and have passed on to the

ice cream factory in the sky. 

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I highly recommend you take the time to walk through here

and read the tombstones because they are all pretty dang

punny. I mean even the archway out of the cemetery

had an amazing pun on it! Lol 

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After the flavor graveyard I walked back down the hill and into the main building.

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Unfortunately, when I was here the actual factory where they

give tours and let you watch them make the ice cream was

closed due to…you guessed it…COVID so I settled for a stop

in at the scoop shop where I got a waffle cone filled with some

glorious chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. (I was actually going

to get the Vermonster sundae, but I chickened out once I got to

the window to order cause I couldn’t find it on the menu so I

went with the tried and true chocolate fudge brownie. Lol)

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Man just look at this picture. Heyo Ben & Jerry’s I'm thinking partnership? lol

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After my ice cream I somehow was still hungry so I decided

to check out one of the restaurants in town, Cafe on Main.

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I honestly mainly chose this restaurant because I saw they had

grilled cheese AND chicken noodle soup which would have been

the perfect meal for that cold rainy day. Unfortunately when I got

there I found out they didn’t have any chicken noodle soup so I

just got a grilled cheese to go and went back to the inn. 

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It was a pretty good grilled cheese although I will admit it was a little on the pricey side! I don't know if I would get it again just because of the price.

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I stayed in my room working on the blog, napping, and watching

"One Tree Hill." Then a little before sunset I ventured back out

into the cold and rain and drove to the parking lot for Sunset Rock. 

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I was the only one in the parking lot, which I was both surprised

and happy about, and I made the short hike to the Upper

Overlook which was basically just an open clearing in the middle woods.  

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I sat in the clearing on a log, wrote in my travel journal, and

watched as the sun inched its way down below the horizon. The

colors that surrounded me and were in the sky were absolutely

breathtaking. 100% worth getting out of my warm bed to see.

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I decided to start walking back to my car before the sun set

completely because I am a wussy and didn’t want to be alone

in the woods after dark (my experience at Watkins Glen State

Park kind of ruined that for me…you can read about how I thought

I was going to get kidnapped there using this link) and drove

to the haunted Emily’s Bridge. 

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You can read all about my experience at Emily’s Bridge AND see the ghost I caught on camera here!

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After my short yet frightening time at Emily’s Bridge I decided

I was going to treat myself to a nice dinner (I earned it after messing

with angry ghosts dammit!) and stopped at a brewery called Idylwyld.

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I ordered the prime rib dinner

and even got myself a fancy mocktail.

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I will say that it was a pricey meal, but the food was great and

the service there was AMAZING. I would eat there again

next time I am in Stowe for sure.

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After dinner I went back to the inn and had my first teleparty

session with my friend Justin watching Supernatural (Fun fact!

Supernatural is one of my favorite shows) and then went to bed.

I left Stowe the next morning to continue on with my road trip. 

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So that was my visit to Stowe! I hope you enjoyed reading about it!

Did it make you want to take a trip to Stowe?

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