A Foodie Road Trip: Fun Things To Do in Stowe, Vermont

If you love eating and drinking your way through a new town, this one’s for you! Stowe, Vermont, is the perfect foodie destination, with a mix of farm-fresh flavors, classic New England treats, and unique local bites.

For this foodie road trip, Jon and I were actually staying about an hour outside of town in Topsham, VT, but if you’re visiting for just a few days—or want to fully immerse yourself in Vermont’s food scene—we recommend staying directly in Stowe or about 45 minutes away in Burlington. When we return in the future (and we will, during peak fall foliage—I'm declaring it now!), we’ll stay right in town.

Stowe is a gorgeous year-round destination—we visited in summer, but fall is famous for breathtaking foliage, and winter brings world-class skiing. No matter when you visit, there’s plenty to see, do, and most importantly—eat! So, without further ado… here’s how to recreate our Foodie Road Trip in Stowe, Vermont—or plan your own delicious adventure! 🍽️🍁🚗

Where to start your Foodie Road Trip?

We’re showing the trip starting from Topsham because that’s where we started, but you can take this road trip from Stowe, Burlington, Montpelier, Barre, Woodstock, or anywhere else. The closer your starting point is to Stowe, the shorter the driving portion of your trip will be and the more time you can spend hanging out at each stop.

Pick whichever place sounds best to you as Stop #1 (or whichever place is closest to your starting destination). But then, once you’ve picked, we recommend following the map and visiting each next place in order, so you’re not driving more than you have to (and again, you maximize your time to enjoy each location instead).

Driving counter-clockwise: Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, Ben & Jerry’s Factory, Cabot Farmers’ Store, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Stowe Cider, The Alchemist Brewery, and Stowe Maple Products

Table of Contents Hide

1. Ben & Jerry’s Waterbury Factory

Even locals told us that no trip to Stowe is complete without visiting Ben & Jerry’s—and taking a stroll through the Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard.

This stop actually first came on our radar thanks to my brother and sister-in-law, who had one of their very first dates at the Ben & Jerry’s Waterbury Factory. They told us about the tour, the Flavor Graveyard, and about how much fun they had spending a day at the Ben & Jerry’s campus.

So, of course, we had to add it to our list as well and realized how perfectly we could pair ice cream with cheese and cider donuts—both of which are just a short drive down the road.

The Ben & Jerry’s Waterbury Factory is located at 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Road. You can learn more about tours, hours, and the outside window service for ice cream on the Ben & Jerry’s website here.

Since we had Lincoln with us for our Foodie Road Trip, we couldn’t make it inside for the factory tour. We did, however, wait 30+ minutes for ice cream (fine to do once, wouldn’t do it again) and strolled through the Flavor Graveyard. We bought Lincoln a doggie ice cream (pumpkin flavor), and she wouldn’t touch it, but would happily eat our Cherry Garcia. So we’d skip that next time ,too!

Dog-friendly? Dogs are not allowed inside or on the factory tour, but they can wait in line for ice cream with you and visit the Flavor Graveyard.

2. Cabot Cheese Farmers’ Store

The Cabot Cheese Farmers’ Store wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but we discovered it while researching Ben & Jerry’s and Cold Hollow Cider Mill—and since it’s right between the two on the same road, it’s an easy stop. Plus, when we saw Charles Boyle from Brooklyn Nine-Nine (a man with a very refined food palate!) gift Captain Holt a “sharp Vermont Cabot,” we knew we had to try it for ourselves.

Thanks to fate (and Brooklyn Nine-Nine), we were introduced to the ‘World’s Best Cheddar’—and we’ve been grateful ever since. This turned out to be one of our favorite stops on our Vermont Foodie Road Trip, and Vermont Cabot has become a staple in our kitchen ever since.

The Cabot Cheese Farmers’ Store is located at 2657 Waterbury-Stowe Road, making it an easy and worthwhile stop. You can find more details, including hours and additional road trip ideas, on their website.

We originally planned for a quick visit to grab a block or two of cheese, but we were pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of tasting options throughout the store. The highlight? A Cider & Cheese Tasting from Stowe Cider, where carefully paired Cabot cheeses and local ciders made for an unexpectedly perfect combination. We loved it so much that we left with a four-pack of cider and three different blocks of cheese—with Lamberton being our favorite. Safe to say, you might end up staying longer than expected at this Foodie Road Trip stop.

Dog-friendly? No, dogs are not allowed inside the store.

3. Cold Hollow Cider Mill

This was one of the reasons I was so excited to visit Vermont. In fact, this was one of the main reasons I wanted a New England Travel Season. I wanted to experience a New England fall, and in my mind, that had to include cider mills—complete with hot apple cider and fresh cider donuts.

While researching cider mills in Vermont, Cold Hollow Cider Mill quickly stood out. It was mentioned everywhere, and after visiting, I understand why. Even in summer, it felt exactly like the cozy, classic New England cider mill experience I had imagined. If I lived in Stowe, I’d be stopping by every weekend for a hot apple cider to go!

You could easily spend a morning here, sipping cider and enjoying fresh donuts, or make it an afternoon stop to check out their restaurant and hard cider tasting room. Inside, there’s also a self-guided tour of their working cider mill and free tastings, making it a great all-around experience.

Have I convinced you yet? You. must. go. (If you love apple cider—or the feeling of fall bundled up in a store.) Learn more about Cold Hollow Cider Mill here.

Dog-friendly? Dogs aren’t allowed inside, but they are welcome on the grounds, so you can sit at the picnic tables out front and enjoy your treats with your pup.

4. Stowe Cider

The next two stops on your Foodie Road Trip aren’t technically food (though Stowe Cider did have a grilled cheese food truck out front—and yes, it was delicious!). But if you have extra time, or can split your trip over a few days, these cideries and breweries are some of the best things to do in Stowe. Considering how much I love hot apple cider, it’s no surprise that hard cider is also one of my favorites.

If we’d had more time, I would have loved to enjoy a hard cider flight at Cold Hollow Cider Mill’s tasting room, but luckily, we had another weekend to make a return trip to Stowe (we split this road trip over two weekends to have more time to enjoy everything!). That second weekend, we made it to Stowe Cider’s taproom—and it was worth the visit.

Remember how Cabot Cheese was hosting cider and cheese pairings? That’s when we found out Stowe Cider is dog-friendly, so we made a plan to check it out the following weekend. We sat out back in the garden, and it was a great spot to relax and sip cider. Just as we were leaving, a musician started playing—proving this is yet another place where you could easily spend a few hours just hanging out. Learn more about Stowe Cider here.

5. Alchemist Brewing Company

Another stop not originally on our radar, the Alchemist Brewing Company came highly recommended by a friend—who called it a bucket-list brewery we had to check out. (In fact, when other friends heard we went, word got around, and suddenly, everyone wanted our review and favorite beers. The Alchemist Brewing Company is a pretty big deal in the beer world!)

Unfortunately, the brewery isn’t dog-friendly, so our visit was shorter than we would have liked. But we still had time to grab a drink and relax on the lawn before heading out. I’m not usually a big beer fan (especially not IPAs), but the Zomerbier was amazing! And Jon loved his Heady Topper, which is one of their most famous brews.

If you’re a beer lover—or just want to see what all the hype is about—this is definitely worth a stop. Learn more about the Alchemist Brewing Company here.

6. Stowe Maple Products

We visited Stowe Maple Products during the off-season for maple syrup production (July), so the store was smaller than expected, but still packed with Vermont-made maple treats. The maple candies we picked up were incredible—pure, bite-sized sugar rushes that melt in your mouth. Even though we weren’t there during maple sugaring season (which typically runs from February to April), it was still a fun and worthwhile stop.

If you visit during peak maple season, you’ll get to see the full sugaring process in action, complete with steam rising from the sugarhouse as sap is boiled down into syrup. But even in the off-season, Stowe Maple Products is a great stop for maple lovers, offering real Vermont maple syrup, candies, and other locally made goodies. Whether you’re grabbing a bottle of syrup for pancakes at home or just want to sample the state’s famous sweetener, it’s a quick, delicious stop that’s worth adding to your Stowe itinerary!

7. Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks

Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks is actually in Montpelier, so this stop is best if you’re heading back toward Topsham, Barre, or Woodstock. In full transparency, we didn’t make the stop even though it was on the way because we were too full and too tired (see the bonus activity below for why!).

But if we hadn’t recently toured a maple farm in Ontario—complete with our very own maple charcuterie board, we would have made the stop anyway. At Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, visitors can enjoy free self-guided tours of the sugarhouse, where you can learn about the maple syrup production process.

The farm also features multimedia displays in a real woodshed theater, a nature trail through the maple forest, and an outdoor Vermont farm life museum. The country store offers a variety of maple products, including their famous maple creemees—Vermont’s signature soft-serve ice cream, made with real maple syrup for a rich, creamy texture and a perfectly sweet, caramel-like maple flavor. (This maple creemee is why, to this day, I wish we had made the stop!)

Learn more about a visit to Morse Farm here.

8. Bonus: Mount Hunger Hike

Is there a better-named hike to add to a foodie road trip than Mount Hunger? If you want to work up an appetite before eating and drinking your way through Stowe, Vermont, this hike is a solid (and fitting!) choice. But in full disclosure—it’s also a challenge!

At 4.1 miles round trip with 2,296 feet of elevation gain, Mount Hunger was one of our first hikes of the season, and it felt like it. (I.e., Hard and requiring many stops along the way.) The reward? Gorgeous 360-degree views from the summit.

That said, if you’re only doing one hike in Stowe, I’d actually recommend Stowe Pinnacle instead—the terrain was more fun and just as scenic. But if you love the idea of hiking first, then indulging in cider, cheese, and Vermont-made treats, pick a trail, and follow it up with a couple of these foodie stops. And if you just want to focus on food? Skip the hike and hit as many of these spots as possible!

RTL Tip: Here was our full foodie road trip itinerary... Mount Hunger Trail → Cold Hollow Cider Mill → Stowe Maple Products → Cabot Farmers’ Store → Ben and Jerry’s, then we saved Stowe Cider → The Alchemist → more Cabot cheese → and a few to-go ciders and donuts for the following weekend.

Save this itinerary for a future road trip!

Hover over either image below and click on the red “Save” button that pops up in the upper lefthand corner of the image to save this road trip itinerary on Pinterest for later! (If you’re on mobile, you might have to tap the image first to see the red ‘Save’ button.)

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