Outside Magazine, February 2000

Vermont Road Trip

"Moooooo," my 3-year-old son, Jake, yelled, echoed by the high-pitched "moo" from my 1-year-old daughter, Melanie. My kids were taunting the cows who grazed at the edge of Vermont's Lamoille River as we slid by in our canoe. Tall fields of corn sloped down to the water, surrounded by the foothills of the Green Mountains. Everywhere was farmland; the smell of manure wafting in the air served as remembrance when I looked down to see if my daughter was still secure in my wife's lap and not drifting behind the ducks. It was only the third day of a seven-day jaunt to Vermont and I wanted Melanie to stick around till the end.

Traveling with a preschooler and toddler for a week in the country might seem like a foolhardy adventure and that's precisely the point. After spending far too much of the winter inside our house watching mind-numbing episodes of Teletubbies, my wife, Lisa, and I were in dire need of fresh air. Vermont, with its manageable rolling hills and wealth of outdoor activity, seemed like the perfect cure for a young family with cabin fever.

If my kids were just a wee bit older, say 6 and 8, they could have easily participated in all the sports we tried, but since they were so young, my wife and I had to compromise. That's exactly what I did the first day when I dropped Lisa off at Kedron Valley Stables in South Woodstock for a three-hour horseback ride. Paul Kendall, owner of Kedron Valley Stables, led my wife and the other riders through secluded woods and historic villages like South Woodstock and Grafton, while I took the kids to the nearby Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock. This working farm gives curious kids (ideal for 5 to 12-year-olds) a hands-on demonstration of 19th-century farming methods. Jake was too scared to milk the cow, but he did manage another "moo."

The next day, it was my turn to play as we made our way north to the town of East Burke. From the center of town, more than 150 miles of mountain bike routes branch out into a network called the Kingdom Trails. I jumped on my bike and cruised into the countryside on a soft forest singletrack, dusted with pine needles. Soon, I was sweeping up and down this rollercoaster ride, banking hard around corners, all within an arm's length of fragrant spruces and firs. Lisa opted to stay on the grounds of the Wildflower Inn. Owners Jim and Mary O'Reilly have eight children from ages 2 to 19, so they know how to keep kids happy. They have hay rides, a petting zoo with sheep and goats, a playground, pool, tennis courts, batting cage, basketball courts, and an exquisite view atop Darling Hill.

Day three, it was off to Stowe, where we all survived our six-mile canoe journey on the Lamoille. We passed only one other canoe the entire day as we snaked our way slowly through the fields of corn, making numerous snack stops for restless kids along the way. Vermont's highest peak, 4,393-foot Mount Mansfield, came into view upon the end of the trip.

We split up again the following morning, Lisa taking Jake on a 15-mile bike loop through the quintessential Vermont towns of Waitsfield and Warren, while I put Melanie in the backpack and climbed Mt. Hunger. The relatively flat bike ride, via State Routes 100 and 17, goes through two covered bridges and more of that oh-so-fertile Vermont farmland in the valley below Sugarbush ski area. Treasured by locals for its lack of foot traffic, the 3,538-foot Mt. Hunger is a moderate climb (children 8 and older can handle it) that rewards you with views of the northern half of the state. However, Melanie was far too busy chasing ants and pointing at chipmunks to relish the sites. Afterwards, I met my wife at the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, where both kids did their darndest to get New York Super Fudge Chunk on every thread of clothing.

The last two days were spent in the western part on the state, on or near the shores of Lake Champlain. In Burlington, I went sailing for a half day with Jake, but we were both miserable from the hot sun and lack of wind. Lisa made a far better choice of going biking with Mel on the nine-mile-long Burlington Bikeway that hugs the waterfront of this massive lake. Then it was south to Basin Harbor for our big finale-a day of road biking for the entire clan. South of Basin Harbor, Button Bay Road (which turns into Lake Road) is a gently rolling route nestled between the Adirondacks in New York and Vermont's Green Mountains. Much to Jake's delight, silos and cows far outnumber cars. Jake and Mel said their goodbye "moos" while Lisa and I took in our last deep breaths of crisp Vermont air, knowing full that we'd be home soon and these cows would quickly be replaced by a purple dinosaur named Barney.