Letters from Highland Lodge

Since its official opening in the summer of 2017, the Highland Center for the Arts has become Greensboro’s own Globe Theatre. Well on its way into the history books, the aptly named “Highland Center” is what it set out to become: a community hub created around the region’s vibrant arts scene. Nearby, you’ll find other cultural attractions like the Bread and...

For decades, Catamount Arts has stood as the keystone of Northeastern Vermont’s cultural, entertainment, and arts communities. Along with world-class exhibitions by local and regional artists, they also offer a multitude of film screenings, live music, dance, theater, and educational and workshop programming. This November, Stile Antico, a Grammy-nominated Renaissance vocal ensemble,...

Selected as one of the Top 10 corn mazes in America, the Great Vermont Corn Maze is the perfect outdoor fall activity to challenge your mind. Open seven days a week, the Great Vermont Corn Maze is the largest corn maze in New England. Visitors rave about the maze and always wish they had come earlier or vow to make a trip to tackle the labyrinth again next year. 

Early fall is one of our favorite times of the year and you’ll quickly learn what makes it so special as our landscape transforms into the fiery colors of autumn. Explore the Northeast Kingdom’s fjord-like valleys, rolling hills, and steep mountain slopes for a leaf-peeping adventure that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Lace up your sneakers and hit the trails...

The Catamount Arts Center is an essential part of the culture and performing arts community of Vermont. It brings in nationally known artists to fill a lineup of world-class performances that open eyes to different cultures, stimulate the local economy, and educate and inspire young artists. The new Arts Center features two theaters, two state-of-the-art classrooms, an 80-seat performance...

Take a scenic half hour drive south west to Elmore State Park this summer. Enjoy the open water of Lake Elmore on a stand up paddleboard or kayak, or take the two hiking trails to a breathtaking summit view of the Vermont’s Green Mountains.

Ann Young was born in Chicago, raised in Illinois and Nebraska but she has lived all of her adult life in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. She dabbled in the “back to the land” movement and raised a family here. From her first paying job illustrating the varmints of the Nebraska plains through her stint as an illustrator for The Center For Northern Studies, to her pseudo-abstract...

One of the main reasons visitors come to our area is to explore our network of trails. Whether it be for hiking, biking, snowmobile riding, snowshoeing, or sightseeing, you’ll quickly find yourself strolling along these backroads and pathways whether you planned on it or not. Thankfully, you have one of the best trail mapping resources available to you right at your fingertips and it...

The best thing about biking is that you can explore the hard-to-reach, out-of-the-way locations that paved roads don’t even go near. In the remote reaches of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, this is especially true. When the pavement stops, make sure you’re on a fat bike or hybrid and begin your off-road adventure in a landscape unlike any other.

If you didn’t already know, one of the sweetest things you can find at the grocery store calls our area home: Ben and Jerry’s. As you travel throughout the Northeast Kingdom’s majestic landscape, visit the Waterbury Ben and Jerry’s factory for a guided 30-minute tour and learn how the popular brand makes their delicious ice cream. Find your favorite flavor to sample or...

Color has attracted my attention all my life; before I could talk I drew with crayons. Growing up in Ohio as a farmer’s daughter, I spent time in the fields, marveling at the distant tree line and being aware of the upturned rocks at my feet.  I have studied art through high school, university, and workshops.

The urge to create is instinctive and...

If you’ve visited Vermont or the Northeast Kingdom in March before, or if you’re a nearby resident of the region itself, then you know what March means. If not, I’ll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with basketball. The month of March, for us, is way, way sweeter. This remarkable time of the year is when Vermont’s sugar makers open the doors to their...

Devoted to our tradition of lodging cross-country skiers during their winter adventures, the Highland Lodge is just steps away (literally!) from some of the most enjoyable Nordic trails in the country. The Greensboro trails, groomed and maintained by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, run between the villages of Greensboro and Craftsbury. Conveniently nestled on a hilltop between the two, Highland...

Thanks to modern snowmaking capabilities (and a little help from Mother Nature) Burke Mountain opened early for the season--the earliest opening in years. At Burke Mountain, enjoy some of the finest ski slopes and trails in the area; hone your skills at the Burke Mountain Academy with a knowledgeable and experienced instructor, or put your skis to the test on the steep, ungroomed...

The drive northwest to the Vermont Reindeer Farm in Brownington is well worth the journey. Celebrate the holidays with the only live reindeer in the entire state! Walk the nature trail on snowshoes as the reindeer, named after Santa’s own, stroll through the forest in search of snacks.

Call it what you want. Farm to table. Farm to plate. Field to fork. Take your pick. It all means the same thing and it’s redefining every fabric of our lives. So bring your appetite. The movement that serves these mouthwatering fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses, fresh from the farm six miles down the road, is growing faster than arugula.

Perhaps one of the Northeast Kingdom’s most famous characteristics is the breathtaking colors that blanket our rugged landscape in the fall. Usually starting around mid-September, the dense forests covering the Green Mountains (kind of ironic right now, don’t you think?) provide ample opportunity for some of the absolute best fall foliage viewing in the country. We’ve...

One of the hidden gems of the Northeast Kingdom is no crown jewel; it’s mud. A lot of mud. Or rather, the beautiful, colorful, and smoothly molded pottery from Vermont-born Lynn Flory’s studio, Mill Village Pottery. Her space, called a sanctuary by visitors, is a place where decades of professional discipline, practice, and training meet the imaginative freedom of creation and...

Our state may be small, but we have a long history riddled with ingenuity, innovation, and inventiveness, especially in the Northeast Kingdom. Because of our relatively secluded location (stopping at the neighbors for some sugar sometimes meant a three-mile hike one-way) our ancestors had to get creative with what they had and make their own of whatever it was they needed. Sometimes, we saw...

There’s no better way to spend a summer Saturday in Vermont than attending the Annual Antiques and Uniques Festival. Continuing more than 40 years of tradition in Craftsbury and the surrounding towns, it is one of the area’s most cherished summer events. Over 100 antique vendors cover Craftsbury Common in a picturesque, country way while live folk music performances entertain,...

Even though we’ve had to reluctantly pack away our winter gear and our favorite skis, spring and summer blanket the Northeast Kingdom, revealing the landscape’s breathtaking natural beauty that earned it its moniker. Countless mountain peaks roll off to the horizon and beyond like towering oceanic rogue waves. Just as it is in the winter months, Vermont is perfect for the outdoor...

Take a step back in time with a nostalgic shopping spree at Red Sky Trading in Glover, VT. Doug and Cheri open their doors for the summer season, offering their patrons the unique style and experience you can only find at Red Sky. From kitschy collectibles to local artisan cheese, this small shop is the kind of care-free and casual the world needs more of!

Take a trip into town at St. Johnsbury to catch some great views, shop the wares in the artisan stores, and discover some of the Northeast Kingdom’s best-kept secrets. St. Johnsbury’s Main Street Historic District is an attractive and timeless section of the Northeast Kingdom’s largest town. From elegant architecture of the Victorian era to the soaring heights of Italianate...

March can mean many things to Americans. For some, it’s all about basketball. For others, it’s simply the end of winter, the de-thawing in preparation for the April rains. In Vermont, March means maple syrup season, or "sugaring," when thousands of maple farmers feverishly await the flow of precious maple sap from their sugar bushes.