St. Albans, Vermont Travel Guide

Small Town Boasts Variety of Food, Recreation, Unique Events

Aug 16, 2008 Kara E. Scott

For a traveler who is looking for something a little quieter and "off the beaten path," St. Albans, Vermont, may just be the ticket.

Known as the Maple Sugar Capital of the World, this tiny town located near the shore of Lake Champlain in Northwestern Vermont boasts an array of restaurants, recreational activities and unique events that offer something for just about every traveler’s personality and tastes.

Restaurants

According to 31-year-old Lisa Hallo, a Project Associate at Upstate Forever in South Carolina and former program administrator for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, St. Albans offers a variety of restaurants that covers a broad spectrum of tastes and price ranges.

Traditional steaks and seafood can be found at the Old Foundry Restaurant. This Americano bar boasts a more outdoorsy atmosphere and medium-priced faire.

For those travelers looking for oriental-style cuisine, the Eastern Dragon Chinese and Japanese Restaurant boasts the best sushi and hot and sour soup. Chow Bella offers Italian.

For someone who just wants to relax and watch the sun set over Lake Champlain with an ice cold beer and a hot bowl of clam chowder, the Bayside Pavilion is just the place.

In the mood for a slice of pizza pie? Mimmo’s Pizzeria/Restaurant is an excellent choice. MiGuels Irish Burro Cafe offers a pub atmosphere and Mexican-American cuisine.

But diverse cuisine is not the only thing St. Albans has to offer. Its landscape lends itself to many recreational activities.

Recreational Activities

Located near the shore of Lake Champlain, St. Albans is a prime spot for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and sailing.

According to 32-year-old Jeff Hallo, an assistant professor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University and former state park manager in Vermont, visitors and residents can pack a picnic lunch and take a ferry or kayak from Kill KareState Park to Burton Island or Knight Island State Park. Burton Island also has a restaurant where travelers can fill their bellies with ice cream and hot sandwiches.

For those who would rather stay on dry land, there’s the 26.4-mile Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail that runs through the pastoral working communities of Northern Vermont and is perfect for bicyclists, joggers and walkers. Hiking is another popular activity around the area.

Want to see a moose near St. Albans? Fairfield Swamp – a wildlife management area – is the best place to go. It’s also a hot spot for fishing and hunting for duck and deer.

Not only does St. Albans have a lot to offer, but its location is very conducive to day trips. Burlington is only about 30 minutes away, and is widely known for Church Street with its many, unique shops and restaurants. Montreal, Canada, is approximately 2 hours away and offers a quick escape to another country for the day or the weekend. The local library actually has travel information available specifically for area roadtrips.

But to really get a sense St. Albans and its people, stick around the area for one of its many unique events, shops and historical sites.

Unique Events

As the Maple Sugar Capital of the World, St. Albans hosts a Maple Festival every April. Attendees can satisfy their sweet tooth by sampling maple sugar on ice and maple cotton candy and purchase local arts and crafts.

Every Saturday during summer, the city’s vendors wake up early and gather in the town to sell their fruits and vegetables at the town Farmers’ Market.

There’s also quite a few unique shops in downtown St. Albans, including the Rail City Market Incorporated, which specializes in natural products and arts and crafts. As the Crow Flies is a quaint business offering household kitchen items and decorations. There’s also a toy store and candy shop named Sweet Nothings.

The St. Albans movie theatre, Welden Theatre, is a historic landmark that is believed to be haunted. The building used to be the site of a jail, and the remains of old jail cells still exist in its basement. Strange phenomena has been reported including movies starting by themselves, voices being heard in the projection booths and doors flying open even though they’re latched. Some have even claimed that they’ve seen the ghost of an old homeless man wandering around in a white sweater.

The city is also the site of the factory where most of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream is actually produced and packaged.

In essence, St. Albans has a personality all its own. It offers just a taste of the low-key authenticity Vermont has to offer.

The copyright of the article St. Albans, Vermont Travel Guide in NE U.S. Travel is owned by Kara E. Scott. Permission to republish St. Albans, Vermont Travel Guide in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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