Vermont Road Trips

What are the best drives in Vermont?

These are the routes people ask for by name. Road conditions and closures change, so check the official source for each before you set out.

Scenic Route 100 Byway

Massachusetts border to Granville: 138 miles, about 4 hours without stops. The stretch the Vermont Transportation Board designated, along the spine of the Green Mountains; Route 100 itself carries on north to the Canadian border. Official information.

Smugglers Notch, Scenic Route 108

Stowe to Cambridge: 20 miles, about 40 minutes. A narrow pass between 1,000-foot cliffs. It closes for the season, typically November through May, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation says state law bars single vehicles over 40 feet and combinations over 45 feet. Official information.

Molly Stark Byway

Brattleboro to Bennington: 48 miles, about 1.5 hours without stops. Vermont Route 9 over Hogback Mountain, where the "100-mile view" overlook takes in three states. Official information.

The Shires of Vermont Byway

Pownal to Manchester: 33 miles, about 1 hour without stops. Through Bennington and up Historic Route 7A, linking 15 towns and villages along the Batten Kill. Official information.

Crossroad of Vermont Byway

Rutland to New Hampshire border: 50 miles, about 1.5 hours without stops. The east-west route across the state, through Killington and Woodstock. Official information.

Northeast Kingdom Byway

St. Johnsbury to Newport: 51 miles, about 1.75 hours without stops. Through Lyndon, East and West Burke, Westmore, Charleston and Derby. Official information.

Lincoln Gap Road

Lincoln to Warren: 9 miles, about 20 minutes. Vermont Tourism calls it the steepest paved mile in the US. Paved on the Warren side and dirt on the Lincoln side, and the Green Mountain Club says it closes each winter. Official information.

The Long Trail

Massachusetts border to Canadian border: 272 miles, 21 to 25 days on foot. Along the spine of the Green Mountains; more than 300 people thru-hike it each year. Official information.

Looking for somewhere to stop? See places in Vermont and the Vermont outdoors.