Waterbury, Vermont: where famous ice cream, rustic cider, and three state parks share a zip code

Waterbury’s got 5,000 people and zero chill

Waterbury, Vermont, sits right in the middle of the Green Mountains, about 30 minutes from Burlington and 20 minutes from the state capital.

Only about 5,000 people live here, but the town pulls in visitors like a place ten times its size.

You’ve got a factory that churns out some of the country’s most famous ice cream, a cider mill pressing apples on a century-old machine, and three state parks within arm’s reach.

The food scene alone would be enough, but the mountains around it keep things interesting.

Chartered by a king, rebuilt after two floods

King George III of England granted Waterbury its charter back in 1763.

Early settlers came up from Waterbury, Connecticut, and James Marsh put down roots as the first permanent resident in 1783. The Central Vermont Railroad rolled in by 1849 and brought money and tourists with it.

Then the Great Flood of 1927 tore through town. The Army Corps of Engineers responded by building the Little River Dam in 1938, which created an 850-acre reservoir.

Tropical Storm Irene flooded downtown again in 2011, and the community cleaned up and rebuilt a second time.

Walk past murals and a restored 1875 train station

Waterbury’s downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places, and you can see why on foot.

A self-guided walking tour takes you past landmarks like the restored 1875 railroad station and the former home of Governor Ezra Butler.

The buildings date back to the town’s days as a center for lumber, farming and leather. Public art pops up everywhere, from murals to sculptures to large-scale installations.

Independent shops and bookstores line Main Street and Stowe Street, so you can browse between stops.

Sample ice cream where Ben and Jerry started it all

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, childhood friends from New York, started their ice cream company here in 1978. The factory is now one of Vermont’s most visited spots.

You can take a 30-minute guided tour through the production facility, and it ends with a free sample. Outside, the Flavor Graveyard has humorous tombstones for retired flavors.

There’s also a full scoop shop, a gift shop and a playground for kids. Book your tickets online ahead of time because tours fill up fast.

Watch cider pressed on a 100-year-old machine

Cold Hollow Cider Mill sits in a 19th-century farmhouse on Route 100 between Waterbury and Stowe. The family has run the operation since 1974, making it one of New England’s largest cider producers.

You can watch them press fresh apple cider on an original rack-and-cloth press from the early 1900s. The cider donuts have shown up in national food publications, and once you try one, you’ll understand why.

Inside, you’ll also find a cafe, a bakery, Vermont-made products and a live indoor honeybee hive. Down the road, the Cabot Creamery Store lets you taste cheeses from a farmer-owned co-op that’s been going since 1919.

Climb 4,083 feet to Vermont’s wildest summit

Camel’s Hump stands 4,083 feet tall, making it Vermont’s third-highest mountain and the only undeveloped peak above 4,000 feet in the state.

That double-humped profile made it onto the Vermont state quarter in 1999.

The Burrows Trail is the most popular route up, at 4.7 miles round trip with about 2,280 feet of elevation gain.

From the top, you can see Lake Champlain, New York’s Adirondacks, New Hampshire’s White Mountains and Mount Mansfield.

Rare alpine tundra plants grow on the summit, and the Green Mountain Club stations a caretaker there in summer to keep hikers on the rocks and off the plants.

Paddle an 850-acre reservoir to your own campsite

The 850-acre Waterbury Reservoir exists because the Civilian Conservation Corps and Army Corps of Engineers built the Little River Dam in 1938 for flood control.

Now you can swim, kayak, canoe, paddleboard or fish in it. Rainbow trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass and perch all live in the water.

Waterbury Center State Park gives you a public beach, boat rentals and day-use access right on the shore. If you want real solitude, 27 remote campsites along the shoreline are reachable only by boat.

Hike past old cemeteries and sawmill ruins

Little River State Park is central Vermont’s largest and most popular campground, with 81 tent and RV sites, 20 lean-tos and five cabins along the reservoir.

Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails wind through the neighboring Mount Mansfield State Forest.

One self-guided history hike passes old cemeteries, cellar holes and sawmill remains from a 19th-century settlement where about 50 families once farmed the land.

The park also runs nature programs like night hikes, campfire talks and amphibian explorations.

Ride singletrack straight from the end of Main Street

Perry Hill’s trail network starts right where Main Street ends in downtown Waterbury.

The Waterbury Area Trails Alliance maintains the system, and riders consider it some of the finest singletrack in Vermont.

Most of the terrain suits intermediate to advanced riders, with technical climbs mixed into flowy descents.

If you’re newer to mountain biking, Little River State Park has easier trails nearby. You can rent bikes in town, so you don’t need to haul your own.

Drive 71 miles through covered bridges and rock outcroppings

The Green Mountain Byway is a state-designated scenic loop that starts in Waterbury and covers 71 miles.

You’ll pass through Stowe, Morrisville, Hyde Park, Johnson and Cambridge, rolling past meadows, farmland, forests, covered bridges and mountain views the whole way.

Part of the route follows the Smugglers’ Notch Scenic Highway, which squeezes through dramatic rock outcroppings on the shoulder of Mount Mansfield.

Come during fall foliage season, and the entire loop turns into one of New England’s most colorful drives.

The country’s oldest hiking trail started right here

The Green Mountain Club set up its headquarters in Waterbury Center on Route 100 back in 1910. The club built and still maintains the Long Trail, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the United States.

It stretches 273 miles along the spine of Vermont’s Green Mountains, from Massachusetts all the way to Canada, and it later inspired the creation of the Appalachian Trail.

The visitor center has trail maps, hiking advice, gear and educational exhibits. A free half-mile interpretive loop on the property gives you a taste of Long Trail hiking without the commitment.

Ski in winter, tap maples in spring, swim all summer

Fall turns the Green Mountains into a wall of color, and Waterbury puts you right in the middle of it.

Winter brings skiing and snowboarding at nearby Stowe Mountain Resort, plus snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and fat biking on local trails.

Spring means maple sugaring season, a Vermont tradition that goes back generations. Summer is when the reservoir, the trails and the mountain bike network all hit peak season.

You don’t even need a car to get here. Waterbury’s Amtrak station sits on the daily Vermonter route between St. Albans and Washington, D.C.

Explore downtown Waterbury in central Vermont

You can reach Waterbury via Interstate 89 or Route 100, and the town sits in Washington County, about 30 minutes southeast of Burlington and 20 minutes west of Montpelier.

If you’d rather skip the drive, Amtrak’s Vermonter provides daily rail service connecting to cities up and down the East Coast. Green Mountain Transit runs buses to Burlington, Montpelier and Stowe.

Once you’re in town, everything is compact and walkable, with public parking areas spread throughout the village.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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