[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by jackmccullough

It can be tricky to get the train into Vermont because even when it's running the routes to Vermont are focused on the north-south corridor.

One time when I had to travel from Michigan back to Vermont, probably thirty years ago or more, I was able to take a train from Windsor, Ont., to Montpelier. I don't think you can get a train from Montreal to Vermont anymore but you might be able to get a train across Ontario and Quebec to Montreal and then rent a car for your Vermont travel. You'll see a lot so it could give you the long-distance railroad adventure you're looking for.

I don't have a passport so I won't be able to go up into Canada, but that's ok, there are some things I wanted to see in the US along the way.

You can drive the entire length of Vermont, taking a combination of Interstates and two-lane highways in half a day, although you'll be pretty tired by the end. If you want to see everything there is to see, including staying over, maybe doing some hiking, and so forth a week would be ample.

This is good to know! I was thinking I would need a whole month in order to see everything! I am narrowing it down though and could probably get by with just seeing Burlington, Montpelier, Shelburne (leaning towards here, to move to eventually), and Woodstock and they're mostly in the middle, so I probably could get by with just those if I wanted to spend a few days in each town.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

You can certainly get as far as Albany NY by rail. That’s only a few miles from Vermont. Enterprise is at the train station and Hertz is across the River. I’m not sure if that Hertz branch survived the bankruptcy. NYC to Albany is a major passenger rail route. You can also get as far as Greenfield Ma with more limited service. It would be more challenging to rent a car in Greenfield (Enterprise) but I-91 to Brattleboro would be a good first stopping point and it’s only ~25 minutes.

Hmm, I just searched for routes from where I am to Albany and nothing showed up for that either!

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Uhhh, you can do that on the interstate, but once you get on the local roads, good luck. There is an old saw that goes "Vermont is a small state, but if you flattened it out it would be the size of Texas." Obviously, that is overstatement, but the hills and winding of the roads and the required slow speeds can make a journey that looks short on a map be much longer than you might expect.

Good to know! I am not worried though, enough people have told me it's only a few hours to get from one end to the other, and I want to stay at least a week, maybe two. And i've narrowed it down to only 4 cities I really need to visit and they're all within an hour and a half from each other.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Uhhh, you can do that on the interstate, but once you get on the local roads, good luck. There is an old saw that goes "Vermont is a small state, but if you flattened it out it would be the size of Texas." Obviously, that is overstatement, but the hills and winding of the roads and the required slow speeds can make a journey that looks short on a map be much longer than you might expect.

Yea, that's what I meant (highway driving if you are just blasting through). I could have been much clearer.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by GaiaGoddess

Hmm, I just searched for routes from where I am to Albany and nothing showed up for that either!

Try plugging in New York Penn Station. You change trains to Albany there and it’s pretty frequent service even in the COVID-19 era. NYC people don’t own cars and Albany is the state capital. That generates a huge amount of daily passenger traffic. If you can’t get to Penn Station, you probably need to buy a mule or a covered wagon.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Uhhh, you can do that on the interstate, but once you get on the local roads, good luck. There is an old saw that goes "Vermont is a small state, but if you flattened it out it would be the size of Texas." Obviously, that is overstatement, but the hills and winding of the roads and the required slow speeds can make a journey that looks short on a map be much longer than you might expect.

Or the joke about the Texan boasting to the New England farmer that it took 2 hours to drive across his ranch. The farmer replied, “I used to own a tractor like that. Got rid of it.”

Most people with a week+ in Vermont would want to drive at least some of Route 100 up the spine of the Greens.

[CatwomanofV]

From Albany to the Vermont border is about an hour & a half (Northway I-89 to 149 in Lake George to Route 4 in Fort Ann which takes you right into Vermont). From the Route 4 Border in Fair Haven, it would only take an hour & a half to Brattleboro in the south (Route 4 to Route 7 to Route 103 to I-91). From Fair Haven, it will take about an hour and a half to Burlington (Route 22A north to Route 7). Again, it will only take about an hour & a half to get to Bennington. (Route 4 to Route 7 south).

From the same point, it would take about 2 hours to get to Montpelier, Barre, Waterbury, or White River Junction. It will take close to 3 hours to get to St. Johnsbury or Newport.

Yeah, I've made most of those trips a few times.


Cat

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Try plugging in New York Penn Station. You change trains to Albany there and it’s pretty frequent service even in the COVID-19 era. NYC people don’t own cars and Albany is the state capital. That generates a huge amount of daily passenger traffic. If you can’t get to Penn Station, you probably need to buy a mule or a covered wagon.

I just tried Penn Station and now it's telling me a portion of my trip is "unavailable". Are the routes sold out already for the middle of October?

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

You can certainly get as far as Albany NY by rail. That’s only a few miles from Vermont. Enterprise is at the train station and Hertz is across the River. I’m not sure if that Hertz branch survived the bankruptcy. NYC to Albany is a major passenger rail route. You can also get as far as Greenfield Ma with more limited service. It would be more challenging to rent a car in Greenfield (Enterprise) but I-91 to Brattleboro would be a good first stopping point and it’s only ~25 minutes.

I'm getting the same message I got when I searched for the Penn Station, that a portion of my trip is "unavailable". I wonder if all the routes are sold out because October is a popular tourist time?

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by CatwomanofV

From Albany to the Vermont border is about an hour & a half (Northway I-89 to 149 in Lake George to Route 4 in Fort Ann which takes you right into Vermont). From the Route 4 Border in Fair Haven, it would only take an hour & a half to Brattleboro in the south (Route 4 to Route 7 to Route 103 to I-91). From Fair Haven, it will take about an hour and a half to Burlington (Route 22A north to Route 7). Again, it will only take about an hour & a half to get to Bennington. (Route 4 to Route 7 south).

From the same point, it would take about 2 hours to get to Montpelier, Barre, Waterbury, or White River Junction. It will take close to 3 hours to get to St. Johnsbury or Newport.

Yeah, I've made most of those trips a few times.


Cat

Thanks! I am kinda learning how close everything is, I love it! I live in Minnesota where it takes 4 hours just to get from the middle of the southern half to the middle of the northern half! Another reason I'm really interested in Vermont, it seems like the entire state is possible to see over the course of just a few weeks! In Minnesota that would take a few months.