Submitted by Wideawakedup t3_119cfm9 in vermont
Be honest is going to the Ben and Jerry’s factory worth it?
We are planning a trip to Maine from Michigan. And thought of making a stop in Vermont for a few days with 2 teenagers. Just wondering if time would be better spent seeing something else in Vermont.
Thanks!
Stop at Cold Hollow Cider mill, the Cabot cheese annex and lake Champlain chocolates in Waterbury/Waterbury Center rather than Ben and Jerry’s. Lake Champlain Chocolates ice cream is excellent.
You will get better quality and more varied local stuff that is NOT owned by a multinational corporation.
Yes- the eating tour of Central Vermont (I still go to the scoop shop at the factory too)! If you are into spirits you can add in a stop at the Smugglers Notch Distillery and if you like Coffee drive a bit further up the rd and check out Vt Artisan Coffee too!
Big ups for VT Artisan Coffee. Get a favorite of your own or ask the creative counter crew to craft you a favorite of theirs. Take a bag or six of beans home.
Bonafide great place when not overrun with tourists.
Yes. Skip The tour.
Order the Vermonster.
Memorable for sure.
Visit the flavor grave yard. Check out the gift shop.
Hi. You don’t need the tour but I would just go for Ice cream. I would recommend that you go early or and or use the app for pick up. There’s lots to do in that area.
Why waste time lot word when few word do trick?
Wisdom good
As for the grammar police here; you can go pound sand.
Brooooo calm down it’s a quote from the office
Contrary to these hard asses, yeah, do the Tour it's a hard medium but fun a touristy. Also, drive over route 108 and hit the alchemist if you fancy a historic beer, or the von trap house if you like the color of music.
I think you can take route 2 through the white mountains as well which are also sweet
Route 2 is great. The Kancamagus Highway is greater.
I really enjoyed the tour as a child/pre-teen. Not sure it would hold the same appeal for a teenager.
I’ve only done the tour at Ben and Jerry’s once but I think once is enough and I enjoyed it… when I went, the guide crushed it with a bunch of cheesy cow puns and I appreciated that hahaha. But as other people have said, definitely go to the graveyard and after that, check out Cold Hollow Cider Mill!
If you’re into craft beer, there are a ton of breweries around too. Even if you don’t make it to a brewery, restaurants will have tons of local draft beer. I’m a server and our place keeps 10 local drafts on rotation. It’s fun to try different stuff.
The Cabot annex is fun too because there are a bunch of free cheese samples. And Vermont is a small place so you can fit a lot into a day! Cheers
Michigan expatriate living in vermont here, and I’ve done that drive. Which route are you taking? I can suggest some things, depending on how you plan to go.
It's not worth waiting a long time in line for, but if it's only a short wait, it is interesting. Make sure you check out the flavor graveyard (which is outside and does not require admission) because that's pretty fun.
Go to moss Glen falls to work up the appetite then just order icecream, no tour.
For teens, the ice cream tour itself is likely to be boring. The last time I went, I had a pre-teen and 8 year old and both were bored until the ice cream samples at the end. It's the ice cream that's more appealing, but that said, the ice cream IMO is weak since Unilever took over. As said in another comment, Lake Champlain Chocolate's ice cream is superior. A maple creemee at something like Palmer Maple is better.
Thank you! We adults would prefer a more local establishment. I might not even give the kids an option. I don’t think either know anything about Ben and Jerry’s to associate them with Vermont. And I forget they’ve been bought out by a conglomerate.
And if you want to try a local frozen delicacy you should really go for a creemee! Not sure what parts of the state you will hit but Palmer Lane Maple in Jericho, Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works in Montpelier and Burlington Bay on the waterfront in Burlington are all great options (and they have flavors beside maple). Canteen Creemee in Waitsfield & Crossroads Deli jn Waterbury are also solid options.
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If you are going for the first time do it!! Also the graveyard 🪦 is cute. Do not think this is an all day affair! Two hours tops!! There are plenty of things to do in this area!!
70180268 t1_j9lk1bi wrote
It’s fine to kill an hour or so but nothing to build a trip around in my opinion.