For our third anniversary, we wanted to get out of the city: enjoy nature and explore an area with minimal covid-risk, which brought us to the beautiful outdoors of Vermont. We found a lovely airbnb in the town of Ryegate, near the border of New Hampshire.

As a New Englander at the time, all the fuss for nature and mountains is focused on New Hampshire. Let me be clear: Vermont is far superior to New Hampshire. As John Oliver once said, “New Hampshire is just Florida with foliage.”

Vermont is just as beautiful, and though it boasts lower peaks than New Hampshire’s white mountains, you get to avoid the traffic, tourist crowds, and focus on enjoying nature.

In mid-October, it was peak autumn colors. Near Ryegate was a cluster of state parks that we explored, all around the Groton State Forest: Kettle Pond, Big Deer, New Discovery, Ricker Pond, and more. An old rail-trail (Cross Vermont Rail Trail) links many of those state parks. The packed-dirt path leads through the woods with great views of the foliage and the water. We had our dog with us on the trip, so we didn’t bike for long, but I would definitely return and do more of this 30-mile bike path.

We hit up many hiking trails nearby, but our two favorites were Owlshead Mountain Trail (park at New Discovery State Park, pay to enter) and Devil’s Hill.

Owlshead Mountain Trail was a moderate out-and-back trail, up to the 1800ft peak with incredible views. Devil’s Hill, however, was our favorite; lightly trafficked, and free parking at the trailhead. Devil’s Hill is a partial loop, so the dog got fresh sniffs and our legs got a bit of a break with the more roundabout, less steep descent.

And though I harp on Vermont being better than New Hampshire, we did swing through the White Mountains on the drive back to Rhode Island – stopping for a couple of hikes at Franconia Notch State Park. And I stand by my judgment: it was packed. We did the Artist’s Bluff Trail, and though beautiful, it was crowded, and at certain points, we had to wait a while for others to pass before we could continue the climb. We also did Bald Mountain, a short out and back hike that was slightly less crowded and had incredible views as well. But overall, my main memory is how the parking lots were mostly full, the portable toilets were overflowing, and all this on a random Wednesday in October… what is it like on a Saturday?! Listen. Just go to Vermont. If I could do it all again… I’d have spent our last day in Vermont, too. Though we had two full days of hiking in Vermont before heading out, it wasn’t enough!

It’s hard to comment on a Lez-Travel rating on this trip. Because we traveled from our airbnb and only did hikes, even cooking and eating at our Airbnb, we didn’t really explore the surrounding towns or go out much. It was a rural part of Vermont, and the interactions we had with other hikers were friendly, but minimal.