Jay Peak, VT

Set inside a former early-1900s schoolhouse in Montgomery Center, this pub serves burgers, pasta, and seafood to a crowd that ranges from locals to ski-weary resort guests. The bar is warm and unpretentious, and the après-ski vibe stretches well into the evening. It fills up on weekends in ski season, so arrive early or expect a wait.

An 1803 stagecoach stop turned inn dining room, this place in Montgomery Village serves thoughtfully prepared seasonal Vermont cuisine in a cozy, candlelit setting. The menu rotates with what is local and available, and the atmosphere feels more like a dinner party than a restaurant. Reservations are strongly advised — it is small and fills up.

Located slope-side at Jay Peak Resort, The Foundry covers all bases with wood-fired pizza, Vermont craft beers on tap, and more polished dinner plates for those who want something beyond pub fare. It is the most convenient dinner option if you are staying on the mountain without a car, and the bar stays lively on ski nights. The wood-fired oven is the centerpiece and does good work.

A genuinely surprising find tucked into a historic tavern building in Montgomery Center, this small restaurant serves Asian fusion in a setting where you would not expect it. The menu is tightly edited and changes with what the kitchen feels like doing, so the experience shifts visit to visit. It draws regulars from both the ski crowd and locals who appreciate something different.

Perched on the shore of Lake Memphremagog in Newport, this lakeside pub serves American classics and fresh seafood with views over the water that stretch into Canada. It is the most atmospheric dining room in Newport, and on a summer evening the deck is excellent. The fish and the lake view together are the reason to make the drive into town.

Inside the Jay Cloud Cyclery in Montgomery Center, this cafe turns out house-made pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and strong coffee alongside a bike shop full of Vermont maps and trail beta. It is where locals start their mornings, and the space has an easy community feel that carries into the summer music events held outside. The töstis are a house specialty worth ordering.

A Newport breakfast and lunch institution that locals have relied on for no-nonsense home-style cooking at honest prices. Pancakes, eggs, and sandwiches done right in a small, friendly room where the staff knows the regulars. Nothing complicated, nothing disappointing — just a reliable diner in a town that needs one.

The main sit-down dining room at Jay Peak Resort, this restaurant handles everything from breakfast to dinner with a menu that leans on Vermont sourcing and comfort-oriented dishes. It is the most reliable full-service option on the mountain, particularly for families who do not want to drive after a ski day. The bar program is solid and the view from the dining room of the slopes is a nice touch.

The classic 3.2-mile out-and-back from the VT-242 trailhead to the 3,968-foot summit of Jay Peak, following Vermont's Long Trail through boreal forest to one of the best viewpoints in the northern Green Mountains. The final push to the summit is steep and rocky, and the top opens to views into Quebec, across the Champlain Valley, and down the length of the Northeast Kingdom. It is a short hike but earns its payoff.

A 6.3-mile out-and-back to the wooded, rocky summit of Big Jay, the unofficial companion peak to Jay and a trail that feels far wilder than its neighbor. The hike involves some bushwhacking through dense boreal forest and a few tricky sections where the herd path fades, giving it a genuine backcountry character. Views open up on mini-ledges along the ridge before the forested top, and the whole route stays quiet even on busy weekends.

A 3.5-mile challenging out-and-back from the notch to the summit of Haystack Mountain, following the Long Trail through a particularly wild and remote section of the northern Greens. The route gains 1,476 feet and passes through classic boreal terrain with spruces, ferns, and the kind of silence that is hard to find closer to the resort. It is the best trail in the area for seeing the Long Trail in its ungroomed natural state.

A network of flat, easy trails through wetlands and forest on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain near the Canadian border, managed as a federal wildlife refuge. The Eagle Point unit on Lake Memphremagog is the closest access to Jay Peak, with two short trails through marsh habitat leading to a small overlook of Hall's Creek. Spring migration turns these wetlands into one of the best birding spots in Vermont.

The resort that puts this corner of Vermont on the map, Jay Peak averages more snowfall than any ski area in eastern North America thanks to its position in the path of Canadian storms. The terrain is heavily forested and glade-heavy, making it a favorite for intermediate and expert skiers who want natural snow over groomed piste. Nine lifts, nearly 80 trails, and a genuine local ski-town culture that has resisted the upscaling that hit Vermont's southern resorts.

A 65-foot tour boat operating scenic cruises on Lake Memphremagog from Newport's City Dock, with two-hour tours that cross the US-Canada border on the water without requiring a passport. The captain provides running commentary on the lake's history, the surrounding mountains, and the occasional border crossing that makes this cruise genuinely unusual. Themed dinner and brunch cruises run seasonally alongside the standard sightseeing tours.

Montgomery Center's community bike shop rents, sells, and repairs all types of bikes and serves as the informal hub for the area's growing trail network and cycling scene. In summer it hosts a music series and events like the People's Prom that bring the town together around the shop. Whether you are renting fat bikes for winter riding or getting local trail beta for a mountain bike day, this is the first stop.

An NHL-sized indoor ice skating rink at Jay Peak Resort that operates year-round and offers public skating sessions, hockey leagues, and stick time alongside the figure skating programs. It is a practical on-mountain option when the ski day is done, and gives families with mixed interests something to do while skiers finish their last runs. Skate rentals are available and the rink has four proper locker rooms.

A family-run sugarhouse in Westfield that has been producing and selling Vermont maple syrup for generations, with an on-site shop, sugarbush tours during mud season, and year-round tastings of syrup, maple candy, and maple cream. The sugarhouse tours in late March and early April — when the sap is actually running — are the most authentic maple production experience available in the Northeast Kingdom.

The Northeast Kingdom's premier outdoor guide service, based in Eden and offering dogsledding, snowshoeing, canoe and kayak rentals, and guided wilderness experiences across the region's lakes and forests. The dogsledding tours in winter are the signature offering and draw visitors from across New England. Guided trips are small-group and run by people who know the terrain deeply.

Vermont's only aerial tramway lifts you to the 3,968-foot summit of Jay Peak, where on a clear day the view sweeps from the Champlain Valley west to Quebec north and the Northeast Kingdom east. The tram operates for sightseeing in summer and fall in addition to ski season, making it accessible without skis. The summit can be 15 to 20 degrees colder than the base, so bring a layer regardless of the season.

Montgomery has more historic covered bridges per town than anywhere else in Vermont, with six structures dating to the 1800s scattered along back roads and river crossings within a few miles of each other. The bridges were all built by the same family of local craftsmen, and the self-guided driving loop passes through classic Vermont farm country. The Comstock Bridge and Fuller Bridge are the most photogenic stops on the circuit.

A 30-mile glacial lake that straddles the US-Canada border, with the American portion centered on Newport where the waterfront has a public dock, a lakeside walking path, and mountain views in every direction. The lake is known locally for sailing, kayaking, and open-water swimming in summer, and the Newport waterfront is one of the most pleasant public spaces in the Northeast Kingdom. Sunset over the water with the mountains behind it is worth the 25-minute drive from Jay.

A quiet notch-pass park in Westfield where the Long Trail crosses and the surrounding forest stays largely undisturbed. The Hazen's Notch Association maintains a network of hiking and cross-country ski trails through the notch, and in winter this becomes one of the finest backcountry skiing areas in Vermont outside a resort. The beaver ponds and birch corridors along the lower trails are particularly good in fall.

A 50,000-square-foot indoor water park at Jay Peak Resort with a retractable roof, a lazy river, tube slides, a surf simulator, and a dedicated kids' area. It operates year-round and is the resort's biggest non-ski draw, particularly for families with younger children who need a break from the slopes. Day passes are available to non-resort guests on a space-available basis.