Visiting Montpelier Area

[mamimapster]

Hi there- We're going to be visiting the Montpelier area for a couple of weeks, and I'm looking for low cost outings with two Dc-we will be visting the Skating Rink in Burlington, and the Montshire Museum looked really cool, but I'm thinking of places to have a simple picnic, a playground, and how biking friendly the area is-also if there is a place to rent a bicycle. I'm not sure if it is worth it to bring my very old vintage bike on the long drive, but I have a foldable burley that I plan to bring. Oh, and a link to a reputable babysitting service? We have no family there, and there is an event that I think will be very hard to take my Dc to.

[midwife2mama]

There is great swimming here. You can go to the rec. pool and trails in Montpelier. Or drive a few minutes to wrightsville beach.
http://www.wrightsvillebeachvt.com/
Montpelier has a baseball team - the mountaineers and the games are pretty fun to go to . Games are only a few dollars.
http://www.thevermontmountaineers.com/

The VINS center is just north of town as well. Its a nature center with trails and classes. They also have a center in Queechee and they do a great owl show.
http://www.vinsweb.org/

Depending on the age of your kids Ben and Jerrys has a good tour and so does Lake Champlain Chocolates in Burlington.

For other events and to connect with local mamas try
http://mamasaysvt.org/index.html

enjoy your time here.

[Catherine12]

There's a nice park in Montpelier, Kellogg-Hubbard Park, with walking (and I think biking, but I'm not sure) trails that go on for quite a ways. There's also the North Branch Nature Center near town, which is great - it's right by the river, there are fields and woods and wetlands.

For something more touristy, there are a lot of things in Waterbury along route 100 - Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Ben and Jerry's factory, and so on. Many are free or low cost and have food samples.

There's also a nice history museum in Montpelier, next to the state house (admission costs though). The State House itself is beautiful and worth a visit, and it has a large lawn that could be a good picnic site.

There's a local newspaper, "The World", that has a good list of local events.

[junipervt]

If you plan to come to Burlington there is a great bike path! You can rent bikes at local motion. I think you may even be able to rent a trailer too. In Burlington you could also check out Echo aquarium. There is also Shelburne Farms (about 10min outside of Burlington). So much fun w/ kiddos!

[4babes]

I don't know of any babysitting services in Montpelier -- Burlington might have one. If you give us a date and where/how long, we might be able to set you up with someone we know. Also, when I needed to find a babysitter in Charlotte NC, I used Facebook and got a friend's exboyfriend's cousin, who did just fine. That might work for you too.

ETA: for bike rental, google Onion River Sports. They might rent bikes; if not, they will definitely know where to call.