Stowe

thewanderwomanrv
Jul 18
4 min read

19-23 June 2026

We left upstate New York behind and headed to Vermont. I didn't realize my GPS was leading me to a ferry crossing until I got there. That's Lake Champlain I needed to cross. It was my first ferry crossing with the RV and man was I nervous. I'm kind of glad I didn't know ahead of time or I would've been stressing the entire day.

Whew! Made it on without hitting anything.

As you can see there wasn't much wiggle room. I even had to bring my mirrors in

It was a beautiful day and the lake was fairly smooth. It was about 3 miles across and only took about 25 minutes to complete.

We arrived at Goldbrook Campground and you could tell they'd had a lot of rain. I had just finished setting up when the next shower started. They said it had been usually wet but the campground was beautiful.

We did have some clear days that you could see the Green Mountains from camp. Sage enjoyed having all this space to chase her ball.

It's kind of a given, when in Stowe, you have to visit Ben & Jerry's.

I have to admit, I was completely underwhelmed as there isn't much to it. There is a gift shop, factory tour, place to buy some ice cream and see the flavor graveyard. It's a one hour stop at most.

This factory location only runs one flavor at a time so it's a smaller operation. No photography was allowed during the tour but it was interesting to see how the ice cream was made. They were making cookie dough ice cream today and they gave us cookie dough samples.

No trip is complete without seeing the Flavor Graveyard

It was interesting reading the epitaphs on the headstones. According to the tour guide, Sugar Plum was the shortest-lived flavor only selling one pint in the first three weeks.

After B&Js I picked up Sage from the camper and we took a scenic drive to the von Trapp Family Lodge. Yes, that von Trapp family from the Sound of Music. I had planned on roaming the grounds but they charge $15 for a property pass and I wasn't interested enough to pay that. It's a pretty Alpine looking building though. Next!

So instead, we headed to Smugglers Notch. Smugglers Notch is a 3.5 mile mountain pass that is also a scenic byway. Because of size restrictions, if your vehicle couldn't go through the curves between the poles you weren't allowed to drive it.

The road was narrow and winding and when two large trucks pass each other it can be a little intimidating. Especially when you have large boulders next to the road. This picture was from my dash cam.

It's a beautiful drive and everything was so lush and green

I love how these tree roots were growing over these rocks. Nature will not be deterred!

So this is the entrance to Smugglers Caves. No I didn't try to squeeze through there. I really wanted to but my knee has been bothering me since Watkins Glen and I couldn't scramble around the rocks. It was pretty cool to see that it hasn't changed much over the years. Smugglers Notch is famous for several things. In the early 1800s, during the War of 1812, it was used to illegally herd cattle and contraband between US and Canada. In the later 1800s it was used as a route for the Underground Railroad and as a rum running trail in the 1920s prohibition era.

The Big Spring. The water here is supposed to have curative powers. You're free to drink the water but the state of Vermont doesn't test it so it's at your own risk.

Sign at Big Spring showing all the businesses that have been at the site.

One last dash cam shot of the winding road in the Notch. So pretty

The prettiest girl in Stowe! I love these murals and this one I found especially beautiful.

The next day I went on the gondolas to the top of Mt Mansfield. I had been told that dogs weren't allowed but that wasn't true! I was so disappointed I didn't have Sage with me. She would've loved it.