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Mad River Valley/Waterbury

Hiking

Photo: Mad River Valley
Chamber of Commerce

In winter, the road between Stowe and Sugarbush sees a lot of slope-seeking Saabs and Subarus. The summer crowd tends to be driven by ice cream: The Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury is one of the top tourist destinations in Vermont. If your visitors have heard of one thing in the Green Mountain State, sadly, this is probably it...

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Biking
Bike Tour
Mad River Valley Tour

A river runs through it, and there are mountain ranges on either side. But that’s only part of what makes the Mad River Valley so scenic. The farms and settlements are charming, too. The best way to see it all is from two wheels. A 16.3 mile loop takes you off the main thoroughfare — Route 100 — onto the back roads of Waitsfield, Warren and Fayston, through covered bridges and along ski slopes, past art galleries and antique shops.

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Restaurant
Big Picture Theater & Café
Big Picture Theater & Café

Dinner and a movie? You can get 'em both — under one roof — at Waitsfield's Big Picture Theater & Café. Five years ago, owner Claudia Becker purchased the ailing cinema at the northern edge of the Mad River ski town and transformed it into a local-food mecca and community center. Keep reading...
Photo: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

restaurants in Mad River Valley/Waterbury Area
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Swimming
Mad River
Mad River

There are lots of great places to swim along the Mad River — you need only look for parked cars to find the sweet spots. Two well-marked areas couldn’t be more different: Dramatic Warren Falls is one of those rope-swing spots that attract shirtless adolescent boys. The family-friendly Lareau Swimming Hole is a peaceful bend in the river that is shallow enough for kids in some places and, in others, deep enough for a real dip. Photo: Matthew Thorsen

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Arts & Entertainment
Big Picture Theater
Big Picture Theater

The Mad River Valley attracts the outdoorsy, artistic and enlightened. All three types frequent Waitsfield’s only cinema-restaurant-cafe. German-born Claudia Becker and her husband, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, own the moviehouse, which shows first-run films on two screens and sells popcorn. But the place is really more of a cool community center, hosting festivals, lectures, concerts — you name it. They even make and sell their own donuts. Photo: Pure Mint Media

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Arts & Entertainment
Skinner Barn
Skinner Barn Theater

There is no better setting in Vermont to see a summer show, according to Seven Days theater critic Elisabeth Crean. Barn owner, producer and actor Peter Boynton “blends Broadway talent with Vermont vets and greener gems into a smashing cast,” Crean effuses. “The result? The best musical theater in Vermont.”

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Food & Drink
Ben & Jerrys Factory
Ben & Jerry's Factory

It’s Vermont’s version of the Statue of Liberty: the singular tourist attraction that visitors, especially pint-sized ones, will inevitably ask about. The guided tour doesn’t dwell on the company’s founding entrepreneurs — you have to search high and low for signs of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield — but it does mention their “If it’s not fun, why do it?” philosophy. Don’t miss the “flavor graveyard” and, of course, the free samples.

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