Budget travel in the Green Mountain State
Vermont is known for upscale dining and luxury ski resorts, but it is also one of the most accessible states for zero-cost exploration. Strong public access laws, preserved state commons and community-supported arts mean you can build a rich multi-day itinerary entirely around free admission.
The categories break down into natural wonders — free waterfalls, swimming holes and trails; historic architecture — state house tours, covered bridges and battlegrounds; and arts and public commons — pedestrian streets, museums and galleries.
Free in Burlington and Montpelier
Start with the two urban anchors.
Church Street Marketplace in Burlington spans four brick-paved blocks: historic 19th-century architecture, street buskers, public bronze sculptures and genuine urban energy, with free seasonal events including the Festival of Fools street-performer gathering and summer concerts in City Hall Park. The Burlington City Arts Center, in a restored 1911 firehouse at the top of Church Street, holds three floors of rotating contemporary exhibitions, free with donations welcomed.
Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the United States, and the Vermont State House is arguably the best-preserved state capitol in the nation: a 23.5-karat gold leaf dome topped by the agriculture goddess Ceres, restored 1859 Greek Revival chambers and Victorian furnishings, with free self-guided audio or volunteer-led tours Monday to Friday at 115 State Street. Walk through Representatives Hall, the Senate Chamber and the Executive Cloakroom without paying anything.
Free waterfalls and swimming holes
Vermont’s best water is free.
Bingham Falls, Stowe — inside Mount Mansfield State Forest off Route 108, a flat half-mile trail through hemlock and birch to a roaring 40-foot cascade and a series of carved red-granite potholes. Free roadside parking.
Moss Glen Falls, Stowe — just off Route 100 north of the village, a flat wooden boardwalk and a five-minute walk to the base of a tall ribbon waterfall. Zero fee, zero effort.
Warren Falls, Warren — off Route 100 in the Mad River Valley, a prehistoric granite gorge with carved water slides and emerald basins from four to fifteen feet deep. Free paved parking and public toilets; best on warm July and August afternoons.
Island Line Trail and the Colchester Causeway — walking the 14-mile lakeside path is entirely free, including the three-mile marble causeway extending into the middle of Lake Champlain with 360-degree views.
Free history and architecture
Vermont has the highest concentration of covered bridges per square mile in the US, and photographing them costs nothing but gas.
In Bennington County, three sit within a few miles: the Paper Mill Village Covered Bridge on Murphy Road, an 1889 Town lattice truss of 125 feet over the Walloomsac; the Silk Road Covered Bridge a mile downriver, an 1840 red timber span and one of the oldest operational bridges in the state; and the Henry Covered Bridge on Harrington Road, rebuilt in 1989 to its original 1840 design with a white painted facade.
At the Bennington Battle Monument, a 306-foot obelisk commemorating the 1777 Revolutionary War battle, the elevator to the top costs a small fee but strolling the historic grounds, viewing the bronze statue of General John Stark and reading the markers is free. At Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, mansion tours are ticketed but the grounds and twenty miles of historic carriage roads are free — walk up to The Pogue, a quiet 14-acre forest pond, or on to the South Peak of Mount Tom for views over the village.
Free art, poetry and cider
Four more that cost nothing.
The Hood Museum of Art, on the Dartmouth campus at the Norwich and Hanover border, holds over 65,000 works spanning ancient Assyrian stone reliefs, European Old Masters and modern Indigenous Australian art — free to the public year-round, with the Orozco murals in Baker-Berry Library alongside it.
The Robert Frost Interpretive Trail off Route 125 in Ripton is a flat one-mile loop in the Green Mountain National Forest where plaques along a wooden boardwalk display Frost’s poems in the forest settings that inspired them.
At Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center you can walk in and watch fresh cider being squeezed through a vintage 1920s hydraulic press, then help yourself to free samples of unpasteurized sweet cider from the self-serve tank.
And behind the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, the Flavor Graveyard needs no tour ticket — a granite-headstone cemetery honouring retired flavors, complete with rhyming epitaphs. Add the public farmstead and land-trust sculpture walks, wildflower meadows and birding sanctuaries around Williston and Charlotte for a free afternoon in the country.
Quick reference
Six of the best, by category.
Church Street, Burlington — city stroll: buskers, historic architecture, people-watching.
Vermont State House, Montpelier — history and architecture: a gold dome, Greek Revival chambers and free audio tours.
Bingham Falls, Stowe — waterfall and hike: a 40-foot cascade in a red granite gorge, an easy walk in.
Hood Museum, Norwich and Hanover — fine art: 65,000 works, free year-round.
Warren Falls, Warren — swimming hole: emerald granite pools and natural water slides.
Robert Frost Trail, Ripton — nature and poetry: a flat boardwalk loop with poems in situ.
Good to know
What can you do in Vermont for free?+
Walk Church Street in Burlington, tour the gold-domed Vermont State House in Montpelier, visit the free Hood Museum of Art, hike to Bingham Falls, Moss Glen Falls and Warren Falls, walk the Island Line Trail and Colchester Causeway, and explore Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller’s carriage roads.
Is the Vermont State House free to visit?+
Yes. Free self-guided audio and volunteer-led tours run Monday to Friday at 115 State Street in Montpelier — the best-preserved state capitol in the country, with a 23.5-karat gold leaf dome and restored 1859 Greek Revival chambers.
Are Vermont’s waterfalls free?+
Yes. Bingham Falls and Moss Glen Falls near Stowe and Warren Falls in the Mad River Valley all have free roadside parking and no entry fee. Only state parks such as Mount Philo, Underhill and Elmore charge a small day-use fee.
Which Vermont museums are free?+
The Hood Museum of Art on the Dartmouth campus at the Norwich border is free year-round, with over 65,000 works; the Orozco murals next door in Baker-Berry Library are also free; and the Burlington City Arts Center is free with donations welcomed.
Can I see covered bridges for free?+
Yes — Vermont has the highest concentration of covered bridges per square mile in the US. Bennington County alone offers the Paper Mill Village Bridge of 1889, the Silk Road Bridge of 1840 and the Henry Bridge, all within a few miles.