48 Hours in St. Johnsbury |
Weekend Itinerary
Home to 7,500 residents, St. Johnsbury is the largest town in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Here you'll discover quaint, off-the-beaten-path gems, while also enjoying the regional hub of shopping, dining, innovation, and creativity. St. Johnsbury is the perfect home base when you’re visiting northern Vermont for skiing at Burke Mountain or mountain biking at Kingdom Trails, both less than 20 minutes outside of town. But, St. J (as the locals call it) is full of its own charms.
Check out the itinerary below for a weekend's worth of ideas to delight you right here in town, and make sure to check out our Calendar for events, performances, and fun activities taking place during your stay.
Check out the itinerary below for a weekend's worth of ideas to delight you right here in town, and make sure to check out our Calendar for events, performances, and fun activities taking place during your stay.
Friday
Hiking with Dogs: 3:00 pmThere’s only one St. Johnsbury (that’s true – there are no other locales with the same name). And here in St. J, there’s only one Dog Mountain, a bucolic 150 acre dog park and cultural destination. Leashes are optional, and the site includes an agility course, hiking trails, and dog-friendly ponds. Visit the one-and-only Dog Chapel, where the walls are covered with notes visitors have written to dearly departed pets. Developed by late artist Stephen Huneck, Dog Mountain also is the site of the Huneck Gallery, where you can find gifts, books, and artwork all dedicated to man’s best friend.
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Grab a Craft Beer: 5:00 pmVermont is internationally known for its craft beer scene, and St. Johnsbury has its own local breweries to sample. After your run with the dogs, take a seat outside in downtown St. Johnsbury at Whirligig Brewing and try what owner Geoffrey Sewake has brewed. The beers are made in small batches, and the malts, grain, and hops come from local Vermont sources for true local beer terroir.
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Dinner Next Door: 7:00 pmFollow your local beer with local food, right next door at Kingdom Table & Taproom. The pub downstairs offers one of the best tap and bottle lists around, and their upstairs sister restaurant offers an eclectic new American menu - the burger is a standout. At both locations, the craft cocktails are well-poured, and the beers on tap always include selections from nearby Greensboro’s award-winning Hill Farmstead. On a warm summer evening, sit outside and plan your shopping tomorrow on Railroad Street.
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Saturday
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Cosmic Morning: 8:00 amSt. Johnsbury was named “best small town for outdoor adventure” by National Geographic Adventure, and you’ll want to fuel up for the morning’s activities. Enjoy breakfast at Cosmic Cup Café for eggs Benedict on a home-baked English muffin, a breakfast burrito, and some espresso. Fun fact: Indie rock star Neko Case owns this building and her recording studio is in the back.
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Caledonia Farmers Market: 9:00 amEvery Saturday morning from May through October, the Caledonia Farmer’s Market sets up in downtown St. Johnsbury. It’s a local party each week, with live music, organic produce from area farms, crafts, and prepared foods. Buy lunch at some of the vendors (try Derrick Samuels’s Genuine Jamaican for authentic jerk chicken) and pack it up to take on a bike ride or hike.
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Bike, Hike, or Ride Your Horse: 10:00 amThe Lamoille Valley Rail Trail starts in St. Johnsbury and by the end of 2022, will extend across northern Vermont all the way to the western border. For now, you can hike, bike, or even ride a horse on the mixed-use recreational trail built on a defunct railroad bed, 17 miles out to Joe’s Pond in West Danville. There are picnic tables at Joe’s Pond where you can eat lunch, but benches and tables are sprinkled along the trail if a 34-mile round trip isn’t for you today.
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Victorian Magnificence: 1:00 pmThe St. Johnsbury Athenaeum was built in 1871 and is celebrating its 150th birthday this year. The building, designed by John Davis Hatch III, has gorgeous woodwork throughout, with spiral staircases in the main reading room, a painted ceiling in the lecture hall on the second floor, and enormous arched windows that make the space bright and warm. A National Historic Landmark, the Athenaeum is run by a private, nonprofit organization, but it serves as the public library for the town of St. Johnsbury. Feel free to settle in a comfy chair to read, or step into the attached art gallery filled with Hudson River School paintings and dominated by the recently restored Domes of the Yosemite by Albert Bierstadt. The gallery, established in 1873, has undergone little change since its opening almost 150 years ago, and you’ll relish this taste of nineteenth century magnificence.
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Shop Downtown! 2:00 pm
Ready to scratch that shopping itch? Walk down Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury for souvenirs of your visit. Moose River Lake and Lodge is an emporium of delights—clothing from Vermont companies Skida and April Cornell, antique and modern jewelry (plus an onsite jeweler, owner Fred Little), household goods with an upscale summer camp aesthetic, lots of taxidermy, and a vast wine selection that fills an old bank vault at the rear of the store. If you’re looking for a good read, visit Boxcar and Caboose, an independent bookstore with a great coffee bar and a large children’s section with games, puzzles, and a play space. Don’t miss the jelly beans and other sweets in the in-store candy shop! Under the purple awning, the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild features high-quality crafts and art made by Vermont and New Hampshire artists. Its Backroom Gallery spotlights a rotating exhibit of local artists. Check the Frame Dames for art supplies if all that artwork has inspired you to create your own. And the large collective space housed in three adjacent stores, the Artful Eye, the Annex, and Red Tag, is full of antique and near-antique collectibles you can browse for hours.
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Craft Cocktails: 5:00 pmThe St. Johnsbury Distillery creates craft spirits in downtown St. Johnsbury. Stop by the speakeasy-style Tasting Room to have a cocktail and watch the process of making rum from the windows that overlook the distillery. Make sure you check out the restrooms with hundreds of pennies embedded in the floors!
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Spice Up Your Meal: 6:00 pmEnjoy dinner at Salt Bistro, a chef-owned restaurant with a menu that skews Italian. The restaurant’s name refers to the ten different flavored salts available for tasting. Most nights, Salt Bistro has live music during dinner, and the outside patio seating is delightful.
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Movie Night: 7:00 pmSt. Johnsbury is a small town that boasts two downtown movie theaters. Take your pick of a first-run blockbuster or family-friendly flick at the Star Theater, or go for an indie or foreign film screening at Catamount Arts. Between the two theaters there are five screens, so you’ll have plenty for your viewing pleasure!
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Sunday
Time for Brunch: 9:00 amThere’s nothing like Sunday brunch to round out the perfect weekend. Central Café serves its full brunch menu starting at 8 am, but sleep in a bit if you’d like. Standouts include their varieties of toasts—avocado, kimchi, or mushroom—plus great espresso drinks and home-baked pastries. Feel free to sit on the floor—the café has some low table seating with floor pillows to make you feel right at home. |
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Dine Out: 1:00 pmDepending on what way you’re headed out of St. Johnsbury, make a stop for lunch before you leave town. Going east toward New Hampshire, you’ll find Riley’s Fish Shack, a casual spot for fresh haddock, fried clams, or a lobster roll. Don’t forget the ice cream! Heading north toward Canada, stop for lunch at Kingdom Crust for brick oven pizza. It’s New York-style with a Vermont twist—they use Cabot cheese and King Arthur flour, two of the state’s premier producers. And if you’re headed south, pop in to Eastern & Main Deli for lunch to go. Their signature sandwiches are named after local favorites such as the “Athenaeum,” the “Fairbanks,” and the “Catamount Club,” and you’ll be reminded of your visit to St. Johnsbury in every bite!
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