The Charlotte-Essex, NY Ferry offers a good glimpse of Vermont’s gold coast. Drive to the dead end of Ferry Road, hop the ferry, and twenty minutes later, you’re in Essex, New York, a historic little village with its own leafy charm. You can explore the downtown on foot, but the better way to go is by bicycle. The whole area, from Westport to Willsboro Point, is a two-wheeler’s paradise. Not as much traffic on that side of the lake, either.

When it gets really hot in Chittenden County, the locals head for the Bolton Potholes. Running alongside the road up to Bolton Valley Resort, Joiner Brook tumbles downstream to make five separate waterfalls. The stream’s curviness, and distance between individual potholes, makes the swimming area seem bigger and more private than it is. You can hang upstream, far from the madding crowd, or watch adolescent boys diving through an impossibly narrow chute of rock into a deep pool.