Cross into the Green Mountain State from Massachusetts on Interstate 91, and you might feel as if you've entered another country. There isn't a town in sight: what you see are forested hills punctuated by rolling pastures. When you reach Brattleboro, no strip malls line the exits to signal your arrival at southeastern Vermont's gateway city, and en route downtown, you pass Victorian-era homes on tree-lined streets. From here, you can cross over the spine of the Green Mountains toward Bennington and Manchester.

The state's southwest corner is the southern terminus of the Green Mountain National Forest, dotted with lakes, threaded with trails and old forest roads, and home to three big ski resorts: Bromley, Stratton, and Mount Snow.