Vermont

Woods, mountains, and ice cream—Vermont has just about everything a traveler could want, short of a city. (Though with the delightful big town of Burlington [1], you could be satisfied on that count as well.) More than any of its neighbors, Vermonters have taken pains to preserve the rural character of their state, so much so that you’ll have to blink when driving its back roads to assure yourself you haven’t driven into a postcard.

In the fall, The state’s Green Mountains [2] are known for some of the most colorful foliage in the world. And while the state doesn’t have as many official “attractions” as other states, it makes up for it with the profusion of galleries, craft shops, maple syrup farms [3], and cheesemaking shops [4] that spring from every curve in the road.