The Best Station in Vermont...?

We're planning a few days in Vermont this August, and I don't know much about what we're doing other than 1) we're going to Vermont, and 2) we want to take Amtrak to get there.

For those who have done this, if you had to pick 1 place to get off and on, where would it be? Ideally, it would

1) Have car rental in the station or very close by

2) Have a nice place to stay within walking distance of the station (not a priority if the car is there)

3) Have something interesting to do in the vicinity (again, not a priority).

I'm thinking of taking the train up from New Haven or perhaps originating in Stamford, if that makes any difference. Thanks for your thoughts.

All depends on what you want to see/do while you're up here.

I'd recommend either White River Jct, Waterbury, or Essex Junction.
Regarding car rentals, I'm not positive but I think you can pretty much get car rentals dropped off for at least White River and Essex Jcts, though not positive on Waterbury. Near the train stations in White River and Waterbury are hotels/motels. Essex Jct is the station that serves the Burlington area so hotels are a little further away - ~ 5 miles or so.

As far as things to do, each station has a variety:
White River Jct - hop on US 4 and travel west. Quechee Gorge (Vermont's version of the Grand Canyon) is a nice place to visit and so is Woodstock village. Killington Resort is a little ways further west. Waterbury is halfway between the Sugarbush/Mad River Valley and Stowe resort areas, which are both full of various things to do, including restaurants, shops, hiking, and soforth. Waterbury is also home to Ben & Jerry's. And finally, Essex Jct is adjacent to Burlington which has many things to do including the Lake Champlain waterfront and attractions, shopping, dining, and more.

Also of final note, all Vermont stations are unstaffed, but most (except Randolph and Windsor) have a caretaker. You must have a ticket/eticket before boarding, or you can board and purchase your ticket on board with a reservation number.

The northbound Vermonter arrives in WRJ shortly after the car rental agencies close in nearby (3mi) Lebanon NH. I've had to stay overnight to get a car there. If you go to Burlington (ESJ) you can take a cab to the airport and pickup a rental car until late at night. This is the best option and I've done it many times. Burlington has lots of things to do and a view over Lake Champlain that can be as good as an Ansel Adams photograph. While riding along the Connecticut River you may spot a bald eagle. The ride from WRJ to ESJ is also scenic.

White River Junction has the restored Coolidge Hotel right across the street from the station. Rental cars are 2 or 3 miles away in Lebanon but the rental agency might be willing to pick you up at the station or hotel.

mohawkrailfan wrote:White River Junction has the restored Coolidge Hotel right across the street from the station. Rental cars are 2 or 3 miles away in Lebanon but the rental agency might be willing to pick you up at the station or hotel.

And I haven't been to the Coolidge Hotel in probably 2 decades or more, but it was well worth the visit then. Hopefully it's still as good.

ShadyJay answered best
You can also take a bus at certain stations like I have Bellows Falls & Montpeliar. there is also a bus to Burlington from Essex i believe. I find for my trips to Vermont the cheapest 3-4 day rentals are at braley airport Thurs-Sunday But that is i CT.

Essex Junction is great for visiting all there is to see not only in Burlington, but the surrounding area of Shelbourne Farms, Shelbourne Museum, The shores of Lake Champlain, Winooski (spelling), and even a southbound trip down Route 7 to Middlebury, Vergennes, etc. You can easily spend four nights in Burlington. I often took a rental car to my hotel in the evening and then had Enterprise pick me up at the hotel for my car rental. Or when you get off the train you can head over to the airport.....

Strongly recommend the Ice House Restaurant in Burlington, restaurant over at the Inn at Essex, and the downtown Burlington restaurants.....there's also a great breakfast place down by the waterfront that I can't remember the name of. I've always stayed at the downtown Burlington hotel (changed names many times and now there is a second I believe) that overlooked Lake Champlain......

Course with Burlington, I used to take the Adirondack up from NYP, get off at Plattsburgh, have Enterprise pick me up and then drive over to downtown Burlington. That would put me in Burlington in time for dinner, as opposed to the Vermonter. Then I would take the Vermonter home. You used to not have to pay the "one-way rental" from Enterprise, but now they whack you with a charge....when the ferry is in operation, I'd get off at Port Kent from the Adirondack and then have Enterprise pick me up at the dock! The captain (or assistant etc.) would typically come over to any of those who got on from the train and arrange transportation once on the Vermont side! It's a great ferry ride! Sounds like NYP would be out of your way though.....

Business class on the Vermonter is well worth the expense! This is a train where I wish they'd offer a premium class of service.....Many people take this train from Essex all the way down to the NEC. I've seen people in Essex bound for Pittsburgh, Chicago, Florida, stations the Vermonter serves on the NEC obviously, Boston and more. I wish the Vermonter had a same day connection to the Florida train and train to Chicago. Once upon a time - even as a daytime train!

Great trip - the Vermonter and lots of great destinations. Don't discount Bellows Falls, although car rentals you have to get out of Brattleboro! And there used to be a GREAT B&B in Bellows Falls on the River, but it closed.....

Greg Moore wrote:

mohawkrailfan wrote:White River Junction has the restored Coolidge Hotel right across the street from the station. Rental cars are 2 or 3 miles away in Lebanon but the rental agency might be willing to pick you up at the station or hotel.

And I haven't been to the Coolidge Hotel in probably 2 decades or more, but it was well worth the visit then. Hopefully it's still as good.

I stayed at the Coolidge in October...I have no complaints about the place. It definitely has its old school charm.

I also strongly suggest a dinner at Tuckerbox which is right around the corner from the Coolidge and basically across the street from the station in WRJ. Don't let the website fool you - it's a coffee shop by day, and then they have really good Turkish food by night. They don't take reservations, but when we showed up around 7 on a busy Saturday night, they told us to come back in an hour and they'd cleared out a bit. I recommend the Doner Kebab and the Apple Maple baklava for dessert. We also did the Green Mountain Railroad Chester to Ludlow flyer, but that doesn't seem like it runs in August. (Website: http://www.rails-vt.com/ -maybe as the days go by they'll add more stuff for the season?)

If you have a car and kids with you (or not...we still had fun...) there's the Montshire science museum in Norwich, VT (http://www.montshire.org/). It looked like they had all sorts of things to do on the grounds in good weather (We went when it was pissing rain...so we merely enjoyed the inside exhibits)

Originally this was mostly going to be done by train - but plans changed and we ended up driving up there.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts - that helped me narrow things down quite a bit and start the reservations process.