Connecticut River Byway - Vermont
Connecticut River Byway - Vermont is a National Scenic Byway in Vermont. Within Vermont it covers roughly 230 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Connecticut River Byway - Vermont with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Vermont's Connecticut River Byway follows Route 5 down the state's entire eastern edge, from near the Canadian border to the Massachusetts line. It's part of a 500-mile byway system tracing the Connecticut River through both Vermont and New Hampshire. The route strings together river towns including Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Windsor, White River Junction, Wells River, and St. Johnsbury, each shaped by the commerce the river once carried. Restored historic railroad depots along the way now serve as visitor waypoint centers, and one of the route's landmarks is a 465-foot covered bridge dating to 1866. Farms, antique shops, artists' studios, and small breweries fill the gaps between towns. Designated a National Scenic Byway for both its scenery and its history, the road offers one of New England's longest continuous river drives, with the Connecticut itself, and the New Hampshire hills across it, in view for much of the way.
- Connecticut River
- Brattleboro
- 1866 covered bridge
- Route 5
- White River Junction
- National Scenic Byway
- historic railroad depots
Designated for its historic qualities
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Places to stop along Connecticut River Byway - Vermont
Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium
A grand 1891 museum of natural history in St. Johnsbury with thousands of mounted animals and a planetarium.
WebsiteSt. Johnsbury
A handsome town of Victorian buildings, home to the Athenaeum's art gallery and the Fairbanks Museum.
Appalachian Trail in Norwich
Where the AT crosses Route 5 and passes through Norwich on its way between New Hampshire and the Green Mountains.
Great Hall
A former Springfield factory turned public art space showing work by local artists.
Where to Stay along Connecticut River Byway - Vermont
6 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Connecticut River Byway - Vermont.
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What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.