Since colonial times, Vermont has exported to the rest of the country some of the hardest rock, the hardiest people and the sweetest sugar. And "exported" once had a literal meaning; for fourteen years immediately after the Revolution, Vermont was an independent republic before it became the first state after the original thirteen colonies to join the Union. Its Green Mountains aren't as dramatic as New Hampshire's White Mountains to the east, but they form part of an integrated landscape, a countryside reflecting the harmony of a homogenous population molded by and comfortable in its environment. Vermont's resort facilities are situated mostly in the mountains and along the eastern shore of long Lake Champlain, which it shares with New York State.
For the vacationist, Vermont offers nothing very dramatic—except for its excellent ski facilities—but instead gives visitors the chance for pure and peaceful escape in countryside and villages where the stresses of modern living seem centuries apart and worlds away. Thus beautiful old inns are more of an attraction to most visitors than Vermont's larger resorts, but there are a few outstanding resort hotels, among them the Tyler Place Inn and the Basin Harbor Club of Lake Champlain, and Mountain Top Inn and the Lodge at Smuggler's Notch. Some of the most picturesque old inns include the Brandon Inn, the Dorset Inn, Whetstone Inn, Middlebury Inn, Waybury Inn, Norwich Inn, Bromley House, Green Mountain Inn, White Cupboard and Woodstock Inn. Some of the state's leading ski centers are situated at or near Big Bromley, Stowe, Mt. Mansfield, Bane, Brattleboro, Bristol, Jeffersonville, Manchester, Middlebury, Newport, Northfield, Peru, Rutland, St. Johnsbury, Waitsfield, Warren, West Dover, Weston, Windsor and Woodstock.
Vermont has twenty-five state parks and eight state forests; the most important are Mt. Mansfield, Groton and Mt. Okemo (with some excellent skiing). The Green Mountain National Forest comprises over 230,000 acres.
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