A lot of folks have a love affair with Vermont. It’s got scenic mountains and natural resources, quaint towns and farms, charming shops, and scores of romantic inns and bed and breakfasts.
Me? I never fell for Vermont. I see a lot of nothing to do and nowhere to go. I also see a state that looks an awful lot like it never left 1962. That, I suppose, it what attracts most other people. There is one great thing I’ve found in Vermont though. Actually three great things. Factory tours.
I know what you’re thinking—factory tours are even more boring than Vermont. And when the whole family comes along there’s sure to be at least one or two of you kicking at the floor just begging to get out. But it’s different here and that’s because—and I know this is cliché—there’s something for everyone when it comes to Vermont factory tours.
Within just a few miles of each other, Vermont vacationers can tour Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory, the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, and the Magic Hat Brewing Company.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory
The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne is definitely the favorite of young kids. And if your kid loves stuffed animals don’t expect to get out without buying a teddy bear—even if there are two or three dozen at home already. Vermont Teddy Bear is famous for dressing and accessorizing its bears for any occasion and for its Bear-Grams—bears sent as gifts through the mail in boxes complete with air holes. The thirty-minute factory tour shows visitors where and how these bears are “born” including cutting, sewing, assembling, stuffing, dressing, and even pointing out the “Made in Vermont” twinkle in each bear’s eye. You’ll even see where bears can come back to the “hospital” to be repaired at no cost if they ever get hurt or damaged. Before or after the tour, hungry families can stop at the Hungry Bear Café. The factory is open year-round seven days each week except for New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is only $2.00 for adults and teenagers and free for kids 12 and under. Seasonal hours are available at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory website.
The Magic Hat Artifactory
The Magic Hat Brewing Company’s factory—or the “Artifactory” as they call it—is not a place for the kids. Located in South Burlington, the artifactory has as dark and funky a look and feeling as Magic Hat’s brews with their odd names, labels and hocus-pocus phrases under the caps. (Magic Hat is well known in New England and may have reached the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, but I don’t think they’ve gone nationwide.) Seriously, the lobby and shop look like they were decorated by carnies of the Something Wicked This Way Comes variety. Some folks find the guided or self-guided tours and all the beer-talk boring, but the tours are free so there’s no damage. Another thing that’s free is samples—that’s right, there’s free sampling of at least eight or more different brews. If you do have kids with you, you can still stop in and visit the gift shop packed with Magic Hat merchandise like hats, shirts, glasses, mugs, bottle openers, and even weirder things like “beer soap.” The Magic Hat Artifactory is open seven days a week—Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory
The factory that’s probably going to please just about everyone in the family is Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury. For anyone who doesn’t know, Ben & Jerry’s makes ice cream. At the factory, visitors get a short “moovie” (their word, not mine) in the Cow Over the Moon Theatre about how friends Ben and Jerry started in the ice cream business, how they operate their business, and how they’re advocates and examples of giving back to the community. The tour continues on an enclosed mezzanine above the ice cream-making plant and ends up in the “FlavoRoom” where you get to taste a couple of samples—maybe even of some flavors that haven’t been released to stores yet. There’s also, of course, the obligatory gift shop and a “Scoop Shop” for more of that famous ice cream. Outside are cows, a playground for the kids (don’t worry, the playground isn’t in the same spot as the cows), and Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard where “dearly de-pinted” flavors no longer in production—like Peanut Butter & Jelly and Ethan Almond—go to rest. The Ben & Jerry’s Factory is open year-round seven days a week except for New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tours are $3.00 for adults and teens, $2.00 for seniors, and free for kids 12 and under. Information on seasonal hours and other deals is available by clicking on Tour Info at the factory website.
Whether you’re a fan of scenic mountains or not, young or old, with kids or without, you’re likely to enjoy at least one of these tours. And if you’re really into factory tours—or teddy bears, beer and ice cream—you might just love them all.
