As the mountains climb northward, they get higher and wilder than their southern cousins. At the same time, the largely unspoiled northern parts of Vermont get far less traffic than the southern parts of the state. What does that mean for the visitor? For starters, stunning views nearly every way you turn: dramatic mountain sunrises, pristine church steeples rising from verdant valleys, cute-as-can-be hilltop farms, and serene lakes.

Of course, all of those picture-perfect mountains also tend to render cell phones useless, the drive between towns can be long and winding, and the people in those towns tend to live life as the rest of the country did four or five decades ago. But if it’s quaintness you’re after, you’ll find plenty of it here.

Visitors come to this region just for the food: maple syrup harvested fresh from the trees; sharply aged cheddar cheeses from the famous Cabot Creamery; and of course, the sweet enticements of the Ben & Jerry’s factory, the number-one tourist destination in Vermont. Another big draw is Stowe Mountain, which has resisted the overdevelopment of other ski resorts, to give visitors both a lovely little New England village and killer ski trails.

Not all of the northern part of the state feels like the boondocks, however. The capital city of Montpelier may be the smallest state capital in the nation, but it still provides enough big-city culture and (with the New England Culinary Institute within its borders) culinary sophistication to satisfy urban travelers. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Northeast Kingdom is pure farm country: rural, remote, and, compared to the rest of the state, virtually untouristed.

The Best of Northeast Vermont

• Hope Cemetery
• Mad River Glen
• Ben & Jerry’s Factory
• Stowe
• Cabot Creamery
• Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
• Bread and Puppet Theater