Mothers Day Weekend in Burlington, Vermont With Children

Since moving away from Boston, I’ve been pretty emphatic about traveling back at least once a year. This year, we took a long weekend trip for Mothers Day that included stops in Burlington, Vermont and Boston with a baby and a toddler.

I’m going to break up this post into two because we were able to accomplish so much in this long weekend. If you would like to read the Boston post next just click here!

Getting to New England with a Baby and a Toddler

Charleston, SC luckily has direct flights to Boston international airport which makes getting there extremely simple. There is an airport in Burlington, VT you can fly into if it is your only destination. Because we lived in Boston for over 3 years, my husband is experienced in driving in big cities. So we rented a car and drove directly to Burlington from the airport for our first stop. The drive is just a little over 3 hours but the scenery is beautiful. You drive right through the mountains. In the Fall when the leaves are changing, stunning.

Burlington, VT with a Toddler and a Baby

We stayed in an Airbnb close enough that we could walk to everything downtown but also a nice easy walk to the lake. Also, Burlington is located next to a very large lake called Lake Champlain that acts as a border between Vermont and New York.

The Airbnb was great tucked away in the back of an apartment building with its own private access. We knew we were renting a car, so we did end up bringing two Pack N Plays. The place was 2 bedrooms and a living room that was equipped with video games and other things for the kids to enjoy.

If you don’t want to go the AIRBNB route, there are numerous hotel options as well. I would recommend this hotel as the location is perfect and it has received good reviews.

Kid Friendly Restaurants in Burlington: Pizzeria Verita

It was long travel day with the flight and drive with a baby and toddler it tow. After unpacking the car, we headed to dinner at Pizzeria Verita. This Pizzeria was super welcoming, as I’m sure they could tell we were a little exhausted from the travel. Our little ones were a little overtired, and one of the servers brought over a plate with some pizza dough for our son to play with. We truly appreciated the hospitality. The food and service were top notch!

Playground and Lake Champlain Boat Cruise

Our first full day in Burlington, Vt was jammed packed. Luckily, everyone in the family slept great so we hit the ground running. We started with breakfast at a café called August First. It was very family friendly with crayons and things for the kids to draw on. The food and coffee were very good and it was nice it was right around the corner. I had the mushroom toast because I am a huge mushroom lover.

One of the coolest things about where we stayed it was less than a 10 minute walk to a public playground. We would end up going to this playground numerous times to let the kids burn some energy. And the view from here was breathtaking. Additionally, this was near a train track that every morning we were there had a train come through at least once.

Spirit of Ethan Allen

After a quick nap in the apartment, we walked to the marina where we decided to take a Lake Champlain boat cruise tour. Spirit of Ethan Allen is a boat cruise that has indoor and outdoor seating allowing it to go out rain or shine. Luckily, for most of our cruise the sun was shining and the tour was great.

We ordered a Perfect Picnic Basket for Two that was so cute and actually came out in a picnic basket. It included an assortment of meat and cheeses and if you know me, you know I love my meat and cheeses. The basket also came with two glasses of house wine which made me feel it was worth it. There is also a kids menu which our kids loved.

The cruise is narrated and the views are amazing. The tour is around an hour and a half and I highly recommend.

For dinner, we dined at American Flatbread which had come highly recommended. This family friendly restaurant was phenomenal. They are known for using local farmers ingredients and the atmosphere was amazing. I recommend making a reservation as they get busy quickly.

Kid-Friendly Breweries In Burlington

Burlington is known for a lot of things, but to my husband its known for its breweries. Most of our nights we would end at a brewery because there was normally music playing and places for the kids to somewhat run around.

Foam Brewery

Foam Brewery was probably our favorite one as the walk there was scenic on a walking trail, they had live music, and the beer was really good. There are tables inside and outside and both times we went there was a food truck that people seemed to be really enjoying. (We always came after dinner)

Other breweries that are definitely worth the visit include Burlington Beer Company and Switchback Brewing company that are both located in the South End area. Honestly you cannot go wrong with the breweries in Vermont according to my husband.

They also offer Brewery tours that give you extra information with lots of beer tastings!

More Things to Do in Burlington with a Baby and a Toddler

The last full day we had in Burlington we also had a full itinerary. It started with obviously playing on the playground. On our walk, we stopped by a really cute coffee shop called Kestrel Coffee Roasters that was inside a small art shop. We had brunch reservations at 11, so we had some time to kill. We checked out some of the stores, my favorite of which was Hatley. I got the kids some great stuff on sale!

Kid- Friendly Dining Burlington, VT: Farmhouse Tap and Grill

Brunch was at Farmhouse Tap and Grill and was delicious. This restaurant is very family friendly which seems to be basically everywhere we went in Vermont. My son got French toast that made his eyes light up when they dropped off his plate. I went with eggs Benedict that was right on point to go with my mimosa. This restaurant filled up quickly so I would recommend reservations.

ECHO Burlington, VT

Now to the highlight of Burlington according to our son. ECHO is a science museum located right next to the lake a short walk from downtown. This museum has something for all ages, even our infant that was only crawling at the time. Children 2 and under are free and adults were $20 a piece. We spent multiple hours here and it was still hard to get our son to leave.

Church Street Marketplace

I know I haven’t touched much on the actual downtown of Burlington but the shopping is exactly what we love: local. You can walk down Church Street and see all kinds of local shops that I popped in every chance I had. On the weekends, the sidewalks are filled with tents and local shopping venues that are amazing.

Leunig’s Bistro

Dinner was at Leunig’s Bistro which is a French style restaurant. The tables were covered with paper and the kids were given crayons so they were able to write directly onto the table. We also were sat right by a window to the Church Street and I got to enjoy dinner and people watch. What is better than that?

Of note, I am glad we went early because it is a nice restaurant. We were finished before the peak dinner crowd came out on Saturday night.

After living in Boston for years, I’ve become somewhat biased on seafood. And at first I questioned ordering salmon at a French restaurant, but I can tell you, this was the best salmon I’ve every had. The flavor was impeccable. I would visit this restaurant again just for this plate alone.

End of a Great Weekend in Burlington with Kids

Our weekend in Burlington was everything I could ask for. From the food, to the excitement my kids had, this was a great start to Mothers Day weekend. Burlington, VT had so many kid-friendly activities. We woke up early on Mothers Day to head back to Boston because we had a full day of events planned!

What are your favorite things to do in Burlington with kids? Tell us in the comments!