The wild heart of the Kingdom
Orleans County is the middle of the three counties that make up Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, and for many it is the Kingdom’s very heart. It runs from the Canadian border at Newport south through Barton, Glover and Craftsbury — a landscape of deep glacial lakes, cliff-walled Lake Willoughby, hilltop dairy farms and dirt roads that lead to some of the best beer and cheese on earth.
This is Vermont without the crowds. You come here for loons on a still lake at dawn, for a puppet pageant in a hayfield, and for the silence between villages.
The towns
The county’s character is spread across small, distinct villages.
Newport — the lakefront county seat at the head of Lake Memphremagog.
Barton — gateway to Crystal Lake and the historic Orleans County Fair.
Craftsbury — a picture-perfect common and a renowned outdoor center.
Glover — home of Bread & Puppet Theater and Runaway Pond.
Greensboro — Caspian Lake, Hill Farmstead and Jasper Hill’s cheese caves.
Westmore — the fjord cliffs of Lake Willoughby.
Lakes & mountains
Water defines Orleans. Lake Memphremagog stretches 31 miles north into Quebec; Lake Willoughby plunges 300 feet between sheer cliffs; and Crystal, Seymour and Caspian lakes offer clear swimming and quiet paddling. On the northern line, Jay Peak catches more snow than any resort in the East.
Culture & character
Few small counties are this distinctive.
Bread & Puppet (Glover) — giant papier-mâché puppets and open-air pageants.
The Old Stone House (Brownington) — an 1836 granite school built by Alexander Twilight.
Craftsbury Common — one of Vermont’s most photographed village greens.
Orleans County Fair (Barton) — a 19th-century agricultural fair each August.
Beer, cheese & tables
The Kingdom’s food reputation is outsized.
Hill Farmstead (Greensboro) — often the world’s top-rated brewery, at the end of a dirt road.
Jasper Hill Farm (Greensboro) — cave-aged cheeses, including Bayley Hazen Blue.
Parker Pie Co. (West Glover) — wood-fired pizza behind a country store.
Good to know
Where is Orleans County?+
In north-central Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, on the Canadian border, roughly between St. Johnsbury and Jay Peak — about 1h45 from Burlington.
What is it best known for?+
Lake Willoughby’s fjord, Lake Memphremagog, Jay Peak’s snow, and world-famous Hill Farmstead beer and Jasper Hill cheese.
Is it good for a quiet trip?+
Very — it is one of the least-crowded corners of Vermont, ideal for lakes, foliage and slow back-road exploring.