Skip the queues in Stowe and head 45 minutes inland to Cambridge, Vermont — a hamlet of roughly 190 residents tucked into the Upper Green Mountains, equidistant from Burlington and its famous ski-town neighbour. What it lacks in fame it makes up for in covered bridges, farm food and near-empty trails.

The town's best asset may be how compact everything is. In the village of Jeffersonville, three historic covered bridges — the Gates Farm Bridge, Cambridge Junction Bridge and Grist Mill Bridge — sit within five minutes of each other. If that sparks a bridge obsession, Montgomery, Vermont's self-styled covered bridge capital, is 40 minutes northeast.

Outdoor options run through every season. The Peter Krusch Nature Preserve, under five minutes from town, has a two-mile wooded trail following a brook. Cyclists and snowshoers get the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, a 95-mile non-motorised route with three trailheads in the Cambridge/Jeffersonville area. Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, is just 20 minutes south — hike it, drive it, ride the gondola or, in winter, ski it. And if you've come for foliage, Stowe, the self-proclaimed fall colour capital of America, is right next door.

Timing matters less here than you'd think. Autumn pairs the foliage with apple season in September and October — expect cider, cider slushies and cider donuts everywhere. Winter is quieter, with nearby ski lodges keeping things cosy; summer highs sit in the 70s Fahrenheit, ideal for trails and farm visits.

The food side is a genuine draw, not an afterthought. Valley Dream Farm, seven minutes away in Pleasant Valley, is a family-run organic operation open roughly May to November. Beyond the farm stand and greenhouse plants, it hosts Farm to Table Dinners on Tuesdays — registration required — which bundle a farm tour and hayride with appetisers and a seven-course meal. It's a pretty enough setting that weddings are a regular fixture.

Short on time? Boyden Valley Winery and Spirits has been in the same family since 1914. Its seasonal tasting room needs no reservation, but the real pick is the whiskey tour: 90 minutes through the bourbon-making process, a tasting and cocktail lesson in the lounge, and a bottle of their signature bourbon to take home. Tours run once daily, Thursday to Monday, so book ahead.

For travellers, Cambridge works as a day trip from Burlington or as a low-key base for a longer Vermont loop — foliage in fall, skiing in winter, cycling and farm dinners in the warmer months, all without the traffic.