Welcome to Notch Above Tours Receptive Services!

Inbound Receptive Services:
See how we make incredible days for your incoming group or organization.

Notch Above specializes in thematic and customized tours of New England and Eastern Canada. We'll work with you develop itineraries that meet the interests and budget of your group. We feature both Multi Day Tours and Day Tours for your group.
We know you can't afford to compromise quality. Since all our tours are customized, we'll do whatever we can to meet the interests and budget of your group. Our well-spoken, friendly guides, who are educators and travel professionals, will satisfy your travelers' curiosity about our fascinating and picturesque region. At Notch Above, we provide the quality you expect with the convenience you need from a full-service receptive tour operator. Contact us today for a discussion of sample itineraries and complimentary price quotes.
Please scroll down for a brief outline of just a few of our successful receptive tours:
Multi-Day Tour Ideas (all tours accompanied by an experienced Notch Above Local Guide)
Join Our 400th Birthday Celebration in 2009

Travel back to 1609 when explorer Samuel de Champlain, the father of New France, accompanied an Algonquin war party to the lake which he named after himself. Lake Champlain, nestled between the peaks of New York’s Adirondacks and the gentle Green Mountains of Vermont, is the 6th largest freshwater lake in the United States and is as historical as it is beautiful. Join us for this very special year-long celebration with special events, exhibits and behind-the-scenes opportunities.
Day 1 - Late afternoon arrival at your hotel. Enjoy dinner, then begin the celebration with a local expert who will share tales and legends of Lake Champlain.
Day 2 - After breakfast at your hotel, join your Notch Above local guide and travel to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum where you’ll experience hands-on-history. View the largest collection of wooden shipwrecks in North America and talk to archaeological conservators in the Nautical Center. Climb aboard a Revolutionary War gunboat replica and learn about the life of citizen soldiers in Vermont in 1776. Watch craftsmen continue traditional maritime skills of boat building in working shops. Interpreters will take you behind-the-scenes to share fascinating information. Then we’ll cross the Lake to New York State and Crown Point. See the remains of Fort St. Frederic built on the shores of the Lake in the 1730’s by the French. Then on to Fort Ticonderoga - built by the French in 1755, defended by Montcalm in 1758, taken by the British in 1759, captured by Ethan Allen in 1775 and restored in 1909. Upon arrival, a costumed guide will explain the history of the Fort. Daily activities normally include a Fife and Drum performance on the Parade Grounds and Musket and Cannon Demonstrations. Return to Vermont and the Mount Independence Historic Site. Hear the story of how thousands of men weathered a brutal winter on the fortified peninsula in 1776-77 and how they eventually defeated the British at Saratoga, one of the most decisive victories of the Revolution. Return to your hotel and enjoy dinner this evening. Evening activities can be arranged with the possibility of special Quadricentennial activities offered.
Day 3 - Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Today your Notch Above local guide will introduce you to some of the most spectacular views in New England. The Champlain Islands are actually a peninsula and three connected islands. In the 19th-century, visitors arrived by Lake steamer to stay at farms. A railroad eventually crossed the islands and a local road became a popular route to Montreal. Grand Isle County is Vermont’s smallest (4,000 year-round population) and was the homestead of Ebenezer Allen in 1783. Isle La Motte is the site of the first European settlement on the Lake in 1666. Fort Sainte-Anne is now St. Anne’s Shrine. Visit the historical landmark and view the massive granite statue of Samuel de Champlain, carved in Vermont’s pavilion at Montreal’s 1967 Expo. An open-sided Victorian chapel on the shore marks the site of this first French settlement. Stop at Hero’s Welcome, an authentic Vermont general store, bakery, café and post office. The view the Hyde Log Cabin. Built by Jedediah Hyde in 1783, the cabin is one of the nation’s oldest and reflects 18th-century life on the Islands. Visit one of Vermont’s oldest working apple orchards where you can enjoy homemade apple pie and hop on a farm wagon for a ride into the orchard. The magic of sun, soil and Lake Champlain combine to provide the ingredients that create Snow Farm wines. We’ll tour Vermont’s first vineyard and grape winery and taste the product before our return to your hotel. Freshen up, then proceed to Burlington’s historic waterfront with some of the oldest buildings in the town. Board the Spirit of Ethan Allen for a dinner cruise on Lake Champlain, During the cruise, the Captain will share tales of the battles, legends, shipwrecks and heroes of the Lake. Keep your eyes peeled for the legendary Lake monster, Champ! Return to your hotel after the cruise.
Day 4 - This morning after breakfast at your hotel, join your Notch Above local guide and explore Burlington. Located on the shores of Lake Champlain, Vermont’s largest city (40,000 residents), offers the sophistication and conveniences of a larger metropolitan area and the comfort and feel of a small town. Travel past the campus of the University of Vermont, founded by Ira Allen in 1793. The classic campus overlooks the city and is built around the traditional New England Green. Burlington’s prosperous growth in the 1800’s is reflected in the handsome mansions in tiers that slope eastward from the lake shore to the ”hill section”. Visit ECHO, the Lake Aquarium and Science Center. Discover the ecology, culture, history and opportunities the Lake Champlain Basin offers. Travelers of all ages enjoy over 100 hands-on-interactive exhibits and over 60 species of live fish, amphibians and reptiles and the adjacent Lake Champlain Navy Memorial. The historic Church Street Marketplace is a pedestrian mall with shops, boutiques and restaurants where you’ll have free time to explore and have luncheon on-your-own. Then visit “New England’s Smithsonian”, the Shelburne Museum. Explore the 37 exhibit buildings displaying 80,000 pieces of Americana, quilts, carriages, sleighs and the SS Ticonderoga, the last steam-powered side-wheeler of its type in the United States. Built in 1906 and capable of carrying 1,137 passengers, the Ti made its final run in 1953 and was eventually hauled overland to be exhibited at the Museum.
Day 5 - Begin the day with breakfast at your hotel. Options for today include:
(a) A day in the Richelieu Valley & Montreal in the Province of Quebec
Lake Champlain drains northward into Quebec’s Richelieu River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence. Because of the connection, this river and the Province were very significant in the early history of Lake Champlain. Located just across the northern border of Vermont, Fort Chambly was built in 1665. The fort you’ll see today was constructed between 1709-1711. It protected New France from British attacks. Fort Lennox occupies an island a few kilometers from the Canada-US border. Erected between 1819 and 1829, the fort was designed to protect the colony in the event of an American invasion via the Richelieu River.   Conclude the day with a visit to Montreal. The second-largest French-speaking in the world, Montreal is truly a beautiful, cosmopolitan city offering gracious hospitality to all its visitors. Tour the city with a local guide then enjoy dinner in an Old City restaurant housed in a charming 19th-century building. Free time to explore Old Montreal before your return to Vermont.
(b) Visit Barre, Montpelier and Stowe, Vermont. Peak behind the scenes of a working Granite Quarry. Visit an active 50-acre, 600-foot deep working quarry. Then discover a cemetery which is a veritable outdoor museum of fine and unusual granite sculptures. See some of the most unusual and unique granite works you’ll see anywhere in the world. Learn how maple syrup is produced at a local farm. Visit our nation’s smallest state capitol, Montpelier, and tour the State House, one of the oldest and best preserved in the country. Enjoy luncheon on-your-own I small, downtown Montpelier. Stop to see cider being made and taste the finished product en route to “the ski capital of the East”, Stowe.   Its village has kept the turn-of-the-century look of several generations ago. Tucked between the Stowe Community Church and the venerable Green Mountain Inn, you’ll find shops that have provided the necessities of life for residents and visitors since 1840. Drive up the Mountain Road to the ski area and then see the Trapp Family Lodge located on 2,000-acres overlooking the valley below. Still owned and operated by family members, the von Trapps have been welcoming guests into their home since 1944. Conclude the afternoon with a scoop of “Vermont’s finest” at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory.
Pricing upon request
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VERMONT’S NATURAL WONDERS & EARLY DAYS
A Four-Day/Three Night Tour
Vermont is like no other place. Its vibrant community life and rural ways still remain strong today despite 20th-century influences. Its mountains and valleys offer a quiet world of wonders for all ages. Vermont offers glimpses of the spirit and valor of early settlers and heroes of the American Revolution. Once you visit, you'll realize why Vermont is truly a special place! Its mountains and valleys offer a world of wonders for all ages. Explore stunning hillside farmscape, lakes deep and clear, a maze of scenic back roads and fascinating indoor looks at the natural world at ECHO.
Day 1 - Afternoon arrival in Burlington, Vermont. Check in the lakeside Wyndham Burlington. Enjoy the backdrop of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, an indoor pool, Jacuzzi and fitness room and rooms with coffee makers, irons and ironing boards. An easy stroll to the Lake or Church Street Marketplace, an historic district which is now a pedestrian mall with shops, boutiques and restaurants to meet any taste. Dinner at the Wyndham.
Day 2 - Meet your local guide after a bountiful breakfast buffet and travel to one of our “best kept secrets”, the Birds of Vermont Museum with over 400 life-size woodcarvings of Vermont birds in habitat settings with nests and eggs. See live birds and observe a woodcarving demonstration. Shelburne Farms is the former Webb family estate of 4,000-lakeside-acres. One of the grandest in New England is now a working farm and educational center. See how cheese is made and taste the finished product. Tour the colorful birthplace of America’s most loveable teddy bears during a tour of the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. An afternoon visit to the world-class ECHO Lake Aquarium & Science Center. Experience over 60 species of live fish, amphibians, invertebrates and reptiles, 100 interactive exhibits, recreated whale dig and shipwreck, major traveling exhibition, special behind-the-scenes tour and multi-media object theater. ECHO is located at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain on the Burlington Waterfront. Board the adjacent Spirit of Ethan Allen III for a dinner cruise on Lake Champlain and learn some of the history and legends of this beautiful and historically significant body of water.
Day 3 - After breakfast buffet at the Wyndham, depart with your local guide for a day of “off-the-beaten-track” touring to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The Kingdom has been revered by residents and visitors alike for its lovely countryside, abundant natural resources and the preservation of traditional landscapes and lifestyles that have made the Vermont experience one to be cherished by generations. Craftsbury Common is considered one of Vermont’s loveliest with classic homes and other 18th and 19th-century structures overlooking the Village green. Walk the Green and explore the Village. Enjoy luncheon at the Highland Lodge, a Victorian-era lodge on scenic Caspian Lake. Greensboro has a century-old following of noted authors, educators and socialites. It is also home to Willey’s Store. Explore one of the biggest, best and most authentic general stores in the State. Travel through the Village of Stowe, ski capital of the East with Vermont’s highest mountain, lush meadows and valleys, the classic white church steeple, red barns and Village shops that have provided the necessities of life for residents since 1840. Walk through Vermont’s only haunted covered bridge before concluding the day with a scoop of “Vermont’s finest” at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory. Return to Burlington for dinner and overnight at the Wyndham.
Day 4 - Enjoy breakfast buffet at the Wyndham, then visit the homestead of Vermont’s famous Revolutionary War hero, Ethan Allen. Learn first-hand about life on the Vermont frontier. A nature trail follows the adjacent Winooski River. Evidence of Indian corn carbon dated to circa 1450 A.D. has been found on the property. The nearby Burlington Intervale consists mostly of marshland and swamp and includes several endangered plant species and a “sea cave” carved in limestone cliff by ancient waves. The Shelburne Museum has been called “New England’s Smithsonian” and offers 37 exhibit buildings displaying 80,000 pieces of Americana, quilts, carriages, sleighs and the S. S. Ticonderoga, the last steam-powered side-wheeler of it type in the US. If time allows, visit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, a large collection of original small watercraft built over the last 150 years. Learn about the life of citizen soldiers in Vermont in 1776. Watch craftsmen continue traditional maritime skills of boat building and blacksmithing in working shops. Depart Vermont after your visit.
Net Tour Operator Rates Start From:    Spring/Summer $438. Double     Fall Foliage $535. Double
Booking: Contact Notch Above Tours (800) 639-2367   info@notchabovetours.com
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Early New England Rural Life & Great Farms
4 Days/3 Nights
Day 1 - Lodging and dinner in Stowe with Vermont’s highest mountain, classic white church steeple, red barns, covered bridges and Stowe village shops which have provided the necessities of life for residents and visitors since 1840.
Day 2 - Farming shaped Vermont’s landscape and rural society and still defines much of the state today. Visit Shelburne Farms, the lakeside estate of Dr. & Mrs. William Steward Webb and now a working dairy farm and cheesemaking operation. Shelburne Museum, “Vermont’s Smithsonian”, offers 37 historic buildings and a collection of 150,000 works representing days gone by. Dinner cruise on Lake Champlain.
Day 3 - The Billings Farm & Museum, sustained by the Billings and Rockefeller families, is a working dairy farm with a meticulously restored 1890 farmhouse. President Calvin Coolidge’s homestead is the best preserved presidential birthplace in the nation and has remained virtually unchanged since the early 1900’s. Woodstock is one of New England’s most beautiful villages and is home to a working family farm where we’ll learn how maple syrup is harvested and produced. Dinner in Stowe.
Day 4 - See Justin Morgan’s famous equine descendents on display at the Morgan Horse Farm. Visit a bustling local farmer’s market (schedule dependent) before departing for home.
Inclusions: 3 Nights Lodging in Stowe, 3 Breakfast Buffets, 3 Dinners including Dinner Cruise, Admission Fees, Local Guide Service, baggage service, tax & service. 1 comp/25
Preliminary Pricing: Double Per Person: Spring/Summer $358. Fall $466.   Inquire for single, triple & quad rates
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Exploring Vermont's Back Roads
4 Days/3 Nights
Traveling the back roads of Vermont is like stepping back in time. Small villages, mountain peaks, rolling meadows, hillside farms and big red barns. We invite you to join us as we take you off-the-beaten-track to learn about the life and people of this special place.    Burlington or Stowe lodging.
Day 1 - Depart with your local guide who will share lore and legend of the region. Visit an 1800¹s old red mill to learn about the farmer, first in the world to photograph individual snowflakes. Follow the Lamoille River through small villages and a series of covered bridges. Luncheon in Stowe. Samples of Cabot Cheese, chocolate, fresh cider and a stop for "Vermont's Finest", Ben & Jerry's to conclude the day.
Day 2 - Travel back roads along the Green Mountains to the President Coolidge homestead, virtually unchanged since the turn-of-the-century. Explore Woodstock, one of New England's most beautiful villages with opulent 19th-century homes and a classic town green. Visit a scenic working farm to learn about maple syrup and cheese making. See a floating bridge (original built in 1820) before a visit to the world¹s only manufacturer of large disc music boxes.
Day 3 - Vermont's Northeast Kingdom is a region of pristine wilderness, abundant wildlife, country roads and endless scenic beauty. Craftsbury Common is a lovely village with views in every direction. Classic Vermont homes overlook the Common's green. Luncheon at a Victorian-era Inn overlooking beautiful Caspian Lake. Stop at Willey's, one of the biggest, best and certainly most authentic general stores in New England. Travel through high and open farm country and river valleys.   A dinner cruise tonight on picturesque Lake Champlain.
Day 4 - Burlington, Vermont's largest city (40,000 residents), sits on the shores of Lake Champlain. Visit the birthplace of some of America's most loveable bears at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. The world renowned Shelburne Museum includes 37 exhibit buildings on 45-acres and is one of the nation's most eclectic museums of art, Americana and artifacts. Depart for home after your museum visit.
Preliminary Net Tour Operator Rates Start From:      Spring/Summer   $348. Double   /   Fall $376. Double
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Country Inns & Culinary Delights
4 Days/3 Nights
Combine fine food, lodging at an historic Stowe Inn and touring in a very special place. Vermont offers glimpses of the spirit and valor of early settlers and heroes of the Revolution. Its mountains and valleys provide a world of wonders for all ages.
Day 1 - After breakfast at the Inn, join your local guide to tour Cabot Creamery, home of "Best Cheddar in the World". Then see how maple sugaring works from the trees to finished product at a family farm. Visit the world¹s largest granite manufacturing plant, then discover a veritable outdoor museum of fine granite sculpture. Luncheon at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, our nation¹s smallest state capital. Tour the State House, then enjoy a scoop of "Vermont's Finest" at Ben & Jerry's. Dinner this evening at the Inn.
Day 2 - Vergennes is the smallest city in the USA and home of Kennedy Brothers, a former woodenware factory and now packed with Vermont crafts, antiques and products. Middlebury is the quintessential New England college town and site of Robert Frost¹s cabin. Walk the Frost Interpretive Trail, then enjoy luncheon at an 1810 Inn and former stage coach stop featured on the Bob Newhart Show. See Middlebury College and the Vermont State Craft Center. Visit the oldest covered bridge in Vermont. Return to Stowe for dinner at an 1833 inn.
Day 3 - Time this morning to explore Stowe village where you¹ll find shops that have provided the necessities of life for residents and visitors since 1840. Luncheon at the Trapp Family Lodge, a classic Austrian chalet still operated by family members. Follow back roads through small villages to Burlington where you¹ll have time at its pedestrian mall with boutiques, galleries and restaurants. Dinner cruise this evening on Lake Champlain.
Day 4 - Tour Vermont Teddy Bear, the birthplace of some of America's most loveable bears, then visit Shelburne Farms, a 4,000-acre Vanderbilt lakeside estate and one of the grandest working farms in New England. Depart from Vermont after your visit.
Pricing upon request
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MORE Multi-Day Tour Ideas...
The Underground Railroad & African-American History in Vermont - Vermont was very active in the anti-slavery movement before the Civil War. The Vermont Constitution abolished adult slavery in 1777. It is known that many slaves escaped through Vermont to Canada. Follow an assumed route while enjoying other sites of Vermont – small villages, mountain peaks and rolling meadows, hillside farms and big red barns. Although written evidence was scarce, there has been new research indicating who they were, how they escaped, what their routes were, and how they may have been hidden. Visit Burlington and learn about Lucius Bigelow, publisher of the Burlington Daily News whose basement was the camp for escaped slaves; Rev. Joshua Young and Edward Peck, proprietor of a dry goods store, all active supporters of the Underground Railroad; and George Henderson who in 1877 became the first black man to graduate from the University of Vermont. Visit Hinesburg where African-American farmer, Loudon Langley, wrote for an abolitionist newspaper and harbored at least one fugitive slave. Rokeby in Ferrisburgh was the home of Quaker writer and a founder of the Vermont Anti-Slavery Society. Visit the home of Rowland Robinson where he kept his home free of slave-made goods and sheltered dozens of fugitive slaves, often offering them both a home and work on the farm for extended periods of time. He operated a school on his property for both black and white students, a practice unheard of at the time. Visit Middlebury and the Sheldon Museum, the oldest community museum in the country, where hundreds of anti-slavery letters are housed. Learn about Alexander Twilight, the first African-American to graduate from an American College, Class of 1825. Travel to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom where Rev. Twilight became pastor of the Congregational Church and designed and built a school and dormitory in the town. In 1836 became the first African American to serve as a Vermont legislator (possibly the first in the nation). The charming town of Brandon was believed to have at least six homes that sheltered runaway slaves. See the home of Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln’s political opponent. Visit the Higley House where escaping slaves slept on the floor and family members prepared their food. You will also trace the spread of the Ku Klux Klan in Vermont and New England in the early 20th-century.
Pricing upon request (Itineraries can be developed for any of these tours ranging from 2-6 days. Notch Above customizes all our tours.)
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The Underground Railroad in North Country New York - New York State as a whole had the largest slave population among the non-plantation English colonies in the New World. Although the northern territory of New York was the last leg for many on their road to freedom, slaves were still owned by many pioneering families in the region. The most well-known and often controversial North Country abolitionist was John Brown who spent much of his time out-of-state working against slavery. He was hung in 1859 and his body was returned to the family farm near Lake Placid. Visit the Farm and the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Adirondack Park encompasses about two-thirds of Upstate New York, embracing some six-million acres. Nearly half of it is wilderness. Visit small villages with Underground Railroad sites including a small concealment space in the back of a barn, a Masonic Temple, private homes and a Tavern. Slaves took advantage of Lake Champlain. Coves and lakeside structures were used hide from officers at the border. Cruise on the Lake, considered to be one of the most significant historical bodies of water in North America. Combine a visit to Upstate New York with a visit to Vermont and/or Montreal.
Pricing upon request (Itineraries can be developed for any of these tours ranging from 2-6 days. Notch Above customizes all our tours.)
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Discover Ethnic Montreal - Montreal is truly a cosmopolitan city and is located just a couple of hours from Burlington, Vermont. Combine a tour to Vermont with a day trip or several days in Montreal. Growing from a 17th-century small French colony to a thriving metropolis, Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world and offers gracious hospitality. It is home to no less than 80 different ethnic groups. Tour the city with a local guide who will focus on the African influences in this region and will provide an Afro-Centric theme to the tour. Tour ethnic neighborhoods, travel through Mount Royale park, Chinatown, the Business and Financial Districts, the historic Port, fashionable Westmount and other parts of the City. Walk along cobblestone streets bordered by 17th-19th-century stone buildings and visit spectacular Notre Dame Basilica. Enjoy meals at African and French-Canadian restaurants. Each year from mid to late July, Montreal is the site of “Festival International Nuits d’Afrique”, featuring over 35 shows, 275 musicians from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. You’ll find African food, clothing and much more in the festival considered to be one of the most prestigious in North America.
Pricing upon request (Itineraries can be developed for any of these tours ranging from 2-6 days. Notch Above customizes all our tours.)
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Discover the Arts: Vermont & Montreal (3-5 days)
Vermont and the Province of Quebec are fertile grounds for music and art. Summer concerts, festivals and local museums in Vermont reflect life of a bygone era. Neighboring Quebec and Montreal are the homes of world class music and museums. Combine the best of both in a unique package.
Vermont Holiday Traditions (2-4 days)
Experience traditional Vermont seasonal festivities and learn about holiday traditions of 19th-century Vermonters. Christmas at the Shelburne Museum, Stowe's Christmas Tree Festival and a19th-century meal at the Culinary Institute may be included in this tour.
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Day Tour Ideas (all tours accompanied by an experienced Notch Above Local Guide)
The A,B,C's of Vermont: Antiques, Back roads & Collectibles - Explore the back roads of our region, visiting antique and collectible shops along the route. Wind your way through small villages and discover "off-the-beaten-track" stops where locals will talk about their collections and their communities.
Stowe: A Classic Vermont Resort Village - Vermont's highest mountain, lush meadows and valleys, the classic white Church steeple, red barns, covered bridges, traditional country stores and the Stowe village shops which have provided the necessities of life for residents and visitors since 1840. Explore Stowe village and its shops, ride a gondola at Mt. Mansfield Ski Area to the top of Vermont's highest peak, see the Trapp Family Lodge, a classic Austrian chalet still operated by the von Trapp family. See cider being made and sample the final product at Cold Hollow Cider Mill, and visit Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory for a scoop of "Vermont's Finest".
Burlington, and Vermont's "New England's Smithsonian" - Travel through Burlington, Vermont's largest city with 40,000 residents. Travel through the University of Vermont, founded in 1791, and the hill section of town with late 19th and 20th-century homes once owned by well-to-do industrialists and businessmen. See the downtown commercial area and Lake Champlain. Continue to Shelburne, home of New England's "Smithsonian." The Shelburne Museum includes 37 exhibit buildings set on 45-acres, displaying over 80,000 pieces of Americana including furniture, crafts, folk art, fine art, quilts, more than 140 horse drawn carriages and sleighs, wildfowl decoys and the SS Ticonderoga, the last steam powered side-wheeler of its type in the US.
Teddy Bears, Great Farms and Revolutionary Heroes - Visit the homestead of Vermont's famous Revolutionary War hero. See Ethan Allen's home overlooking the Winooski River. Learn about life on the Vermont frontier and discover clues in the landscape to 5,000 years of human occupation. Shelburne Farms is a nationally acclaimed 1,400-acre historic site with some of the most spectacular lake and mountain scenery anywhere. The former Vanderbilt home and estate is still a working farm with a prize herd of Brown Swiss Cows. It is now a non-profit conservation and educational organization. Experience the magnificent agricultural landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the famous architect of Central Park and Boston's “Emerald Necklace.” Visit turn-of-the-century perennial gardens overlooking Lake Champlain and see the cheese making operations in a renovated historic Farm Barn and sample the finished product. For the finale, we'll take a tour through the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, birthplace of America's most lovable, hugable bears and visit the Bear Shop and the Teddy Bear Pantry.
Lake Champlain: Corridor of History- Nestled between the peaks of New York's Adirondacks and the gentle Green Mountains of Vermont lies Lake Champlain, historically important and beautiful.   Lake Champlain is the 6th largest freshwater lake in the United States. Relax on a comfortable, narrated cruise keeping an eye out for Champ, Vermont's famous lake “monster.” Visit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and experience a large collection of original small watercraft from the past 150 years. Learn about the largest collection of wooden shipwrecks in North America. Step back in time as you climb aboard the 54' square-rigged Revolutionary War gunboat replica Philadelphia II and learn about the life of citizen soldiers in Vermont in 1776. Watch craftsmen continue traditional maritime skills of boat building and blacksmithing in working shops.
Maple Syrup, Granite, America's Smallest State Capital and ECHO - Visit the historic State House (built in 1859) with its golden dome and modeled after the Temple of Theseus in Greece. Next, we'll learn about the maple sugaring process, from sap collected at the maple trees to finished product at a maple sugar farm just a few miles from the State House. Tour the sugar house, taste maple syrup and visit the largest and most unique maple, crafts and mail order shop in the area. Travel to nearby Barre, the center of the largest granite industry in the nation. Visit the world's largest and most modern granite manufacturing plant. We'll see a veritable museum of fine granite artistry at Hope Cemetery, where the fine stone carvings rival the finest sculpture anywhere.   We'll close our day at the new, world class ECHO at the Leahy Center on Burlington's historic waterfront.   Encompassing nearly 30,000 square feet, ECHO features over 60 species of fish, amphibians and reptiles in 12,000 gallons of aquariums and aquatic habitats all native to the Lake Champlain Basin.
Middlebury: Vermont's Landmark College Town - Nestled in the gently rolling countryside of farms and woodlands, Middlebury is a very pleasant town with its pristine Congregational Church and Victorian style buildings converted into stores, restaurants and craft shops.   Middlebury College, founded in 1800, is a prominent part of this classic college town.   We will see the campus. The Vermont State Craft Center at Frog Hollow is located in a rehabilitated mill and features outstanding Vermont arts and crafts. In nearby Ripton, Robert Frost's summer cabin remains on the Breadloaf Campus of Middlebury College. The Interpretive Trail is a scenic, woodland walk with excerpts of Frost's poems.
The Real Montréal - Travel across the border to the Montreal, the second largest French speaking city in the world. Montréal is truly a beautiful, cosmopolitan city, offering gracious hospitality to all its visitors. You will need ID for the border crossings. A Notch Above Tours local guide will be with you and will share information about both Vermont and Canada. Upon arrival in Montreal, tour the city with a Canadian guide. See Old Montreal with its 17th-19th-century buildings, cobblestone streets and spectacular Notre Dame Basilica, the Port of Montreal, colorful ethnic neighborhoods with wonderful stories about life in Montreal, Mount Royal Park, overlooking the city, downtown skyscrapers, the financial district, Chinatown, McGill University and more. Enjoy luncheon in hear of Old Montreal at a restaurant housed in a charming 19th-century building. Menu will include Chef's Salad, Choice of Rib Steak, Breast of Chicken, Veal Parmigiana, or Broiled Filet of Sole, Dessert & Coffee or Tea. There's free time to explore the 20-mile underground of indoor shops, boutiques and cafes, the waterfront, or Old Montreal.
Cheese, Chocolate & a Haunted Covered Bridge - Experience a taste of Vermont as you nibble on “the world's best cheddar” at Cabot Creamery or the Cabot Annex Store. Lake Champlain Chocolates are, according to the New York Times, “some of the best chocolate in the country”.   Emily's Bridge is perhaps the most haunted spot in Vermont and is believed to be the only haunted covered bridge in New England. Supernatural events are reported here on a regular basis. You can add cider tasting at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill and a scoop of “Vermont's Finest” at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory.
Please contact us for a specifically designed and themed tour ideas for other parts of Vermont, northern New England and greater Montreal, Canada.   Notch Above offers customized tours to these and many other destinations. We will be happy to provide a proposal for your organization. Some of our other tour ideas include:

Weird & Mysterious Vermont • Rural Life & Great Farms of Vermont
Vermont Colleges, Geese & Poets • Vermont's Villages & Back Roads • Vermont's Lakes, Leaves & Legends
Norman Rockwell, Marble, Maple Syrup & Castles • Lake Champlain: Corridor of History
Teddy Bears, Farms & Vermont's Heritage • Historic Homes & Gardens

Who Are We? - Notch Above is a locally owned group tour business located in the heart of Vermont's Green Mountains. Incorporated in 1993, we are fully insured and deposit all pre-payments in a Union Bank escrow account. We are members of the National Tour Association, American Bus Association, International Air Transport Association, Vermont State Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Tourism Network, Vermont Convention Bureau, Stowe Area Association and local Chambers. As one of only three Vermont tour operators selected for membership in the National Tour Association, we offer the security of a one million dollar liability insurance policy and adherence to a strict Code of Ethics.

Our Philosophy
Treat our clients the way we want to be treated.
Create and conduct the best, most innovative tours possible.
Continue to learn, improve and have fun while we do it!

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Call Toll Free 1-800-639-2367 • email us

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