Peaceful rural beauty and a supportive community in Fletcher
Less than 30 miles from the Canadian border, Fletcher is a quiet, rural community tucked into Vermont’s mountains. Comprised mostly of winding dirt roads through hilly forests broken only by farmland and rolling pastures, Fletcher is a good drive from most essentials, but that isn’t a deterrent for many of the people who choose to live here.
“I can probably see 100 miles away of different mountain ranges, and it’s summer, so it’s all green here. It’s stunning,” says Grant Wieler, a broker and Realtor with Keller Williams Vermont who has been selling homes here for six years. The pace of life is slower, Wieler says, and it’s the kind of place where most people wave to each other when they pass on the road. “When we’re driving around these dirt roads all day with no cell service, if you have a car mechanical issue or something like that, someone is going to pull over because we all know that we lean on each other during those times,” he says. The result is a quiet, friendly community where people look out for one another.
Cooling off at Metcalf Pond, easy access to rail trail
Fletcher is full of forests and spaces for outdoor recreation. “Without a lot of infrastructure, like city infrastructure, the outdoors are sort of your entertainment,” Wieler says. “And in a state where six months out of the year it feels like winter, there’s no other choice. There’s this saying that there’s no bad weather, just bad clothing. So we take advantage of every season.” During the summer, Metcalf Pond is a popular spot for kayaking, fishing and even swimming, and hiking through the woods is also common. The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which stretches from Swanton to St. Johnsbury, passes through Fletcher, providing a space for biking, cross country skiing and snowmobiling. Wieler says snowmobiling is a popular winter activity, and the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, or VAST, trail system also reaches into Fletcher. Major skiing hotspots like Smugglers’ Notch Resort are also only about 12 miles away.
Homes with acreage and room for homesteading
Although Fletcher has a few historic houses, most of its ranch-style houses, farmhouses and colonials were built in 1960 or later. These homes usually sit on at least 2 acres, and Wieler says homesteading is very big in the community. Homes are more spread out here and don’t go for sale often; only five homes sold in 2024, ranging in price from about $380,000 to $600,000. By June 2025, one home sold for $725,000.
Recent renovations to Bellows Free Academy
Fletcher belongs to the Franklin West Supervisory Union. Kids can attend Fletcher Elementary School, which Niche gives a B-plus, before attending Bellows Free Academy. This school, which has a C, teaches both middle and high school. It offers historic fencing, Nordic skiing and gaming clubs. Significant renovations to update and expand the building for its growing student population are scheduled to finish in fall 2025.
Winding dirt roads, nearest hospital in St. Albans City
No major highways pass through Fletcher, though it takes about 10 minutes to reach state Route 15 just south of the neighborhood. Most of Fletcher has dirt roads, with just a few paved two-lane roads winding through the community. St. Albans City is about 17 miles away. It’s here that residents find the nearest hospital, Northwestern Medical Center. Burlington is 30 miles away.
Small annual parade and Town Meeting Day
Although Fletcher is quiet most of the year, Wieler says the town has an annual parade. “It’s usually sometime around mid-June. Everyone lines up in their vehicles and costumes by the general store,” he says, adding that the costumes are typically anything residents feel like throwing together — there’s no theme. Town Meeting Day, a gathering the day before an election, is also a big tradition. “So it’s a lot of these small grassroots traditions that we have in place that help continue and foster that sense of community,” Wieler says.
Russin General Store, leaving town for other essentials
Toward the south of Fletcher, Russin General Store offers a handful of essentials alongside quick meal options like sandwiches and pizza. Farms like Wandering Roots Farm and Boneyard Farm offer fresh produce and meat right in Fletcher. For other groceries, residents drive outside of town. A few surrounding towns also have village markets, like the bigger Hanley’s General Store in Jeffersonville about 8 miles away. Many residents head there for shopping or stop at the slightly bigger downtown to eat at one of its restaurants. When residents need essentials they can’t get at local markets, there’s a Hannaford in Milton about 13 miles away and St. Albans City has a Hannaford, Market 32 and Food City.
Navigating mud season and working with Vermont’s variable weather
Just like the rest of Vermont, Fletcher experiences a lot of precipitation throughout the year, but there’s only a minor risk of flooding here. The area is impacted by what locals call “mud season,” though — a time in Vermont brought about by the ground thawing as spring rains start. Deep mud can develop on the dirt roads that thread through Fletcher, so four-wheel drives and awareness of road closures are an essential part of life here. “One thing that’s always stood out to me is the way that we embrace seasonal change … It could be raining, it could be snowing and it could be sunny and 60 all in the same day,” Wieler says. “So embracing the environment and the changing weather is an integral part of our lives.”
Written By
Christina Norwood
