Tight-knit town with natural beauty and a charming village
Hinesburg, 15 miles southeast of Burlington, is a Chittenden County town that offers rural living with a charming village center. “It’s very small,” says Katharina Frazier, assistant town clerk and treasurer of Hinesburg. “We have about 5,000 residents, and families are able to grow up together. ” The community is rich with natural beauty, offering parks, trails and lakes, but residents still have access to everyday businesses, like grocers, cafes and breweries. “It’s the sort of place where the stoplights stop after 9 p.m.,” Frazier says. “You’re living here for the quiet and rural community.”
Village suburbs vs. rural retreats with acreage
Hinesburg’s homes are diverse, with most homes on the market dating to the late 20th century through today, but there are a handful of historic homes as well. “You have two varieties of older homes,” Frazier says. “You have classic wooden-frame homes centered around the village and old farmhouses circled around the community.” In the village, townhomes and single-family homes are set close together along sidewalk-lined streets within walking distance to locally owned businesses. Homes on the outskirts of town are generally larger with acreage, allowing for privacy and additions like detached garages, workshops and barns. “As you spread out of town, people have taken larger pieces of land — 3 or 10 acres,” Frazier says. Townhomes and manufactured homes range from $10,000 to $400,000, while most single-family homes go for $400,000 to $900,000.
Academic and athletic opportunities at Champlain Valley Union High
Shelburne is part of the Champlain Valley Unified School District, which serves about 4,000 students. Kids in kindergarten through Grade 8 may attend Hinesburg Community School, before moving to Champlain Valley Union High — both rated A-minus by Niche. At the latter, juniors and seniors in the Vermont Dual Enrollment program may take two free college courses at any Vermont college. The high school is also known for its boys’ lacrosse dynasty, winning 11 Division 1 championships in the past 12 seasons, from 2013 to 2025.
Play sports, explore and hit the lake
The Hinesburg area is mostly countryside with a few planned green spaces dotted throughout. “We’ve tried to maintain the rural quality of life,” Frazier says. In the village, Lyman Meadows Park offers playing fields, and Wainer Community Playground & Park features picnic tables and courts for basketball and tennis. Golfers can hit the links at the 27-hole Cedar Knoll Country Club. “We have a town forest, which is basically conserved land, and a lot of trails.” Weaving through the Hinesburg Town Forest, Hinesburg Area Recreational Trails are shared by hikers, bikers and horseback riders; in the winter, folks can snowshoe and ski, too. In the summer, Lake Iroquois is popular for swimming, boating and bass fishing; in the winter, there’s ice fishing and skating.
Breakfast, beer and creemees
Shopping and dining are limited, but residents don’t have to leave town for essentials. Family-owned Lantman’s Market has been a community staple for over 90 years, offering pantry staples, deli items and locally sourced produce. There’s also the Trillium Hill Farmstand with organic produce, proteins and dairy. Parkside Cafe offers brunch fare with a Vermont-made ingredients, like powdered-sugar French toast with pure Vermont syrup and sourdough grilled cheese with Cabot cheddar. Hinesburgh Public House offers elevated pub fare, like buffalo schnitzel, French onion steak and Cajun salmon tacos. “In the winter, they’ll have jazz nights at the Hinesburgh Public House, and in the summer, most people enjoy getting out to eat creemees, which is Vermont’s version of soft-serve ice cream.” Papa Nick’s is Hinesburg’s summer creemee spot, but they also serve pies, cheesecake and sundaes. “There’s always a long queue waiting on a hot night,” Frazier says.
Hinesburg holidays and traditions
Hinesburg has holiday celebrations year-round. “For the Fourth of July, we have a big celebration,” Frazier says. “We have a running race and then a whole host of things going on with a parade and festivities around town.” Each year, there's a fun tradition of selling balloons on the Fourth to fund the following year's fireworks. In May, Green Up Day is a Vermont tradition where folks get together to clean up their community. “Hinesburg does a really good job with it,” Frazier says. The Hinesburg Artist Series is another local highlight, a non-profit organization of musicians who perform at events like the annual Christmas concert at St. Jude Church. “It has a chorus, a band, and they bring out performers and artists from all over the place,” Frazier says.
Commuting from Hinesburg
Vermont Route 16 passes through Hinesburg, providing connecting access to Burlington. “A lot of people work in bigger places, like Burlington, Middlebury or Waterbury,” Frazier says. “A fair amount of people telecommute, too.” Residents generally commute via car, but a Green Mountain Transit commuter bus also stops in town. “Here in the village, you can walk to the town hall, the grocery store or the post office,” Frazier says. “That’s very walkable or bikeable.” The Burlington International Airport is 11 miles away, and the University of Vermont Medical Center is 14 miles away.
Annual snowfall and 2024 flooding
On average, Hinesburg receives 87 inches of snow annually, compared to the U.S. average of 28 inches. In 2024, heavy rainfall flooded some areas of Hinesburg. “It’s the most peculiar thing because we don’t live in a flood-prone area,” Frazier says. “It was just the crazy storms last summer. Everyone did what they could to help in the aftermath of that.”
