Lincoln offers an old-school, rural lifestyle in western Vermont
Cradled in the foothills of the Green Mountains, Lincoln is a small rural town that blends the outdoorsy attitude of western Vermont and the vintage mindset of its Quaker settlers. “Lincoln offers a different lifestyle,” says Wendy McIntosh, the Director of the Lincoln Library. “We don’t have the amenities of a suburb, but we do have dirt roads and a community of 1,500 residents who aren’t afraid to work. If someone wants to put in the effort to help the town run and raise their kids the way they did a couple generations ago, Lincoln is a great place to lead a life like that.” Elevations vary across the town’s rolling landscape, with the lowest point at 840 feet in the central village center where the New Haven River flows out of Lincoln and the highest atop Mount Abraham’s 4,000-foot summit. Locals appreciate a slower paced atmosphere where maple and pine treetops serve as the skyline, and maple syrup producers are the town’s main retailers. A small population of seasonal residents rent or buy second homes in Lincoln for its vibrant fall foliage and proximity to Sugarbush Resort. But the hardy souls who call Lincoln home appreciate the secluded – sometimes even hardscrabble – life that the town offers.
Nature lovers can hike Mount Abraham and visit nearby ski resorts
Outdoor enthusiasts can hike up Mount Abraham in the Green Mountains, which is located on Lincoln’s east side. Hikers can take the 5-mile Long Trail or the 2-mile Battel Trail to the summit, passing a large portion of the remains of a Cessna 182N planethat crashed on the mountain in 1973. On the west side of town, Eagle Park features nature trails along the New Haven River. The park is popular for fishing and kayaking during the day and stargazing at night.
Two popular ski resorts sit on the east side of Lincoln. “We’re on the other side of the mountain from the ski area, even though I can see it from the library window,” McIntosh says. “It’s not as close as it seems because you have to drive around the other side of town to get to it.” Sugarbush Resort offers 2,000 acres of skiable terrain with 111 trails and 16 chairlifts. In the summer, visitors can hike or mountain bike through the mountains, play 18 holes of golf and swim in the outdoor pool. The resort also hosts summertime events, including the Pig Jig at the end of May, complete with a pig roast and country music. Just north of Sugarbush Resort, Mad River Glen is a skier-owned cooperative that boasts lower skier density on its 2,000-foot mountain slope. Mad River Glen prides itself on offering some of the most challenging terrain on the East Coast, along with plenty of less-technical runs that accommodate all skill levels. There is very little in the way of commercial offerings at the resort, but during the winter season, Stark’s Pub hosts frequent live music.
Local establishments in Lincoln’s village and restaurants in Bristol
Retail is lacking along the rural roads in Lincoln, but a small village area is home to a few local establishments that indicate the town’s atmosphere. “We don’t have a gas station or a post office, and there are no streetlights,” McIntosh says. “Either you’re highly technological and can do things yourself, or you’re fine with living like they did in the old days.” The Lincoln General Store is a popular stop for select market items, candies and local gifts. Attached is a creemee stand, which serves a type of soft serve unique to Vermont; vendors modify existing soft-serve dispensers to add more air to the ice cream, creating a lighter texture that is found nowhere else but Vermont. Next door, the United Church of Lincoln is a Baptist church that was built in the 1800s in the Gothic Revival style, with a white facade and a humble steeple. Nearby, the Lincoln Library is one of the newer buildings in the village, and hosts weekly senior fitness classes and toddler story times, in addition to housing approximately 16,000 volumes available for checkout. Burnham Hall is a 175-seat music venue that hosts a string concert series, with acts from Celtic quartets to acoustic soloists.
For grocery runs or dining out, residents can head to the neighboring town of Bristol, about 5 miles away. “There’s a teeny tiny Shaw’s in Bristol, but the nearest Walmart is an hour’s drive away,” McIntosh says. The Tillerman Restaurant is an inn and eatery in a 1790s farmhouse that serves wood-fired pizzas made with locally sourced ingredients. The Bobcat Cafe and Brewery makes craft beer in-house and offers an international menu that includes tacos, burgers and bibimbap.
Cozy wooded cabins and spacious mountainside contemporaries
Driving through Lincoln typically involves a trip down two-lane state routes that exit onto country roads that cut through thick woodlands as they bend into town. Forest clearings open to vintage farmhouses from the 1800s share the landscape with more recent ranch-style homes, Colonial-inspired cabins and chalets built in the 20th century. These 1,000- to 1,500-square-foot properties typically offer three bedrooms and one bathroom, some tucked deep into the woods, and cost between $220,000 and $450,000. Larger mountain-style homes with contemporary designs and recent renovations offer 2,000 to 3,000 square feet of interior space, with up to five bedrooms and four bathrooms. These properties might sit on multiple acres with private creeks babbling through the backyard or sit on the mountainside with scenic views of Vermont’s fall foliage, and come with price tags ranging from $500,000 to $950,000.
Mount Abraham public schools and prestigious local colleges
The Mount Abraham Unified School District, which receives a C rating from Niche, serves the Lincoln community. Around 70 students attend Lincoln Community School, a kindergarten through sixth grade school with a B rating. Students can then advance to Mount Abraham Union Middle/High School, which receives a C-plus, for seventh through 12th grade. High schoolers at the combined school can join the Travel Club, which recently embarked on a trip to Ireland.
Students who want to stay close to home can continue their studies at nearby Middlebury College, located about 15 miles west of town. The private institution, founded in 1800, is renowned for its language and international studies programs. The college welcomes the surrounding communities to its several cultural festivals throughout the year. Around 30 miles north of Lincoln, Burlington is home to the University of Vermont. The public institution is the oldest university in the state and is classified as a Research 1 Doctoral University, well known for its medical programs.
Unmarked country roads connect residents to Vermont routes
Narrow and winding back roads lined with dense forest wind through Lincoln like veins on a maple leaf. Some connect residents to busier highways like Vermont Route 17, north of town, and Vermont Route 116, to the west. To reach Vermont Route 100, a major thoroughfare that runs north-south just east of town, residents can take Lincoln Gap during the summer. The mountain pass, which is the highest car-accessible mountain pass in the state at 2,424 feet, closes in the winter due to its dangerous conditions. “It’s intimidating to drive, but a lot of people will come out and do it in the summer,” McIntosh says. “It’s a pretty serious thing.” In the wintertime, or to avoid driving on Lincoln Gap, locals opt for a longer commute using the other state routes that circle around the town. No public bus or trains service the car-dependent community, and the nearest airport is Patrick Leahy Burlington International, about 30 miles north.
Written By
Mary Beth Greene
