Newport Town offers ski resorts, lakes and rural charm in northern Vermont
Newport Town is a primarily rural area of about 1,700 people in northern Vermont, right against the Canadian border. “There’s like one gas station and one restaurant,” says Ryan Pronto, the principal broker and owner of Jim Campbell Real Estate, which has served the area for nearly 50 years. “It’s a rural town with lots of big acreage, farmland and woodland. We’re a recreation destination for skiing, boating and hiking.” The western shore of Lake Memphremagog abuts Newport Town’s northeastern edge, and state parks, golf courses, smaller lakes and ski resorts are all nearby. “People definitely come for the lake,” Pronto says. “Lake access is a major draw.”
Second homes and permanent residences at wide-ranging price points
The housing market has many second homes mixed in with year-round residences, ranging from huge lakefront properties on 80-acre estates to small cabins in the woods or modest ranch-style homes. “About 40% of our market is second homes,” Pronto says. “The lake properties are probably the most valuable.” Prices range widely here, with old farmhouses needing some love starting at $120,000, homes under 2,000 square feet costing from about $215,000 to $590,000 and large estates on significant acreage costing between $625,000 and $1.4 million.
Year-round recreation draws include ski mountains, lakes, trails and golf courses
Recreation is a perennial industry in this part of Vermont. “It’s a convenient location between Jay Peak ski resort, Lake Memphremagog and Newport City,” Pronto says. “You can be 10 minutes from the resort and 10 minutes from Lake Memphremagog, and we have 14 lakes within a 30-minute drive.” Pronto says many of the lakes have banned wakes and high-speed motors, so canoers, kayakers and fishers will have relatively quiet waters. Burke Mountain is another ski resort. “It’s about 45 minutes away,” Pronto says. Hikers can head north of the nearby town of Jay and embark on the Long Trail. “The Long Trail goes all the way down the Green Mountains, the whole length of the state, and connects to the Appalachian Trail,” Pronto says. “That draws a lot of people, too.” Golf is another popular activity. “Newport Country Club is a big one,” Pronto says.
Nearby Newport City is a small-town food mecca
Newport Town is rural, with only a handful of shops and restaurants like Angie’s Place, Kingdom Brewing and Hilliker’s, a convenience store. “All the amenities are based out of Newport City,” Pronto says. Residents might go grocery shopping at Shaw’s or Green Mountain Natural Foods or grab a bite at the East Side Restaurant and Pub or Brown Cow Restaurant. “It’s kind of a food mecca for its size,” Pronto says of Newport City. For more shopping and dining, some folks even head into the larger communities of Magog and Sherbrooke in Canada. “People go back and forth to Canada all the time for recreation, grocery shopping, eating out and hockey games,” Pronto says.
Swimming Lake Memphremagog in all seasons
Newport City brings outdoor enthusiasts and endurance athletes from around the world for the Kingdom Games. “People come a few times a year for triathlons and things like that,” Pronto says. Events occur in all seasons, including winter swimming in the frozen lake. “They cut an Olympic-sized pool in Lake Memphremagog,” Pronto says. “They put up lane dividers and everything.” Another aquatic event crosses into Canada, as swimmers complete the 30-mile length of the big lake, from Newport to Magog.
Varied learning pathways at North Country Union High School
Newport Town School serves prekindergarten through sixth grade and earns a D from Niche. North Country Union Junior High earns a C-plus, and North Country Union High School scores a C-minus. The high school offers a range of programming for different interests and needs, including an Arts and Communications Academy, online courses, the North Country Career Center, and the Kingdom Course, which involves experiential education and project-based learning. Newport City also has a branch of the Community College of Vermont.
Major roads connect small towns, Burlington and Canadian cities
Given the rural nature of Newport Town, residents will likely need a vehicle. Main roads include U.S. Route 5, which connects the area to Newport City and Coventry, and U.S. Route 5, which runs through Derby and up to the border. Interstate 91 runs between Newport City and Derby, about 9 miles away. North Country Hospital is about 8 miles away in Newport City. Northeast Kingdom International Airport offers hangar space, aircraft rentals and flight training 9 miles away. If residents crave a larger city, they can head to Burlington, about 80 miles away, or the Canadian cities of Magog, nearly 40 miles north, or Sherbrooke, a city of about 170,000, which is about 60 miles north.
Nick practiced in Real Estate since 2000 and is a co-owner and the Managing Broker of Century 21 Farm & Forest. He started in Real Estate during the summers while attending the University of Vermont, where he graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Management. Post-college, he traveled throughout the U.S. and worked as a handyman mainly in Colorado and Alaska He has always appreciated the beauty of the Northeast Kingdom where he grew up and returned to Vermont to continue working with his family's business. In July 2012, he married his longtime sweetheart, Megan, and in November 2013 they welcomed thier son Brock They completed there family of four in 2015 with their beautiful daughter, Brynn. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, hunting, soccer, riding ATVs, snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing. He also likes doing construction and land improvement projects. He thoroughly embraces his work as a Realtor because of the diversity of each day and to see the joy of customers and clients realizing their goals!
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