Ripton is a remote town in Vermont’s Green Mountains
With serene surroundings and scenic vistas of the Green Mountain National Forest, Ripton has a rich history of attracting long-term residents, seasonal vacationers and writers looking to awaken their creativity. One of its most well-known residents was Robert Frost, a world-famous poet who spent the last 24 years of his life living in Ripton and teaching at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. “You can drive up into the beautiful mountains and see the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail. It’s just a gorgeous area if you like the outdoors or mountain biking,” says Ray Fortier, a Vermont local and Realtor with Fortier Group Properties at Keller Williams Vermont.
Home to fewer than 800 people, the small mountain town appeals to those looking for a remote community where seeing deer in their backyard is more common than having reliable cell service. “It’s a pretty rural town. They have one small general store where it feels like you’re stepping back in time,” says Nancy Foster, longtime resident of Addison County and the principal broker of Champlain Valley Properties. While Ripton feels wonderfully secluded, Vermont Route 125 passes through town and connects residents to nearby shopping, dining and major highways outside their daily orbit.
Hiking, mountain biking and skiing in the Green Mountain National Forest
The Green Mountain National Forest is a year-round destination for outdoor recreation. “There are all sorts of recreational activities. It’s a great place to live for people who like mountain biking and skiing,” Foster says. Local favorites include the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail, which loops over the Middlebury River and leads past several plaques displaying some of Frost’s poetry. Residents can also access Vermont’s Long Trail, a 272-mile path that winds through the Green Mountains, extending from the Massachusetts-Vermont State Line to the Canadian border.
When a blanket of snow covers the Green Mountain National Forest each winter, its recreational activities change form. The Rikert Outdoor Center is located on Middlebury’s Bread Loaf Campus and is a popular spot for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking. The Tri-Valley Transit operates a seasonal Snow Bowl Shuttle with service to the nearby Middlebury Snowbowl, which offers opportunities for downhill skiing and snowboarding. The East Coast’s largest ski area, Killington Mountain Resort, is about 40 miles from Ripton.
Secluded mountain homes with wooded lots and limited inventory
Ripton is sparsely populated and features an eclectic mix of single-family homes tucked along winding mountain roads. “There are some beautiful houses, but so much of the town is owned by the Green Mountain National Forest and Middlebury College that there just aren’t a lot up there,” Foster says. Architectural styles range from traditional ranch-style homes and New England-style cottages to rustic farmhouses and Adirondack-style mountain homes with spacious, wooded lots. While some properties are owned by those who head to Ripton for seasonal getaways, others are home to residents who live in the mountains year-round. With limited inventory, homes in Ripton rarely come on the market. According to a Homes.com calculation, which uses a combination of estimate data, the average home value in town was around $430,000 in mid-2025. The town’s overall CAP Index Crime Score is 1 out of 10, significantly lower than the national average of 4.
Kids can attend the Addison Central School District
The town is served by the Addison Central School District. While kindergarten through fifth-grade students have long attended Ripton Elementary School, it will close after the 2024-2025 school year due to declining enrollment. Future elementary schoolers will attend the nearby Salisbury Community School, which earns a C-plus from Niche. Middlebury Union Middle School receives a B-minus and Middlebury Union High School scores a B-plus. The high school has several winter sports programs, including an award-winning girls Nordic skiing team that most recently won the 2024 Division II state championships.
Middlebury’s Bread Loaf Campus includes several historic Victorian-style buildings and is the site of Homer Noble Farm, Robert Frost's former summer home. Each August, hundreds of creatives come to Ripton for the annual Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. It includes 10 days of workshops and invites writers to explore the natural landscapes that inspired many of Frost’s most well-known poems, including “The Road Not Taken.”
Quaint village center includes the longstanding Ripton Country Store
Ripton’s small village center is home to the 19th-century Ripton Community Church, Ripton Community House and Ripton Town Center. It also has a small play area with a slide and a swingset for kids. A bit further down the street is the Ripton Country Store, a local mainstay since 1879. For visitors, the store is just the halfway point up Vermont’s Middlebury Gap, but for residents, it's part of daily life in the Green Mountains. The small red clapboard store is where they can buy groceries and household essentials, shop for penny candy and find everything from hunting knives and ski wax to Vermont cheese and maple syrup. Residents also pick up their mail at the Ripton Country Store since the town doesn’t have street delivery. The western slope of the Green Mountain is also home to High Rows Vineyards, which has a seasonal tasting room and rows of grape vines that produce red and white wine varieties. Locals typically head to Middlebury, less than 10 miles away, to stop by restaurants, big-box shops and grocery stores.
Mountain living with highway access near Middlebury
Vermont Route 125 winds through the Green Mountain National Forest, connecting this otherwise remote community to nearby towns and thoroughfares. It leads 8 miles northwest to Middlebury, where residents can go to Amtrak’s Middlebury Station and take the train into bigger cities like Burlington, Albany and New York City. VT 125 also provides access to U.S. Route 7, for those who prefer to drive, and Burlington is about 45 miles away. Residents are also 45 miles from Burlington International Airport. Rutland Regional Medical Center, about 35 miles away, is the closest public hospital.
Written By
Sally Stimpson
