The prime holiday travel season is almost upon us. What better time then to feast on one of New England’s signature features: the covered bridges of Vermont.
Here are nine of the most beautiful.
This bridge along Silk Road in Bennington dates from 1840, and is open to vehicular traffic.
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The span along Maple Street in Fairfax dates from 1865, and is also open to vehicular traffic.
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This expanse along the Halpin Bridge Road in Middlebury dates from 1850, and is open to cars, trucks, etc.
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Built way back in 1842, this bridge was originally along Kendall Hill Road in Pittsford. A steel-and-concrete expanse just to the south eventually replaced it, however, and the covered span is now closed to vehicular traffic.
Interestingly, the bridge survived a flood in the late 1920s that washed it 1.5 miles downstream. It was restored to its present location.
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This bridge went up around 1870 and runs along Lake Road in Charlotte. It’s open to traffic.
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The bridge over Lake Street in East Clarendon also dates from around 1870, and is also open to vehicles.
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This bridge along Sunderland Hill Road in Bennington was built in 1870, and can handle traffic.
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This East Hampton bridge covers a foot trail over the Salmon River (it’s closed to vehicles), and dates from 1873.
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The expanse over the Winooski River may be the only covered bridge in Vermont that never had a road across it. Instead, it was intended only for farm use (note the narrowness and the higher threshold).
Built in 1890, the bridge fell into disrepair just shy of its 100th birthday; and was moved via crane to a nearby field for tweaks. It was returned to its present spot—still over the river in Marshfield—in 2009.
[Sources: Visit Vermont; Covered Bridge Map]