The Twin Cities (of Vermont)
A hike across Chittenden County
As a New Englander, I’m jealous of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Dallas-Fort Worth, and other cities that happen to be twins. I realize that we do have cities buffered by several towns, but there’s just something about the dichotomy of two cities that feels perfect for a region as historically repressed as New England. Take Boston, for instance. Imagine if there was a singular city on the other side of the Charles River called, uh…Nutfield. Let’s go with that. Now picture this: In the evening, when Boston goes to sleep, Nutfield wakes up and offers all sorts of nocturnal recreation. Not just bars, but basement raves, impromptu movie screenings in alleyways, sex parties, poetry readings, and art openings where the actual doors don’t open until 11pm. You could go to work at a hospital or a university in Boston by day, cross the river at dusk, and become another person in Nutfield after dark. It would be the civic equivalent of Jekyll and Hyde. A dual life.
By my estimation, the closest thing New England has to a pair of twin cities are Burlington and Winooski—the cosmopolitan jewels of northwestern Vermont. Now, we’re not talking about twin cities of equal heft. Burlington has 44,781 residents while Winooski only has 8,330. But the two cities are densely-populated outliers in a region of small towns and sprawl. They’re pretty much connected to each other, with the Winooski River serving as the buffer. And they offer their own distinct vibes. Burlington is a center of commerce teeming with students, gearheads, and folks who’ve spent a lot of money to come here from afar and get their mitts on a draft Heady Topper. Winooski, by contrast, plays like a Springsteen acoustic deep cut. The city center is smaller and less polished. Everything here is humbled by the nearby roar of Winooski Falls. But it’s no less savory. It’s a classic Vermont town camouflaged in a grittier and more urbanized environment.
Now here’s where things get mossier. Due to their proximity, pedestrian access, and localized green spaces, you can walk from one of Vermont’s twin cities to the other, and this Vermont Twin Cities Traverse makes for a pretty cool urban hike during any season of the year. It’s an intercity traverse of 3.8 miles that takes you from one natural landmark—Lake Champlain—to another: Winooski Falls. And the route features the range of environments that one would expect from a good urban hike. You’ll pass restaurants and bars, dormitories and libraries, conservation woodlands and a cemetery, and sleepy residential roads with dogs looking at you from windows and going apeshit as you saunter by. And best of all, the Green Mountain Transit Agency’s 9 bus connects the two cities, so you can use public transit to reach the starting line of your hike or to get home when finished.