Discover Burlington Scavenger Hunt
Discover the Queen City of Vermont with a scavenger hunt across Burlington's lakefront and main street. Wander pedestrian Church Street, watch a freighter pass on Lake Champlain, sample a fresh Ben & Jerry's scoop and toast Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys. Compact, lakeside, full of maple syrup and crunchy granola. Burlington is yours for the afternoon.
Stops on this hunt
The geo-tagged checkpoints that anchor this route. You can rearrange, replace or remove any stop after using the template.
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1
Church Street Marketplace
Navigate to Church Street Marketplace, the four-block pedestrian heart of Burlington, and check in around Main or College Street.
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2
City Hall Park
Walk to City Hall Park at the south end of Church Street and check in at the fountain.
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3
Lake Champlain waterfront
Walk west and downhill to the Burlington waterfront on Lake Champlain. Check in by the ferry dock or the ECHO Center.
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4
Battery Park
Walk north up the bluff to Battery Park overlooking the lake and check in at the gazebo or one of the cannons.
Challenges (20)
Burlington kick-off
The hunt begins! Find a classic Burlington backdrop (a Church Street awning, a maple leaf, Lake Champlain in the distance) and take a group photo with the whole team in shot.
Checkpoint: Church Street Marketplace
Navigate to Church Street Marketplace, the four-block pedestrian heart of Burlington, and check in around Main or College Street.
Church Street busker shot
Church Street is full of buskers, painted patios, indie shops and Vermont craft carts. Find a busker mid-performance or an unusual cart and take a squad photo with the team in the scene. Drop a tip if a song is playing.
Trivia: Burlington granted
Burlington was granted to Samuel Willis and 63 others by the colonial governor of New Hampshire in what year (the founding year of the town)?
Answer: 1763
Checkpoint: City Hall Park
Walk to City Hall Park at the south end of Church Street and check in at the fountain.
City Hall Park fountain
City Hall Park has an open lawn, a fountain and weekly events. Find the fountain and take a group photo with the team arranged around it, the City Hall facade in the background.
Checkpoint: Lake Champlain waterfront
Walk west and downhill to the Burlington waterfront on Lake Champlain. Check in by the ferry dock or the ECHO Center.
Lake Champlain wide shot
Lake Champlain stretches out for miles in front of Burlington with the Adirondack Mountains on the far shore. Find a vantage point on the waterfront boardwalk and take a squad photo with the lake and the mountains filling the background.
Trivia: Champlain other shore
Lake Champlain forms part of the border between Vermont and which other US state (on the far shore)?
Answers: New York / new york / NY
Boardwalk team walk
Walk along the waterfront boardwalk between the ECHO Center and the breakwater. Take a squad photo where the team walks toward the camera with the lake spreading out behind everyone.
Checkpoint: Battery Park
Walk north up the bluff to Battery Park overlooking the lake and check in at the gazebo or one of the cannons.
Battery Park gazebo pose
Battery Park sits on a bluff above the lake with a white gazebo and old cannons. Find the gazebo (or a cannon) and take a group photo with the team gathered inside or around it, the lake stretching out behind.
Trivia: Ben & Jerry's founded
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first ice-cream shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington in what year?
Answer: 1978
Ben & Jerry's scoop toast
Pop into a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop on or near Church Street, order a flavour each (Cherry Garcia, Phish Food, Chunky Monkey) and take a squad photo with everyone holding their cone up in a toast.
Burlington Bike Path shot
The Island Line / Burlington Bike Path runs along Lake Champlain from Oakledge Park to the Causeway. Find a stretch of the path along the lake and take a group photo with the path leading the eye toward the water.
Vermont maple breakfast
Vermont produces more maple syrup than any other US state. Find a breakfast spot serving local syrup (Penny Cluse Cafe, Magnolia Bistro, Henry's Diner) and take a group photo with everyone pouring syrup or taking the first bite at the same time.
Trivia: Green Mountain Boys
Burlington sits in Ethan Allen's territory. Ethan Allen led which Revolutionary War militia (three words)?
Answers: Green Mountain Boys / green mountain boys
Vermont kitsch pose
Find a Vermont kitsch icon in Burlington (a moose statue, a maple-leaf flag, a snow globe in a shop window) and take a group photo where the team plays along with the kitsch.
Local Burlingtonian tip
Convince a local Burlington resident to share a tip about the city. Take a photo with your impromptu guide and remember the tip.
Burlington finale
Final challenge. Find a beautiful Burlington spot (Lake Champlain at sunset, Church Street lit up, Battery Park at golden hour) and take an amazing closing group photo. Cheers from the Queen City!
Frequently asked questions
Three hours covers Church Street, City Hall Park, the Lake Champlain waterfront, the Burlington Bike Path and Battery Park at a relaxed pace. Downtown Burlington is small enough that everything sits within a fifteen-minute walk, so no rideshare is needed unless you add the Ethan Allen Homestead north of the city.
June through October. Summer brings Lake Champlain boating, the South End ArtHop in September is a bonus and fall foliage from the waterfront is the postcard view of Vermont. Winters are beautiful but cold; the Church Street Marketplace stays open with covered patios and the Ben & Jerry's scoop is just as fun.
It is a separate half-day trip, not a stop on this hunt. The original Ben & Jerry's factory tour is in Waterbury, about thirty minutes east of Burlington off I-89. The hunt covers the brand with a downtown scoop-shop stop. If you have the time, pair the hunt with the factory tour as part of a longer Vermont weekend.
Church Street Marketplace is the natural starting point: four pedestrian blocks of shops, buskers and patios with multiple parking garages a block away. From there it is downhill to the lakefront and back uphill to Battery Park. The waterfront ferry dock has free parking on weekdays.
Yes. Church Street is car-free, the ECHO Center on the waterfront is a hands-on science centre kids love, Battery Park has a playground and the Bike Path runs along the lake with stroller-friendly stretches. No alcohol stops are required.