From Concord, NH to the cabins

From the State House in Concord the cabins are 265 road miles away, about four and a half hours of driving and about five and a quarter with a fuel stop and a grocery stop. Almost all of it is one road: I-89, picked up at exit 2 about three miles from the State House and followed for about 182 miles across New Hampshire and Vermont to Swanton, before two bridges over the top of Lake Champlain and US 11 west to Malone. New Hampshire guests have come in December, January and April, for the hot tub, the fire pit and a quiet weekend in the woods.

Concord to Swanton on I-89

From the State House, Clinton Street (NH 13) runs west to I-89, and the on-ramp at exit 2 is less than three miles from the start. New Hampshire's toll plazas are on I-93, the Everett Turnpike, I-95 and the Spaulding Turnpike, so the trip from Concord pays none: the Hooksett plaza, the one toll on the Boston drive, is south of the city. The table counts road miles and driving time from downtown Concord, measured on OpenStreetMap routing and rounded up a little, so you can tell at a glance where you are and how much is left.

The first hour stays in New Hampshire, through Hopkinton, Warner, Sutton, New London, Springfield, Grantham and Enfield, and crosses the Connecticut River at West Lebanon. Vermont then gives you two hours of interstate: past Sharon, Royalton and Randolph, over the highest ground of the whole trip north of Randolph, down past Barre to Montpelier, and on through Waterbury and Richmond to the Burlington exits. North of Burlington the road flattens out through Colchester, Milton, Georgia and St. Albans to Swanton, the last exit you need. The Boston page walks this same interstate stop by stop, with Quechee Gorge and the cider mill at Waterbury, so here the focus is on what changes when you start in Concord.

Fuel, food and rest areas

Starting in Concord you miss the big Hooksett stop, so the first state rest area on the way is the Springfield center on I-89 northbound, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. New Hampshire's southbound Lebanon center has been closed since May 1, 2025, so on the way home plan on Sutton instead, also open 9 to 5. In Vermont, the stop that is always open is Maplefields at exit 7 in Berlin, just short of Montpelier and about an hour and 50 minutes from Concord: take the first right off the exit onto Paine Turnpike North. It is the state's travelers' service center, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with gas, diesel, electric-car charging, a convenience store, restrooms and free Wi-Fi, and it serves traffic in both directions.

Hours change with the seasons and the holidays, so check a stop's own page before you count on it. Once you are off the interstate, US 11 crosses farm country with little open late, and the Burlington page lists the smaller stops between Rouses Point and Malone. The route reaches Malone at the east end of the village and turns south at Andrus Street; Malone's Walmart and Aldi stand on NY 11 on the far, west side of the village, so plan the big shop for Swanton or Champlain. Groceries and supplies covers what the cabin kitchens already have.

From Manchester

From Manchester City Hall the cabins are 279 road miles, about four and three-quarter hours of driving, 14 miles more than from Concord. The Everett Turnpike (I-293) carries you north and joins I-93 just past the city line, and about eight miles later I-89 branches off in Bow; from there the trip is the same as from Concord. This way passes the Hooksett plaza on I-93, where a car paid $1 in 2026, or 70 cents with a New Hampshire E-ZPass. Under the state highway plan that survived the governor's veto in August 2026, the toll is set to double from January 1, 2027, for drivers without a New Hampshire-issued E-ZPass, so a transponder from Massachusetts or another state pays the higher rate. From Nashua and the towns along I-93 south of Manchester, add the miles to Manchester and follow the same roads.

Crossing Lake Champlain from I-89

Every route from New Hampshire has to get past Lake Champlain. From Concord there are three practical ways, all reached from I-89, and the right one depends on the hour and the weather. The miles below are measured from downtown Concord to the cabins.

The bridge by Swanton

This is the fastest and the simplest, and it is the default route on this page: exit 21, VT 78 west through Swanton and over Missisquoi Bay into Alburgh, US 2 to the Rouses Point Bridge, and a left onto US 11 at the New York end. It keeps no timetable, it never leaves the United States, and nothing on it depends on lake ice.

US 2 through the islands

Leaving I-89 at exit 17, US 2 heads west onto the Champlain islands and north through South Hero, Grand Isle and North Hero to Alburgh, where the Swanton way comes in. It is about four miles shorter than the Swanton way and about ten minutes slower on a clear road. The island road is also how you reach the ferry, so you can leave the decision until the VT 314 turn.

The Grand Isle ferry

From exit 17 it is about 13 miles to the Grand Isle dock, a little under three hours from Concord. The boat crosses about two miles of open lake to Cumberland Head, north of Plattsburgh, in about 14 minutes, and it runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year. From the New York dock the drive is 66 road miles, about an hour and a half: the Northway one exit south, NY 374 and NY 190 west over the hills, and US 11 into Chateaugay and Malone. In all it is about 26 fewer road miles than the bridge, and with a short wait at the dock it comes out about 15 to 30 minutes slower. The Lake Champlain ferries guide has the fares, the docks and the boats.

Two other crossings come up on old maps. The Burlington to Port Kent boat has not sailed since 2019 and is not on the ferry company's 2026 list. The Charlotte to Essex boat, south of Burlington, adds about 15 miles over the Grand Isle way and lands you farther from the cabins, about 91 road miles out; and the Lake Champlain Bridge at Crown Point, about 250 miles from Concord, comes out about half an hour slower than the bridge by Swanton on the same routing.

The ferry on a Friday night and in winter

On the weekday schedule posted in October 2026, boats leave Grand Isle every 10 to 20 minutes through the early evening, at 6:43, 6:55, 7:05, 7:25 and 7:40 p.m., then every 20 minutes from 8:05 to 11:05 p.m., once more at 11:45 p.m., and every 40 minutes after midnight until the morning service. A Concord start at 5 p.m. puts you on the dock a little before 8, in the 20-minute pattern. The company notes that wind, maintenance or traffic can shift departures, there are no vehicle reservations, and a fuel surcharge can be added to the posted fare, so check the schedule on the day.

The Grand Isle crossing rarely stops in winter. One of its boats, the Cumberland, has a heavy steel hull, heavy-duty propellers and extra horsepower for ice, and one of its captains put the shutdowns at about once or twice every three years. On February 13, 2026, the National Weather Service in Burlington declared Lake Champlain closed by ice for the first time since 2019, and on the night of February 1, 2022, ice and strong wind shut this crossing into the next day. On a cold, windy night in late winter the bridge by Swanton takes the question away.

The White Mountains way

There is a second way to Vermont that leaves I-89 out of New Hampshire altogether: I-93 north from Concord through the White Mountains to St. Johnsbury, US 2 west across Vermont to Montpelier, and I-89 from there. It measures 295 road miles, about 30 more than the I-89 route, and about five hours of driving, roughly half an hour longer. Take it in daylight, for the mountains, or when you want to break the trip with a walk or a museum.

The Canterbury rest area on I-93 northbound is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Beyond Lincoln, I-93 squeezes through Franconia Notch State Park: for about eight miles it winds between the Kinsman and Franconia ranges as the Franconia Notch Parkway, with a single lane in each direction, from the Flume Gorge at the south end to Echo Lake, 1,931 feet above sea level, at the north end. A bike path runs the length of the notch beside the road. The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway is closed for a replacement project and was not expected to run in summer 2026. In the off-season the park is usually unstaffed, with restrooms closed and some gates shut, and dogs are allowed only in the marked dog-walk areas near the tramway and Flume lots.

North of the notch, I-93 widens again and passes Littleton, where the welcome center at exit 44 was listed in 2025 as open 9 to 5 from Sunday to Tuesday and closed the rest of the week. The interstate ends at I-91 in St. Johnsbury, and US 2 west leaves I-91 about two miles on. In St. Johnsbury, the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium at 1302 Main Street opens daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on five holidays and for a few weeks in early January, with adult admission $17 and the planetarium $8 more. US 2 then runs west through Danville, Marshfield and Plainfield into Montpelier, where I-89 picks up the trip for its last 70 miles in Vermont.

In winter this way crosses the notch and the high country along US 2, both two-lane in places, so in snow the I-89 route is the better choice.

The drive by season

Winter

Two parts of this drive sit well above Concord: I-89 over the high ground between Randolph and Barre, and US 11 after Champlain, which climbs more than a thousand feet from the lake into the town of Clinton. A rain forecast at home can mean snow on both. For New Hampshire and Vermont, New England 511 shows driving conditions by road, from fair to difficult to ice and hazardous, with traffic cameras, road weather stations and a link to the Vermont Agency of Transportation's plow finder. 511NY covers the New York side from Rouses Point on. Fill the tank at Maplefields at exit 7 after dark, and see winter driving for tires and what to carry.

Lake Champlain in winter

The bridges at Swanton and Rouses Point carry the main route over open water and do not care what the lake is doing. Only the ferry choice depends on ice and wind, and the Grand Isle boats run through all but the worst nights, as described above. If the forecast calls for a hard north wind in February, take the bridge.

Fall color

Columbus Day falls on October 12 in 2026 and October 11 in 2027, so book early for that long weekend. On a leaf trip, the I-89 route keeps you on four-lane interstate while the White Mountains way narrows through the notch, and the fall foliage guide has the color timing for the country around the cabins.

Flying instead

From the Concord area most guests drive, because no airline flies from Manchester-Boston Regional to any airport near the cabins. Burlington's nonstop list in October 2026 runs to hubs such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Newark, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, plus Florida and seasonal cities, with nothing from Manchester or Boston, and Plattsburgh's airlines fly to Florida, Myrtle Beach and Washington Dulles. The small planes that reach the North Country leave from Boston Logan: Cape Air to Adirondack Regional at Lake Clear and Boutique Air to Massena. From Concord, Logan is in the wrong direction, so the drive north is the simpler trip. The airports guide compares them for anyone coming from farther off.

A Friday evening arrival

All three listings set check-in after 4 p.m. and checkout before 11 a.m. Allow about five and a quarter hours from downtown Concord with a 15-minute fuel stop and a grocery stop of about 25 minutes. To pull in before sunset at the cabins, leave by these times:

A plan for a 12:45 p.m. start in mid-October:

1. 12:45 p.m. Leave downtown on Clinton Street for exit 2.
2. About 1:45 p.m. Over the Connecticut River into Vermont.
3. About 2:35 p.m. Exit 7 in Berlin: fifteen minutes at Maplefields for gas and coffee.
4. About 4 p.m. Exit 21 in Swanton: groceries at the Hannaford on First Street.
5. About 4:40 p.m. Across the Rouses Point Bridge, then left onto US 11.
6. About 5:20 p.m. Chateaugay.
7. About 5:35 p.m. The east end of Malone and the Andrus Street turn; send the host your arrival time.
8. About 5:55 p.m. The cabin, a quarter of an hour before sunset.

Leaving after work moves the shopping. Out of Concord at 5:30 p.m., you reach Swanton at about 8:45, with time to shop before the Hannaford closes at 10, and Champlain's Price Chopper stays open until 11. The cabin then comes at about 10:45. The Aviator and The Modern Tiny Home set quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., so plan a quiet arrival. From Malone, County Route 25 and town roads finish the trip; use the host's directions, as getting to the cabins explains.

What New Hampshire guests come for

The reviews from New Hampshire guests come from Concord, from Derry south of Manchester and from Littleton on the White Mountains way, and all of them stayed at The Modern Pine. A guest from Concord came in December 2024 and wrote:

Loved the hot tub and the firepit area tucked into the woods.

A couple from Littleton spent their honeymoon weekend at the same cabin in April 2024 and wrote, "The surroundings were beautiful and we enjoyed the amenities, particularly the hot tub and fireplace." A Derry guest summed up a January 2023 stay as "So comfortable and beautiful surroundings." The same Concord guest pointed out that The Modern Pine's deck and screen room face the second cabin on its property, The Aviator, which is the far cabin of the two; if seclusion on the deck matters most, compare all three on the cabins page before you book.

The fireplace in that review is The Modern Pine's Jotul gas stove; The Aviator has the same model, and The Modern Tiny Home has the big stone fire pit and a short trail to a pond. Each cabin sleeps four in a main bedroom and a bunk room, with a private hot tub. For a ski weekend, Titus Mountain's base lodge is about three and a half road miles from the cabins; see the Titus guide and the winter weekend plan, and the stargazing post for clear nights in the tub.

The drive home

A checkout before 11 a.m. puts you back in Concord by about 4 p.m. with a stop. Southbound, Maplefields at exit 7 serves your side too, and in New Hampshire the Sutton rest area on I-89 is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you go home over the mountains, the Sanbornton rest area serves I-93 southbound on the same 9-to-5 hours, about half an hour short of Concord.

Questions

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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12. informationcenter.vermont.gov informationcenter.vermont.gov/centers/maplefields-berlin-i-89-exit-7
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20. wcax.com wcax.com/2022/06/07/burlington-ferry-service-unlikely-return-near-futu
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26. btv.aero btv.aero/where-we-fly/
27. flyplattsburgh.com flyplattsburgh.com/flight-status-airlines
28. adirondackairport.com adirondackairport.com/commercial-flights-with-cape-air
29. boutiqueair.com boutiqueair.com/p/Schedule
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31. NOAA gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/calcdetails.html
32. sunrise-sunset.org sunrise-sunset.org/us/malone-ny/2026/10