# Vermont for Free
Free samples, free admission, free tours, free gear loans, and free trials - every freebie we can verify in Vermont, in one growing list.
1. Cold Hollow Cider Mill - free cider and donut samples
Watch cider donuts coming off the line in Waterbury Center and sip free samples of fresh-pressed apple cider. No purchase required - the samples are the point.
2. Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks - free maple tasting
Up the hill in Montpelier, Morse Farm hands out free tastes of maple syrup and maple cream. Nobody's watching to see if you buy a jug after.
3. Lake Champlain Chocolates - free chocolate samples
The Burlington flagship factory store sets out free chocolate samples. Watch the chocolatiers through the viewing windows, then taste your way through the case.
4. Cabot Creamery Store - free cheese tasting
Work your way through free samples of Cabot's cheddars at the Waterbury Center store - from classic cheddar to horseradish and Tuscan varieties.
5. Dakin Farm - free food tastings
The Ferrisburgh farm store puts out generous free samples of cheeses, smoked meats, jams, and maple products. Go hungry, leave with opinions.
6. Vermont Creamery - free tasting counter
The Websterville creamery has a free tasting counter where you can sample their cheeses and butters. Call ahead for tasting counter hours.
7. King Arthur Baking - free samples and kids baking
The Norwich flagship store offers free food samples, plus a free monthly Kids Drop-In Baking Activity on the first Saturday of each month (12-2pm, ages 5+, no registration needed).
8. Vermont Country Store - free food samples
The Weston store samples their fudge, cheese, and specialty foods freely. Multiple reviewers confirm: they sample absolutely everything.
9. Grafton Village Cheese - free cheese tastings
Free tastings of the full cheddar lineup at the Proctorsville retail store. The clothbound cheddar alone is worth the trip.
10. Crowley Cheese - free samples
Free samples of all cheeses at the factory shop in Mount Holly - the oldest continuously operating cheese factory in the US, running since 1824.
11. Burlington Farmers Market - free vendor samples
Seventy-plus vendors every Saturday, and most of them put out free samples - cheese cubes, produce tastes, prepared foods. Saturdays 9am-2pm, May through October.
12. Plymouth Artisan Cheese - free samples and factory tour
Free samples of every variety plus a free self-guided factory tour with viewing windows into the cheese rooms. The upstairs antique cheese-equipment museum is free too.
13. Shelburne Farms - free farm store tastings
The Farm Store and Welcome Center is free to enter, with generous free samples of cheddar, spreads, jams, and mustards.
14. Ben & Jerry's - Free Cone Day
Once a year, Ben & Jerry's scoop shops statewide hand out a free single-scoop cone or cup - any flavor, no purchase needed. Usually held in April.
15. Fleming Museum of Art - free admission
UVM's art museum in Burlington is free to enter, including all events. Open Tuesday through Saturday during the academic year.
16. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center - pay-as-you-wish admission
Always pay-as-you-wish, plus free first-Friday Gallery Walk evenings with live music and artmaking.
17. Manchester Community Library - free concerts and streaming
Free outdoor summer concerts on the library lawn, plus free Kanopy streaming and online learning databases with any library card.
18. Middlebury College Museum of Art - free admission
Free admission always, with rotating exhibitions on the Middlebury College campus.
19. Middlebury Festival on-the-Green - free music festival
Free week-long outdoor music festival every July on the Middlebury Village Green. All performances free.
20. Chaffee Art Center - free gallery and art programs
Free gallery admission and free community art programming year-round in a historic 1890s mansion.
21. Bread & Puppet Theater - free shows and bread
Free performances, free museum admission, and free sourdough bread on Fridays. A Northeast Kingdom institution.
22. Catamount Arts - free concerts and jams
Free Levitt AMP summer concerts, free monthly bluegrass jams, and free Strum Club gatherings in St. Johnsbury.
23. Vermont State House - free tours
Free self-guided tours year-round and free guided tours July through October. One of the prettiest capitols in the country.
24. The Current - free gallery and sculpture walk
Gallery entrance always free, plus the annual 'Exposed' free outdoor sculpture exhibition throughout Stowe village each summer.
25. American Precision Museum - free Sundays
Free admission every Sunday plus free maker workshops. Industrial history where precision manufacturing was born.
26. Stellafane - free star parties
Free public star parties - observe the night sky through large amateur-built telescopes with Springfield Telescope Makers members.
27. South Burlington Public Library - free telescope loans
Free 3-day telescope loans - take home a real telescope with your library card. Plus a full Library of Things collection.
28. Audubon Vermont - free bird walks
Free monthly bird monitoring walks and free Monday-morning Nature Playgroup at the 255-acre Green Mountain Audubon Center.
29. Fletcher Free Library - free seed library
Free seed library - check out vegetable, flower, and herb seeds, grow them, and return new seeds. No cost, no due date pressure.
30. Earl's Cyclery - free bike repair classes
Free hands-on bike maintenance classes - learn to fix flats and adjust brakes and gears. All ages welcome.
31. Vermont Humanities - free expert talks
Free expert talks statewide on the first Wednesday of each month, October through May, in 9 host communities.
32. Vermont Fish & Wildlife - free fishing clinics
Free fishing clinics statewide - instruction plus all equipment and tackle provided, no license needed at clinics.
33. Vermont Crafts Council - free open studio weekend
Vermont Open Studio Weekend - free self-guided tours of 100+ artists' studios statewide twice yearly. Watch glassblowing, pottery, and woodturning demos.
34. Vermont State Parks - free hikes and Vermont Days
Free guided First Day Hikes every January 1, free park entry all winter, and Vermont Days each June with free day-use at all 55 state parks.
35. Dolly Parton Imagination Library - free books for kids
Free children's book mailed every month from birth through age 5. Available to families in the Rutland area.
36. Vermont Community Canopy - free trees
Up to 2 free trees per household for residents of participating Vermont communities. Over 5,000 trees planted since 2017.
37. Vermont Department of Health - free Narcan kits
Free Narcan/naloxone overdose-prevention kits shipped to Vermont homes - 2 doses plus instructions. Also at vending machines statewide.
38. Battery Street Jeans Exchange - free clothing bin
Free clothing bin outside the Burlington shop - over 1,000 articles given away weekly, including winter jackets, boots, and backpacks.
39. COTS - free school supplies
Annual Back to School Bonanza each August - free school supplies and backpacks for K-12 students.
40. Bennington Night Out - free backpacks
Annual event with around 350 free backpacks stuffed with school supplies, first-come first-served. Also free haircuts for kids.
41. Paul Sweeney Memorial Coat Drive - free winter gear
Annual November coat drive - free winter coats, hats, gloves, boots, and blankets. Around 1,000 items, running 20+ years.
42. Old Spokes Home - free kids bikes
Free bicycles for eligible children ages 3-8 at the annual December Bike Bonanza in Burlington.
43. WND&WVS - free SUP demos
Free stand-up paddleboard demos twice a week in season. Try before you buy on Lake Champlain.
44. The Boot Pro - free bike demo days
Free Specialized mountain bike and e-bike demos with guided trail rides at Ascutney Outdoors and Pine Hill Park.
Statewide Programs
Borrow a Vermont State Parks pass from the library
Dozens of Vermont libraries lend out free state park day-use passes. Check one out with your library card and get into any state park free for the day.
Library of Things - borrow tools, snowshoes, and more
Vermont libraries lend way more than books. Depending on the branch: snowshoes, fishing gear, power tools, cake pans, telescopes, even sewing machines. Free with a library card.
Free fishing rod loaners at state parks
Vermont Fish & Wildlife stocks free rod-and-tackle loaner stations at state parks around Vermont. Grab a rod and fish - no license needed at the loaner sites.
Free Fishing Day - no license required
One Saturday every June, the state waives the fishing license requirement entirely. Fish anywhere in Vermont free for the day.
Free EV charging
Vermont has free Level 2 chargers scattered across the state - at town offices, co-ops, and businesses. Plug in, grab lunch, drive off without paying a cent for the electrons.
Know a freebie we missed? We're always adding to this list.