Vermont is predominately a rural state with low mountains, tidy villages, and a few small cities scattered about. The state's geography is defined by mountains and water. Running north-south down the state's spine are the Green Mountains, a chain of lumpy, forest-clad hills. About a half-million acres of these are part of the federally managed Green Mountain National Forest. Defining the border with New Hampshire to the east is the Connecticut River. This attractive, languorous river served as an artery of commerce during the region's early days. To the northwest, on the New York border, is massive Lake Champlain, which local tourism boosters like to say forms New England's "west coast."

Vermont's leading industry is its landscape. With few exceptions, the entire state is uncommonly scenic. Travelers here find an America that many people have presumed lost, a land of rolling hills and silos, of leafy village greens and gracefully tapered church spires. While the generic strip-mall culture of the American suburbs is starting to make inroads in pockets around the state, most of Vermont remains remarkably well preserved.

Given its wide appeal, it's no surprise that tourism is a major source of income. The first ski area opened just outside of Woodstock in 1934, and today Vermont is home to dozens of well-known ski resorts, including Killington, Mt. Snow, Okemo, Stratton, Sugarbush, and Stowe. In summer, Vermont attracts travelers drawn by the prospect of hiking and canoeing, or simply lounging about one of the state's bumper crop of bed and breakfasts and country inns.

Vermont tends to be defined by a feisty independent-mindedness, which usually takes liberal positions on social matters and a conservative outlook on financial ones. The state's cantankerousness can be traced back to before the American Revolution, when Vermont found itself in the middle of a dispute between New Hampshire and New York, both of which claimed its territory for itself. The famed Green Mountain Boys led by the firebrand Ethan Allen harassed settlers, then turned its animosity on the British during the American Revolution. After the war, Vermont considered itself a free republic until 1791, when it joined the union.