The Vermont State Fair has been running continuously since 1846, interrupted only by the Civil War and two World Wars. That longevity is worth something. By the time a fair has been operating for nearly 180 years, it has either figured out what it’s doing or it’s gone. The Vermont State Fair is still here, still running the last week of August in Rutland, and still doing what agricultural fairs were built to do: celebrate the food, the animals, the crafts, and the communities that make a state more than a collection of zip codes.
For anyone staying in Ludlow, Okemo-area properties, or the southern Vermont corridor, Rutland is twenty minutes north on Route 7. The fair is worth a day, and the combination of summer mountain biking at Okemo plus the fair at the tail end of August makes for a late-summer Vermont trip that covers a lot of ground.
What’s at the Fair
The agricultural barn complex is the heart of the event and the part that most county fairs have either shrunk or eliminated. Vermont’s is still robust: cattle judging, sheep competitions, draft horse pulls, poultry shows, rabbit competitions, and rabbit and cavy exhibitions that run through the week. If you’ve never watched a serious draft horse pull — teams of Belgian and Percheron horses competing to move weighted sleds across a dirt arena — it’s one of the more impressive displays of animal power you’ll encounter anywhere.
4-H and youth exhibitions include vegetables, baked goods, sewing, woodworking, and crafts produced by Vermont kids and teenagers. The quality in these competitions is genuinely impressive — this is serious competitive work, not a hobby fair.
The midway runs the full week with rides ranging from children’s fare to full-size attractions. The Vermont State Fair midway is operated by a traveling company and includes the usual complement of games, food vendors, and evening atmosphere that works better than it has any right to.
Live entertainment runs on the main stage nightly throughout the week. The lineup varies by year and spans country, classic rock, and regional performers. Check the official schedule for 2025 headline acts.
Fair food: Fried dough, maple creemees, corn dogs, kettle corn, and the standard midway complement. The maple soft-serve situation in Vermont is consistently better than it has any right to be at a state fair — this is, after all, a state that takes maple seriously at every level.
Competitions Worth Watching
A few specific events that are worth building your day around:
Draft horse pull: Typically held mid-week and on the weekend. The Vermont fair draws serious competitors from across New England and New York. Teams of Belgian workhorses pulling several times their body weight is a visceral display of agricultural heritage that you won’t find in many places.
Cattle judging: The dairy and beef cattle judging rings give you a window into a part of Vermont’s economy that most visitors only see from the highway. The Jerseys, Holsteins, and Ayrshires competing here come from working Vermont farms.
Agricultural exhibits: The produce competition includes some extraordinary specimens — prize-winning pumpkins and squash that require a forklift, heirloom tomatoes in colors that don’t seem real, and an apple exhibition that spans varieties most people have never encountered.
Combining with Okemo Summer Activities
If you’re based in the Ludlow area for a summer stay, the State Fair slotting into the last week of August means you have multiple options:
Okemo Mountain operates its summer lift and trail network through Labor Day, making for morning mountain biking or hiking followed by an afternoon or evening at the fair. The distance — 20 minutes on Route 103 to Route 7 — makes it easy to do both in a single day without rushing either.
The Green Mountain National Forest trails surrounding Ludlow are at their best in late August — warm enough to swim in the streams, cool enough for serious hiking, without the humidity that can make July walking uncomfortable.
Planning Your Visit
- Dates: Last week of August (typically the week leading into Labor Day weekend; check vermontstatefair.net for exact 2025 dates)
- Hours: Grounds open daily; specific exhibition and entertainment times vary by day
- Admission: Around $15 for adults, children under 12 typically discounted; weekly passes available
- Location: Rutland, VT — 20 minutes north of Ludlow on Route 7
- Parking: Fair parking is available on-site; plan for a walk from the lots
- Best days: Weekend days for the largest crowds and most events; mid-week for a more manageable pace
The Vermont State Fair is the kind of event that doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. It’s been running since 1846 and it’s still doing the same essential thing: bringing Vermont together around the agricultural traditions that built the state. Worth a day at the end of summer.