Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT

Middlebury is housed in Vermont’s scenic Champlain Valley, with the Green Mountains to the east, and the Adirondacks to the west. Due to the beautiful surroundings and high quality buildings, the campus is known as “Club Midd” by some students and alumni. As tribute to the college’s idyllic setting, and the learning benefits provided by the outdoors, Middlebury has recently changed their mission to incorporate sustainability policies, vowing to become carbon neutral by 2016. Features of Middlebury’s sustainability initiative include a biomass gasification plant, organic farming, a recycling center, and environmentally friendly buildings.

Middlebury houses 17 of its own ski trails in its College Snow Bowl ski area. The school also hosts the country’s oldest winter carnival, featuring music and a ski competition. Outdoor Clubs are prevalent on campus including skiing, log rolling, fly fishing, trap and skeet shooting, mountain club, nordic skiing, cycling, crew, sailing, and quidditch (as well as other more traditional sports). For those who want to go farther afield, a variety of state parks are within a short drive from campus, including Chimney Point State Park, Weybridge Care Natural Area State Park, and Branbury State Park.