re the Vermont trail--I kinda figure its the more moderate one right? I love biking in Vermont and found the blurb about the Vermont trail, and it seems like a fairly "family friendly" type trail, similar to Le Petit Train du Nord trail north of Montreal, an old rail system made into a trail.
I also did find online a much more offroad Vermont trail that is a pretty hard technical offroad one, where really wide tires and a light backpacking setup is pretty much recommended.
I can't remember the name of both of the trails, but I suspect you've looked into the more laid back one, given your bike choice etc and no mention of hardass hike a biking etc.
Its called the VTXL, don't know which it is. My touring bike is a gravel version and with a 38c tire should be fine.