VERMONT
TRAVEL IDEAS

The staff at Otels hope you enjoy the following Travel Ideas
from travel writer (and enthusiastic naturalist) Mark Kolakowski
Best wishes on your next trip!

 

Vermont: A Year-Round Destination
 
By Mark Kolakowski
Copyright © 2003-05 by the author

Vermont is an outstanding year-round tourist destination, yet summer can be a slack season in many areas, even on big holiday weekends. The winter ski season appears to be the peak period for most inns and restaurants, followed closely by the fall foliage season.

Based on my observations during both the July 4 and Labor Day weekends in 2004 and Labor Day weekend in 2005, few hotels, motels and inns seemed to have “no vacancy” signs out. I also did some investigation on-line, looking for establishments that let you scan their websites for room availability. I was surprised to see booking rates well under 50% of capacity. How much this is tied to school opening dates (which might force families to stay home), I cannot tell.
 
A similar story holds with restaurants. Anecdotally, one owner/manager of a combination inn and restaurant told me that he serves approximately 135 diners on weekend evenings during the ski season. During both the weekends that I visited in summer, he was averaging about 25 meals per night.

Why Vermont has such apparent unused lodging capacity in the summer is intriguing. It is a marvelously scenic area, with lots of opportunities for outdoor activities (hiking, canoeing, wildlife spotting, taking scenic drives). Herein lies an opportunity for travelers who would like to get away from the crowds that might besiege their current favorite summer places.


Bennington, VT

Vermont has much to offer art lovers. The Bennington Museum (in the town of the same name) is noted for, among other things, its collection of works by its famed native daughter, Grandma Moses. Additionally, there are some wonderful art galleries scattered throughout the state. The best, I think, is the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, a small town in the northern third of the state, east of Burlington. Since Alden and Mary Bryan settled in this area in 1937, other plein air landscape painters have gravitated here. Alden opened the Bryan Gallery in 1984, as a memorial to his late wife (who died in 1978). He died in 2001. The gallery is non-profit, so the prices are reasonable and the artists get most of the benefit from the sales price. The Bryans were very prolific, and the gallery continues to offer their works for sale. The staff, mainly volunteers, is knowledgeable, friendly and treats you royally, whether or not you are serious about making a purchase. The rotating shows here often are of museum quality.


Shelburne, VT   (7 miles south of Burlington)

The next time that you are in the vicinity of Lake Champlain or Burlington, consider a visit to the Shelburne Museum. Its wide-ranging collection is designed to satisfy a broad spectrum of interests, including those of children.

         Details:
         The Shelburne Museum
         U.S. Route 7
         Shelburne, VT (7 miles south of Burlington)
         (802) 985-3346   www.shelburnemuseum.org

         Open daily 10-5, May 18 through October 27. (Inquire about hours in other times of the year.)
         $17.50 adults (2-day ticket)   /  $8.75 ages 6-18 and students (2-day ticket)
         kids under 6 free / $10 for adults who enter after 3 PM and are not coming back the next day

Background on Shelburne Museum: Electra Havemeyer was born into a wealthy New York City family in 1889. Her parents were avid art collectors, and numbered among their friends the expatriate American painter Mary Cassatt. Young Electra and her mother visited Cassatt several times at the latter's home outside Paris, and the artist painted them several times. You can see these works in the museum's collection. By the age of 18, drawing upon an inheritance from her father, Electra had begun her own collection, starting with a cigar store figure.

In 1910 Electra married James Watson Webb, a native of Shelburne. Upon his retirement in 1947, the Webbs made Shelburne their primary residence and Electra started turning her private collection into a public museum. Long before someone coined the phrase "mission statement," Electra formulated one for her new museum: it would be relaxed, fun and appealing to broad range of tastes.

Properly speaking, the Shelburne is a museum village, not a traditional museum building. It occupies 45 acres and includes 39 buildings. At least half the buildings have been moved from their original sites across Vermont, but others are reproductions. Among the buildings are a lighthouse, a one-room school, a blacksmith shop, a general store, a print shop, a sawmill and a meetinghouse. These and other buildings house collections of paintings, quilts, rugs, vintage toys, hunting decoys (these are among my favorite things there; many are truly beautiful as works of folk art) and horse-drawn vehicles, among other things. There also is a locomotive and, most impressively, the steamship Ticonderoga.

The Ticonderoga is, in many respects, the centerpiece of Shelburne. It was built in nearby Burlington in 1906, carrying both passengers and cargo around Lake Champlain until 1950, when it was about to be sold for scrap. Mrs. Webb saved it and had it moved inland to the museum during the winter of 1954-55, a most unusual voyage that is documented in a film that plays continuously on the ship. It's the only side paddlewheel steamer left in the U.S. and is a National Historic Landmark. Kids love exploring it from bridge to engine room.

Another superb place for youngsters is the Circus Building, which houses two incredible models. One represents, in intricate detail, a circus performance. Consisting of hundreds of individual pieces, it was the lifetime hobby of its creator. Another is a series of figurines that portray an old-time circus parade, stretching over 500 feet in length. It, too, was a decades-long labor of love for its maker. Outside the Circus Building is a vintage carousel that offers rides through most of the day.

The Owl Cottage Family Activity Center allows families to play period board games and gives kids an opportunity to try on reproduction clothing of bygone eras. It also hosts daily art activities. The museum also has touch and learn exhibits in various buildings; the scale in the General Store is among these. An area with swings and lawn games also is available.

Depending on your family's interests and stamina, half a day easily can be spent here before anyone has had enough. In fact, the standard admission prices for the museum buy you a 2-day ticket. Clearly, the museum staff feels that there is just too much to absorb here at one sitting, and they are right.


Middlebury, VT area

Attention day hikers!  Texas Falls are midway between Middlebury and Rochester, VT on route 125. The trails are easy, and the falls themselves are close to the access road and a parking area. Here a river has cut through rock and created some dramatic potholes and pools and the base of the falls. This lesser-known scenic spot also is a wonderful picnic spot, with several tables.


Quechee, VT

The Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences (VINS) Nature Center has captive birds of prey. These birds are injured and unable to return to the wild. Call ahead to check when wildlife demonstrations are held, because these are key to making a visit worthwhile. The center just opened in 2004, and the relocated birds from the old Vermont Raptor Center in Woodstock (now closed) constitute the only exhibit at present. See www.vinsnaturecenter.org.


Rochester, VT

Just north of Rochester on state route 100 is the destination for planning day hikes or longer treks in the Green Mountain National Forest: the U.S. Forest Service visitor center and information kiosk. When the visitor center is closed, you can consult maps and pick up trail guides for the most popular walks at the outdoor kiosk. We particularly recommend the nearby Mt. Horrid Cliffs Trail, which is accessible by going a few miles south on route 100, then west on route 73 to the Brandon Gap. The trail has a steep portion, but even someone who needs frequent rest stops can get to the vantage point in an hour. Not only are the views great, but you also may see the Peregrine Falcons that nest in the area. Just note that, to protect the falcons, the viewpoint may be closed from March through August.

An added bonus is a berry farm visible a short distance down the road that accesses the visitor center. You can pick your own blueberries here from summer until mid-September. These were the best, sweetest blueberries we have had anywhere.

Fresh Produce note: Blueberries in Vermont are the best that we have tasted anywhere, without the musty taste that often accompanies this fruit. We especially liked the berries from a farm adjacent to the National Forest Visitor Center on route 100 north of Rochester. You can pick your own here. Another great pick-your-own spot is at a private home on route 125, just ½ mile east of the turnoff for Texas Falls (see our discussion of hikes).

If you think that the price of gas is high, it’s nothing like the price of maple syrup. In fall 2005, the going rate for a gallon was $36 or so. Keep this in mind when visiting farms or produce stands. Supermarkets in Vermont frequently have the best prices, so they are worth checking out if you are interested in taking some liquid gold home.



Rutland, VT

Hikers will enjoy the White Rocks National Recreation area, southeast of Wallingford and Rutland on route 140. Go to the National Forest picnic area, taking the first right turn on Sugar Hill Road, which is on the north side of route 140. The Ice Beds Trail leads to dramatic views of boulder-strewn cliff faces.

 
Woodstock, VT

The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park and Billings Farm & Museum here is a marvelous destination. We spent a full day and still needed more time. This is a particularly excellent place for children. 

To understand the place, a brief history is in order. George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) grew up here. His 1864 book, Man and Nature, was an influential early environmentalist tract. From 1849 until his death, he lived abroad as a diplomat. Frederick Billings (1823-1890) bought the property in 1869. Billings was a Vermont native who made a fortune as a real estate lawyer in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. He later became a railroad executive and the namesake for Billings, Montana.

Billings was influenced by Marsh’s book, and became an advocate of conservation and progressive farming methods. His dairy farm would become, in time, a model of its kind. After his death, his wife and daughters continued to run the farm and improve it. Granddaughter Mary French married Laurence S. Rockefeller in 1934, and this became their principal home. Both would make environmental causes the major focus of their lives.

They donated part of their land holdings to the town of Woodstock in the 1950s as Billings Park, which includes the peak of Mt. Tom and a stunning viewpoint. In the 1980s, they turned the dairy farm into the Billings Farm & Museum. It has a variety of farm animals, a museum and a full slate of activities throughout the day. A recent special exhibit of contemporary quilts was marvelous. A film about the farm and its owners is shown continuously during the day, and it is perhaps the best work of its kind that we have seen at a historic site.

In the late 1990s, Mary and Laurence Rockefeller turned the rest of the property over to the National Park Service. Vermont Route 12 is the dividing line between the Billings Farm & Museum and the National Park. Ticketing is somewhat confusing. The Farm & Museum is a separate entity with its own admission charge, but walking in the National Park is free. However, the National Park does have a fee for a tour of the mansion. This is highly worthwhile, especially for the interior architectural details and the stunning art collection. You can buy a ticket for the Farm & Museum, for the mansion tour or for both (a discounted “combined ticket”). Or, you can just roam the National Park’s 20 miles of trails and carriage roads for free. From these you can make a moderate ascent to the top of Mt. Tom, and soak in the views.
 
If you plan to make a day of it, consider packing a lunch. The dairy bar at the Farm & Museum has a very limited menu of items: ice cream, drinks, cheese, crackers and fruit (just apples were available when we visited). Otherwise, the busy center of Woodstock is only a quarter mile away.
www.billingsfarm.org * www.nps.gov/mabi


(NOTE:  One constant source of frustration in traveling around Vermont is the wholly inadequate road signage for parks, natural areas, hiking trails and wildlife viewing spots. Unless you have precise, detailed driving directions, you will not find many spots that are mentioned in guidebooks. The state is blanketed with signs pointing you to commercial establishments, however.)
 

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