Cary’s guidebook (Things to do & Places to Eat)
City/town information
Great Fine Dining, Outlet Shopping, Visit Orvis see the live Trout and fly fishing equipment. Play Golf at Manchester Country Club
228 locals recommend
Manchester
Great Fine Dining, Outlet Shopping, Visit Orvis see the live Trout and fly fishing equipment. Play Golf at Manchester Country Club
Bennington
Historical sites and museums with good food (Craft Pubs)
Dorset
Some outstanding restaurants
Go visit 3 Museums (Clark, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown Historical Museum), Williams College is here and a nice downtown area with shops and restaurants.
41 locals recommend
Williamstown
Go visit 3 Museums (Clark, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown Historical Museum), Williams College is here and a nice downtown area with shops and restaurants.
Explore miles of hiking and mountain bike trails, gardens & farms, rivers, and meandering brooks, and outdoor adventures galore.
233 locals recommend
Woodstock
Explore miles of hiking and mountain bike trails, gardens & farms, rivers, and meandering brooks, and outdoor adventures galore.
Food scene
Some of the fine places to eat in Southern Vermont
Rated #1 Place in the USA to take a Date to Dinner by TripAdvisor
Reservations required
59 locals recommend
The Silver Fork
48 W RdRated #1 Place in the USA to take a Date to Dinner by TripAdvisor
Reservations required
Great local restaurant with great views and the salad bar is back!
35 locals recommend
The Publyk House
782 Harwood Hill RdGreat local restaurant with great views and the salad bar is back!
Madison Brewing Company Pub & Restaurant
428 Main StFine Craft brew and American Cuisine
A great place to stop on your way into Vermont, a great variety of beers and good food, a welcome break from the drive, on NY Route 7 going down the hill.
24 locals recommend
Man of Kent Tavern
4452 New York 7A great place to stop on your way into Vermont, a great variety of beers and good food, a welcome break from the drive, on NY Route 7 going down the hill.
Seasons Restaurant
4566 Main StSports bar
Inn at West View Farm
2928 VT-30Asian Cuisine
– Country-chic eatery with a fireplace, patio & bar, menu serves a range of refined steakhouse fare
26 locals recommend
Raven's Den Steakhouse and Taproom
1844 Depot St– Country-chic eatery with a fireplace, patio & bar, menu serves a range of refined steakhouse fare
Depot Café Restaurant
515 Depot StWood-fired Pizza + Mediterrean fare
Fun place for food and their own brew - Browns Ale
35 locals recommend
Brown's Brewing Company's Walloomsac Taproom and Brewery
50 Factory Hill RdFun place for food and their own brew - Browns Ale
Long Trail Brewing Company
5520 US-4Have a tour of the brewery and eat at the restaurant
Sightseeing
Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home
1005 Hildene RdBeautiful Gardens and Mansion Tour
300-foot obelisk with an elevator to the top commemorates General John Stark’s Revolutionary War victory over the British. A spectacular view of the mountain and valleys of Southern Vermont. (Rate $5)
72 locals recommend
Bennington Battle Monument
15 Monument Cir300-foot obelisk with an elevator to the top commemorates General John Stark’s Revolutionary War victory over the British. A spectacular view of the mountain and valleys of Southern Vermont. (Rate $5)
Collection of military artifacts, early tools, oldest Stars and Stripes, Bennington Pottery, metal work, photography, and largest public collection of Grandma Moses artist. (Rate - $10)
61 locals recommend
Bennington Museum
75 Main StCollection of military artifacts, early tools, oldest Stars and Stripes, Bennington Pottery, metal work, photography, and largest public collection of Grandma Moses artist. (Rate - $10)
Orvis
4180 Main StFlagship store and Outlet Barn nearby
Largest Collection of angling art and angling related objects - 30,000 flies, 800 reels, and 1,400 rods, practice casting out back
17 locals recommend
American Museum of Fly Fishing
4070 Main StLargest Collection of angling art and angling related objects - 30,000 flies, 800 reels, and 1,400 rods, practice casting out back
The Clark Art Institute
225 South StLargest collection of Degas artwork
A cool place at the Quechee gorge
162 locals recommend
Simon Pearce Flagship Store, Restaurant, Bar + Glassblowing Workshop
1760 Quechee Main StreetA cool place at the Quechee gorge
Recreation
Stratton Mountain
Bromley Mountain
Sun mountain, family skiing
Okemo Mountain Resort
77 Okemo Ridge RdMagic Mountain Ski Area
495 Magic Mountain AccVermont friendly mountain with challenging trails
The trail, marked with blue blazes, enters the 15,680-acre Lye Brook Wilderness following along Lye Brook. Utilizing old logging railroad grades and old woods roads, the trail travels up a steady gradual slope
24 locals recommend
Lye Brook Falls Trail
Lye Brook Falls TrailThe trail, marked with blue blazes, enters the 15,680-acre Lye Brook Wilderness following along Lye Brook. Utilizing old logging railroad grades and old woods roads, the trail travels up a steady gradual slope
Pastime Pinball
4802 Main StManchester Dog Park
340 Rec Park RdTraveler advice
Getting around
Places to Hike close to the house
Merck Forest & Farmland (Dorset) – A 3,100-acre center that has 30 miles of nature trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback riding, also includes a 60-acre farm (Rate – Free)
Easy Hikes (Southern Vermont)
o Lake Shaftsbury (Shaftsbury)
o Mile around Woods (North Bennington)
o Woodford State Park (Woodford)
o Emerald Lake State Park (East Dorset)
o Stratton Mountain Fire Tower (Stratton)
o Bromley Mountain (Bromley)
o Lye Brook Falls Trailhead (Manchester)
o Prospect Rock Trail (Manchester)
o Red Gate Trail (Manchester)
o Hike to Mount Equinox (Manchester)
Ways to save
Things to Do in Southern Vermont
Hildene (Manchester) – Summer home of Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert a 24 room mansion on 412 acres with magnificent gardens and a working farm (Rate $18 includes a Tour)
Southern Vermont Arts Center (Manchester) – 800 19th and 20th-century American artwork in a Georgian mansion set on 100 acres (Rate $6)
Bennington Museum (Bennington) – Collection of military artifacts, early tools, oldest Stars and Stripes, Bennington Pottery, metalwork, photography, and largest public collection of Grandma Moses artist. (Rate - $10)
Bennington Battle Monument (Bennington) – 300-foot obelisk great view
Don't miss
Additional Things to Do
American Museum of Fly Fishing (Manchester) – The lar collection of angling art and angling related objects – more than 30,000 flies, 800 reels, 1,400 rods, practice casting outback. (Rate $5)
Robert Frost Stone House Museum (Shaftsbury) – Tells the story of the poet’s life and the nine years he spent in the house with his family (wife and four children 1920-29) on 80 acres. (Rate $6)
Mount Equinox Drive (Arlington) – Longest private toll road in the US, ascends 3,300 ft over 5.2 miles to the top of Mount Equinox to a panoramic view of the Green and Taconic mountain ranges. (Rate - $20
Don't miss
Even More to Do
o Adams Family Farm (Wilmington) – Rate $7
o Bennington Center for the Arts (Bennington) – Includes Covered Bridge Museum - Rate $9
o Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (Brattleboro) – Rate $8
o Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (Wilmington) – Rate $5
o Harlow’s Sugar House (Putney) - Free
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/vermont/lye-brook-falls-trail
Don't miss
Grocery Shopping
Bennington - Price Chopper, Walmart, Hannaford, Aldi all on Northside Dr. Manchester - Shaws, Price Chopper
Ways to save
All 5th Graders can ski Vermont for Free (one time $20)
Register (takes 3 days) your 5th & 6th grader to ski any mountain in Vermont for a one time fee if $20 give you a booklet of 3 free passes to each mountain. This is for any child, you do NOT have to be a VT resident. Info is here https://skivermont.com/fifth-grade-passport#FGP_Cost. https://youtu.be/Ym7HI2BOx5g