 Photo courtesy of David Dixon
Vermont – a land of perpetual celebration and exploration – has inspired writers, artists, musicians and adventurers for centuries. The gentle hills, open spaces, cozy villages and friendly faces continually draw inquisitive visitors to rural New England. Perhaps it’s the silent challenge and breathtaking scenery of the mountains, the mysteries of the forests or the gurgling of a meandering stream …. whatever it is stimulates the senses and quickens the spirit. Vermont is beautiful in all seasons, not just in the fall, when the red, orange and golden colors cascade down the mountain sides. It casts a spell over you and invites you to slow down and enjoy life at the soothing “Vermont pace”. Visitors feel at home in Vermont and find it perfect for cycling and walking. In 2008, Van Gogh Tours offers
3 guided walking tours in this spectacular state and we have
centered the tour around two of our favorite villages, Stowe
and Middlebury. We will stay in two gracious country inns,
each well known for its great location and fine
dining. We start our tour in the Stowe Inn, a beautiful,
historic village inn right in the center of Stowe, lovingly
restored by the owners Jed and Annika Lipsky. Candlelit
dinners silhouetted by panoramic views of the village provide
a perfect backdrop for an unforgettable meal. The swimming
pool is a nice extra after a day of walking. In Middlebury,
the Waybury Inn will offer you refreshing, upscale and gracious
hospitality. Located at the foot of the Green Mountains
in East Middlebury, the Waybury Inn has offered comfortable
lodging and unpretentious fine dining to the weary traveler
since 1810. The Waybury Inn is on the National Register of Historical
Places, was used in the filming of the Bob Newhart show and
was a favorite dinner spot for Robert Frost. Dine in the
casual Pub, enjoy the feel of outdoors in the rocking chairs
on the sunny porch or in the beautifully renovated Coach Room.
Wherever you dine, you'll enjoy fresh innovative New England
cuisine and Vermont raised products. The inn has retained
its country flavor and welcoming hospitality. In July
and early October the prestigious Swift
House Inn in Middlebury will be
used.
We’ll greet you at the Burlington Airport and transfer to our inn in Stowe. After a welcome drink and orientation meeting you can check into you room. In the afternoon we’ll walk to Moss Glenn Falls, a short, scenic climb to a spectacular waterfall. It is an easy but perfect hike for our first walk together. Day 2: Mt. Mansfield; 4-6 miles, moderate to challenging Today we’ll drive up to the Visitor’s Center on Mount Mansfield to begin our walk there. Mount Mansfield is the highest of Vermont's peaks, measuring in at an elevation of 4,393 feet. When viewed from the east, the mountain has a profile of a human face, with a forehead, nose, lips, chin and Adam's apple. Mansfield summit (The Chin is the highest point) offers views of the Green Mountain range, east to New Hampshire's White Mountains and west across Lake Champlain to New York's Adirondacks. Partly we’ll follow the ridge to "The Chin", the official summit of Mount Mansfield. We’ll follow a part of the Long Trail and walk above tree line through an alpine meadow of open rock and fragile vegetation. The grade becomes steeper in spots as we ascend over and around the upper and lower lips, and then finally to the chin for a well deserved rest. After our return to the inn there is time to explore the village of Stowe and its many shops and galleries. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Day 3: Trapp Family Lodge Center, 4 - 8 miles, easy to moderate Just outside of Stowe we’ll find the famous Trapp Family Lodge. The Trapp Family Singers were on tour in the United States and discovered Stowe in 1939. This tiny mountain hamlet reminded them of the home they left behind in Austria. They took one thousand dollars in savings and purchased an old farmhouse on 600 acres. In 1968 Johannes von Trapp brought cross-country skiing to the United States, opening the first commercial Nordic center on this site. Here, today on 2700 acres, is a place where many say, “the grass is greener” and “the air is cleaner”. Walking through the meadows and the peaceful woods there is time to take in the breathtaking views on the Green Mountains. There are over 60 kilometers of wooded hiking trails for all levels of ability so we’ll have plenty of choices. We can visit the Chapel, built by the Trapp family sons on their return home after World War II or take a more challenging hike up to the Slayton Pasture Cabin. If our timing is right we’ll hear a summer concert in the meadow on the day we visit. Day 4: Middlebury and Robert Frost Trails – 3-4 miles, easy to moderate Through beautiful farm country we transfer today to Middlebury. We’ll stop by the University of Vermont’s Morgan Horse Farm on our way. The farm, a National Historic Site, was built in 1878 and about 70 Morgans are stabled here. After our visit we’ll walk over the Pulp Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1820 to enter Middlebury, one of Vermont's most popular communities - in no small way due its being the home of Middlebury College, one of America's most prestigious institutions of higher learning. However, Middlebury is not just a "college town" - it's a place of sophisticated shops and great places to eat. Among others, it is the site of Danforth Pewter and Frog Hollow, one of three Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Centers. Art galleries, rare book and pottery shops, the Vermont Folk Life Center and the Old Marble Works - they're all here in Middlebury. We’ll give you enough time to explore this lovely city and enjoy lunch in one of its inns or the famous Otter Creek Bakery where you can eat outdoors. In short, you'll love the Middlebury area as Robert Frost did so much. He summered in nearby Ripton, close by Middlebury College's summer Breadloaf School of English and he enjoyed walking as a way to observe nature. We’ll follow the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail, a picturesque walk along varied scenes annotated with Frost's poems before we go up in the Middlebury Snowbowl region. From the upper ski trails you'll see Pleiad Lake and the mountains to the northeast. To the west are panoramas of Ripton and the area proclaimed in 1983 by then Governor Richard Snelling as "Robert Frost Country”. Before dinner there is time to take a refreshing swim in the swimming hole near the Waybury Inn or sit and rock on the porch.
Day 5: The Moosalamoo Area – 6 miles - moderate Today we’ll transfer to Lake Dunmore, and from here hike up into what is called the Moosalamoo or "trails of the moose” area of the Green Mountains where we’ll find several delightful hiking trails, mountain waterfalls, quiet lakes, panoramic views and Mount Moosalamoo, the highest peak in the area, at 2,640 feet. We’ll marvel at the Falls of Lana and the serene Silver Lake, which can only be reached by foot. Rattlesnake Point, an ice-scoured rock outcrop with a large talus slope below it rises prominently at the southern end of Moosalamoo ridge. The point offers outstanding views of the surroundings. Later we return, spiritually renewed, to our elegant lodgings for our last meal together. Day 6: Shelburne Museum and transfer to Burlington Airport After breakfast, we transfer you to the Shelburne Museum, one of the nation's most eclectic museums of art, Americana, architecture, and artifacts. Thirty-nine galleries and exhibition structures display over 150,000 objects spanning four centuries. Outstanding collections of folk art, decorative arts, tools, toys, textiles, and transportation vehicles are exhibited in tandem with paintings by artists such as Monet, Manet, Cassatt, Degas, Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Cole, Winslow Homer, Grandma Moses, and many others. The museum's 25 19th-century structures include a covered bridge, a round barn, a lighthouse, and a 220-foot restored steamboat that is a National Historic Landmark. A visit there is a fitting ending to our week together in Vermont. Included: Daily lodging in two small family inns, daily breakfasts and 4 dinners, all transportation during the tour, entrance to the Morgan Horse Farm and Shelburne Museum and national parks
$ 60 p.p. surcharge
for fall foliage season (Sept. 15 – October 31) Level of Difficulty: Easy to Moderate terrain; footpaths or country roads Daily Distance: 2 - 8 miles or 2 - 4 hours with many stops along the way
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The Swift House Inn was just
admitted into the Select Registry-Distinguished Inns of North
America. It was built in 1814 by Samuel Swift, Middlebury’s
famous lawyer and judge who wrote a history on his beloved town.
The inn offers lovely antique filled bedrooms and an intimate
pub. There is also a sauna and steam room to relax your
weary muscles and comfy rocking chairs on the porch to enjoy
some pre- or post-cycling private moments. On most nights
dinner is served in the attractive cherry-paneled dining room
and you'll enjoy fresh innovative New England cuisine and Vermont
raised products.
Very
relaxing and enjoyable tour; the country inns were
charming and the food was fantastic. Great
walks and hikes with a good variety of things to
do and see and knowledgeable guides. I would
definitely use Van Gogh again! 