Some will come for the farm fresh produce, stopping at farm stands and markets along the highway for spring berries or during the late summer harvest for fresh corn or vine ripened tomatoes. Others might center a trip around picking out a Christmas tree, visiting a corn maze or touring vineyards and wine tastings. The Vermont Farms! Association makes it easy to find the right farm for whatever pursuit a vacationer is looking for.
Make Goat Cheese
At Trevin Farms in Sudbury, Vermont owner Kevin McNaught invites people to come and learn how to make goat cheese, milk the goats and learn about draft horses. Wagon hayrides can also be enjoyed. Free range chickens roam about the farm. The meandering Otter Creek is nearby and offers excellent canoeing. Rates are from $95.00 per night to $250.00 per night, with dinner included (two night minimum on all packages) and a Vermont country breakfast each morning.
Working Dairy Farm
Liberty Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast in Rochester, Vermont is a working dairy farm with 150 head of cattle. Owners Bob and Beth Kennett provide lodging with meals (dinner and breakfast) served at the family table. They invite people to, "Visit the barn, swim or fish in the river, hike or snowshoe in the woods," and say, "It is a great place to schedule a family reunion or find new friends!" Adults pay $98 per night, teens are $75 and children under 12 pay $54 per night.
Guests can collect eggs from the chickens, feed the calves, milk a cow, swim or tube in the White River (tubes provided), fly fishing (trout and salmon), hike in the nearby Green Mountain National Forest (the Ranger Station in Rochester provides trail maps and activity information), go wild berry picking, take wildflower walks, mountain bike, snowshoe or cross-country ski.
Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center is a certified organic farm on conserved land along the Connecticut River in East Thetford, Vermont, just minutes from Norwich, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hampshire. The Azadoutioun Foundation of Cambridge, Massachusetts purchased the farm in the fall of 2000 and hired Will Allen and Kate Duesterberg as managers, for both the conduct of the farm business and the development of high-quality education programs at the farm.
In spring, summer and fall Cedar Circle Farm is open as a farm stand, a "Pick-your-own", selling produce, nursery plants (annuals, perennials and bedding plants), offers educational farm programs, guided farm tours (30-45 minutes) and horse drawn wagon and sleigh rides. The foundation’s goal for the farm was to establish an agricultural education center along with a model organic farming operation.
It bills itself as "a family-friendly farm." Guests can enjoy espresso or coffee drinks in the Hello Cafe while kids play in the sandbox or visit with the farm animals. The stand sells certified organic vegetables, you-pick strawberries and blueberries, local products and garden tools. There are also hands-on freezing and canning classes along with annual strawberry and pumpkin festivals. Tours can be customized to meet the curriculum needs of a pre-K through 12 class, scout group, or youth program.
For those seeking a rustic experience, Four Springs Farm in Royalton, Vermont offers casual camping, pick-your-own veggies for dinner, and invites guests to explore the land with a self-guided "Valley Quest" educational treasure hunt. Facilities include a picnic pavillion, private cabins and walk-in tent sites and centrally located washhouses. Call 802-763-7296 for rates and program information. Cabins rent for $75 per night (up to 5 people), and tent sites are $20 - $25. Owner Jinny Hardy Cleland said pets or RVs are not allowed. Guests are welcome in spring, summer and fall.
Tour a Vineyard
Boyden Valley Winery in Cambridge, Vermont is a working vineyard as well as a maple syrup operation. David Boyden hosts visitors on weekends January through May, and Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, June through December. The farm produces more than a dozen international award winning fruit and grape wines, and offers free wine tasting tours at 11:30 and 1:00 daily. On a tour guests can see over 8,000 grapevines, 3,000 maple trees and a sugar house. Along with wine, maple syrup and Vermont specialty products are also available. There is no cost to visit, and the tours are just $5 per person which includes a tour of the vineyard, winery and wine tasting.
Vermont Farms! Association is the alliance of these and many other farms who welcome visitors. For more information, call: 1.866.348.FARM.
For those who prefer a guide, Chris Howell runs Vermont Farm Tours out of Burlington Vermont, 802-922-7346, year round. He states, "On a Vermont Farm tour, you get to know the people who make Vermont a world-renowned artisanal foods destination. Tours are entertaining and informative; small group sizes allow for individual attention." The cost ranges from $15-$95 per person. Whether it's a cheese tour, apple orchards, a working dairy farm or a winery, Howell can arrange the right tour.
Sherry Williams - Sherry (Russell) Williams of Bay City, Texas grew up on a 200 acre farm in Vermont, where her brother still has horses, does haying, and ...
