Stratton, Mount Snow, and Manchester fill Southern VT with fun things to do

Manchester is a place of high culture and good taste, applying across the tableau of vacation experiences, including usually mundane fun like consignment shopping and pizza. For instance, Perfectpiece Consignments on Maine Street in Manchester Village presents high-quality furniture, rugs, and accessories. Choose from 15,000 items in many styles and periods. Open daily. At Depot 62 bistro + café in the Depot District display high-end collectibles, art, and rugs. At Helmolz Art Gallery, the newest member of the Manchester Designer Outlets, artwork from near and far is carefully chosen for your enjoyment.

The Dover Town Forest Trail, located near Dover and on the eastern edge of the Green Mountain National Forest, offers an east, three-mile walk along a well-maintained trail that follows an old roadbed along a ridge to the Rock River. The trail offers views of Mount Snow and Haystack Mountain to the west and East Dover and South Newfane to the east. From the center of West Dover, take Valley View Road to Cooper Hill Road. Just before the Cooper Hill Inn turn onto Rice Hill Road. Parking and entry to the forest can be found at the end of Rice Hill Road.

Vermont Route 30, spanning Manchester to Poultney through the Mettawee Valley, is now the Stone Valley Scenic Byway. Traveling the byway takes you through an area with a rich history in slate and marble production. A trip on the Stone Valley Byway is highlighted by mountain slopes that provide a dramatic backdrop to the rural landscape and provide access to a host of recreational opportunities. Historic, picturesque towns dot the valley floor, and rich agricultural soils have accumulated alongside the free-flowing Mettawee and Poultney Rivers. Lake St. Catherine, a state park, golf course and many smaller water bodies along the byway corridor are exceptional natural, scenic, and recreational resources.

Located on top of Rupert Mountain, off Route 315 on Rupert, Merck Forest and Farmland Center is thousands of acres of open land available for hikes and other activities. Parts of the property are actively farmed, with concentration on organic, sustainable agriculture. Visit the farm, explore the forest or stay overnight in a rustic cabin or lean-to. With 30 miles of trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback riding Merck Forest has a multitude of recreational opportunities. Open daily, from dawn to dusk, year-round.

The Southern Vermont Arts Center at 930 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive in Manchester is a respite of natural beauty and human artistry. Located within 100 acres of forest in the Green Mountains, the Center offers a changing exhibitions, a sculpture park, woodland hiking on the Boswell Botany Trail, and live music in the summer at the Arkell Pavilion. Art is on display in the 28-room Yester House Gallery (formerly a mansion) and three other galleries. On the grounds: hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Prepare to be dazzled.

Molly Stark Byway traverses southern Vermont along Route 9 from Brattleboro to Bennington. The byway is named after the wife of General John Stark who led the Colonial militia to a victory at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777. The Molly Stark Byway winds through valleys and past historic villages, busy downtowns, and the spectacular Green Mountain National Forrest. It is anchored at either end by vibrant historic town centers in Brattleboro and Bennington, and including a classic New England crossroads village in Wilmington in between. (photo: Brattleboro VT chamber of Commerce)

Few structures in America combine architectural ingenuity, economic necessity, and romantic idealism better than the covered bridge. Covered bridges flourished in the United States in the 19th century. Pennsylvania has the greatest number of covered bridges, and Vermont, with about 104 covered bridges, has the highest number relative to the state’s size. In Southern Vermont, some highlights of the many covered bridges include the Bridge at the Green (Arlington Bridge) in Arlington and the Henry / Burt Bridge in Bennington, which is a short distance from the rebuilt Paper Mill Bridge and the Silk Bridge. Covered bridges offer a wonderful opportunity to stop, take pictures, dip your feet in the river, and even to picnic.