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.

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.

Montshire Museum of Science, in the Vermont town of Norwich on the Vermont/New Hampshire border, offers lots of outdoor and nature-enhanced learning for families. Visit to hike the nature trails, which include the Planet Walk, where you can skip among the Sun, the planets, and asteroid belt. Splash in the water play areas of the David Goudy Science Park. Frolic at the The Play Grove. See museum website for hours.

If you want to go home from your Vermont vacation with a really Vermont-y artifact, consider a chandelier, lamp, candle holders, or wine rack made from antlers of moose, elk or deer. The artists of Mad River Antler hastily note that that antlers used in these artworks are shed naturally by animals and later retrieved from the forest floor. And the artworks are beautiful. Tour the retail space at Bridge Street Trading Co., 40 Bridge Street in Waitsfield to enjoy this melding of nature and artistry.

The town of Woodstock is as close as you can get to an idyllic New England small town, and it’s all a genuine, working community, with plenty of interesting fun for visitors. The fun includes shopping, because the town and nearby neighbor are home to two refined pottery makers: Farmhouse Pottery, headquartered in Woodstock, and Miranda Thomas Pottery in nearby Bridgewater. Farmhouse describes itself as a place of “old-world potters with simple tools and strong beliefs in process and authenticity.” Its products – like the best-selling bowls, crocks, and candlesticks – are simple and exquisite (802-457-7486). It offers “clay dates,” where guests may work alongside a potter to create their own memento from the studio, Miranda Thomas Pottery in Bridgewater is a traditional workshop studio of experts making and decorating pots by hand. (802-672-5175)

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.

Vermont Institute of Natural Science, or VINS, at 149 Natures Way in Quechee presents a new exhibit Forest Canopy Walk that accommodates people of all physical abilities. Because the VINS property drops in elevation as it slopes toward the backwater of the Ottauquechee River, the boardwalk to the canopy walk remains mostly level while the land drops away beneath. At the highest points, visitors will be 65 feet above the forest floor, sharing the space in the tree tops with birds, squirrels and other treetop life. The canopy walk includes a giant spider’s web and an eagle’s nest. VINS is open year-round, daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Call for canopy walk hours.

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)

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.

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.

The tireless movement of the Icelandic Horse makes it the ideal saddle horse, and you can take a trail ride on the Icelandic at the Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm at 3061 North Fayston Road in Waitsfield, in the heart of the Sugarbush area. The farm hosts full-day and half-day trail rides as well as two- to six-day treks. In winter, the Icelandic Horse is at its best, growing a shaggy coat and reveling in the snow. Rides accommodate all levels of riding skill, including novices. Children over 10 years old with riding experience are welcome.

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum at 1171 Main Street in the northern Vermont town of St. Johnsbury has many great daily activities for adults and kids who want to explore the life of the mind. One example is the Frist Wednesdays series, where experts ramble about interesting topics. Recent topics were Vincent Van Gogh and the Books He Read and Bierstadt’s “Domes of Yosemite,” and the Creation of an American Icon. You can ekep uo with many other topical or quirky subjects by watching the Athenaeum’s Events page.

Among the country’s wonderful National Scenic Byways is the Mad River Byway, which travels along two of Vermont's most scenic roads, Routes 100 and 100B. Towns and villages along this byway include Middlesex Village (Route 2); Moretown (Route 100B); Waitsfield, Warren, Granville Gulf Reservation (Route 100); Fayston, and Buels Gore to the top of the Appalachian Gap (Route 17). The byway is heavily salted with classic New England landscape and architecture - mountain ridgelines, a winding river, hillside farms, and steepled villages.

Bear Pond Books on Main Street in Montpelier presents a slogan “Celebrating 35 years of independent book selling in central Vermont,” and it takes pride in every word. The business opened in 1973 and has endured flooding, a major move to a beautiful historic building, and other ups and down. It offers customers a well-read staff, events such as public readings by authors, a communal gathering place, a resource for children’s literacy, and a useful website. Book lovers looking for things to do who are in or near Montpelier really must visit the store; you will feel right at home. Open daily.