Stay where history was made at a Vermont historic inn or hotel

If traveling through Vermont’s magnificent Northeast Kingdom to get to the WilloughVale Inn and Cottages reminds you of poetry, you’re in good company. In 1909, beloved poet Robert Frost camped with his family in tents on land that ultimately became inn property. He got milk and eggs from the then-Conley Farmhouse. Now you can stay in the cozy Robert Frost Cottage with its views of the mountains and Lake Willoughby, which Frost called a “fair, pretty sheet of water.” Seven other cottages plus 11 rooms at the romantic inn provide the perfect getaway every season of the year. Activities at or nearby the inn range from canoeing and kayaking in the warmer months to skiing, dog-sledding and snowmobiling in the winter.

This classic Vermont bed and breakfast rich in history is set on fifty acres of pristine meadowlands and valley minutes from Manchester’s world-class shopping, dining and cultural sites. The original house was built in 1790 and the Main Inn, built in 1830, has retained its unique character and hosted guests for more than a century. Each room and suite offers beautiful views and private baths. Extras might include separate sitting room, gas stove, flat screen TV, complimentary Wi-Fi, and luxurious linens. The renovated Farm House accommodates up to eight guests and has a contemporary kitchen. There’s communal space for gathering throughout and beautiful views, outdoor recreation and farm aspects of the property to enjoy. Breakfast is included with each stay.

Yes, you can stay in the house, Naulakha, where Rudyard Kipling wrote “The Jungle Book”! Or one of Landmark Trust USA’s other properties and be surrounded by history. Stay in the Kipling Carriage House with its access to forest trails, the 1802 cape-style Amos Brown House, the rustic Sugarhouse or the 1837 Greek Revival-style Dutton Farmhouse, all lovingly restored by this Vermont nonprofit. Keep the history going by walking to the Farm Market at the Scott Farm, which dates back to 1791. The farm grows many varieties of heirloom apples as well as other fruits including hard-to-find-these-days quince and gooseberries.

Innkeeper Mary Skelton has restored her family’s 150-year-old family home into this intimate bed-and-breakfast inn in Stowe, so you will find yourself in a historic place just by crossing her threshold. Guests who rent the whole place can bring 7 friends to spread out in four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a warm sunroom and verdant yard. Or take a single room and come and go as you please, once you have been prepped for the day by a lavish Vermont breakfast. Stowe and its ski mountain are part of an old community, with a long tradition of winter and summer recreation, a popular Recreation Path, and lots of places to find unique shopping and dining on fresh Vermont foods, always prepared with pride.

Hospitality is an age-old tradition at the Rabbit Hill Inn, which began in the late 1700s as a place where traders traveling from Montreal to Boston or Portland could hoist a tankard of ale and lodge overnight. Save one period in the 1900s when it was a private home, Rabbit Hill has been an inn ever since. Today’s guests in the 19-room bed and breakfast will discover not only modern comforts (some rooms have double hydromassage tubs) but those that harken back to a relaxed age: a candlelit dining room serving exquisitely crafted American fare, crackling fireplaces, puzzles in cozy sitting rooms, lemonade in the afternoon on the porch and gazebos where you can listen to the waterfall. Rated #30 of the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide, #6 in the USA, and #2 in the Northeast by Travel & Leisure, July 2017.