Summertime
Jealous? We would be too, but since we live in Woodstock, we've enjoyed lusciously green topography every day during this outstanding summer. We hope you can unload that jealousy and join us at the Resort. More summer means more outdoor activities and festive events. Hiking and bike riding seem to be a theme this year as the trails on Mt. Tom, Mt. Peg and Suicide Six have delighted many.
Watch our garden menu grow! Our Kelly Way Gardens are now in full production, and our Resort Chefs are loving the opportunity they unfurl to create fresh dishes just for you. The Red Barn Dinners on Sunday nights have been nothing less than exemplary, and now our Specialty Chef Ryan Beaudoin has commenced the all new Learning Kitchen series at Billings Farm & Museum.
Walk, Hike or Run
Starting your day off or ending daylight hours with a jaunt in the woods is so refreshing. Here are our top 3 adventures for you:
- Faulkner Trail to Mt. Tom – Located a half mile from the Inn, this is a relatively short and easy switchback trail completely shaded in the woods. There are three lookouts along the way. The last push is a bit steep, but a handrail is there to assist. It reveals the best view of the Woodstock Village. 1.5 hours.
- Golf Road to Mt. Peg Summit – Located a quarter mile from the Inn, this hike offers some zig and zag to a peak that has countryside vistas toward the rolling fields of Billings Farm. 45 minutes.
- Luce’s Lookout – located 8 miles from the Inn, this straightaway tour of the woods leads to an amazing long-distance view of the green mountains and beyond. An observation deck is a long ladder climb but worth it. 1 hour 45 minutes.
From the Garden to the Kitchen
Specialty Chef Ryan Beaudoin has launched his events in the Billings Farm & Museum Learning Kitchen and if you join him for a cooking session, you will be in for a treat. On Wednesday mornings he offers watch-and-taste demonstration classes called “In the Kitchen with Chef Ryan”, and on Thursday mornings join him for an immersive hands-on experience dubbed the “Billings Farm & Museum Culinary Academy”. Chef Ryan can’t get fresher ingredients than what is provided by our Kelly Way Gardens! The 3+ acre garden is blooming with a plethora of organic produce with which Ryan and our entire culinary team can play with. Make sure you tour the gardens with Master Gardener Benjamin Pauly to learn more about the produce you’ll use with Chef Ryan, and you must sign up for our ever so popular Red Barn Dinners.
Top Five Family Activities
How can we pick just five from over 50 great family activities? We’ve narrowed it down to some of our guest favorites:
- Billings Farm & Museum Animals – It is always a fan favorite to visit the cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and more at our Farm & Museum.
- River Swim – Perfect to cool off from the summer heat, or maybe bring a fishing rod. Many will find their way to popular rope swings on the Ottaquechee River, ask our Concierge for the best spots!
- Suicide Six Bike Park – Test your skills or learn new ones at our downhill mountain Bike Park. Take the chairlift up and get the adrenaline pumping as you cruise the newly built berms. Maybe mom and dad just want to hang out (literally) in our hammock lounge with a local craft brew.
- Tennis or Golf? – Might as well split the difference as you don’t want to miss either of these sports! Play a few holes and then settle the score on our amazing Har-Tru surfaces at the Athletic Club tennis courts. Of course, the kids always love the golf carts!
- Game Room and S’mores – After dinner our game room is a joy for kids and adults alike. Retro pinball to pool or shuffleboard - watch out mom and dad, you may never leave! Everyone wins when you end the night with toasty S’mores at the South Garden firepit.
True Colors
Where is the best place ever to see fall foliage? Woodstock, VT! This paragraph is too short to name all the sources who claim this, but we can stand behind these statements knowing you too will proclaim this once you see the amazing autumn colors in person. Flaming maples to golden yellow aspens, the colors will flow, fall, and look fabulous.
Vermont can almost coin the term brilliant color as mother nature delivers for us every year. We also know how to celebrate everything fall with scenic hikes ending with cozy campfires on cool fall evenings.
