Wilson's Castle is worth a visit. It's currently going through renovations which it needs. I will…read morehave to visit when the renovations are finished. Smaller than it looks. It is kinda spooky and is located in beautiful Vermont. I visited in October, went through a short tour and we were free to explore on our own. I would recommend

Hidden gem well worth the trip! The castle is full of intricate trinkets and oddities, especially…read moresince we visited around Halloween time. We especially loved the painted ceilings and stained glass. And the tour guides showed us such hospitality! They even let us play the antique organ

I wasn't completely sure what to expect from the American Precision Museum, but given our technical…read morebackgrounds, it seemed likely to be interesting. It is a bit difficult to access their parking; the turn from the main road is pretty sharp. You park 'in back' but it wasn't clear if that included some spaces along the side or just in back. Parking is all on various gravel areas and was limited, but there were not a lot of other guests on the weekday morning that we visited. The museum is built into an old machine shop / manufacturing mill where they had a large water wheel in the basement powering overhead axels with belts, etc. So some of the exhibits were actually made in this building 150 years ago. The lady who sold the tickets (I think it was $8 or $10 apiece) was friendly and helpful. She also recommended another stop for our afternoon (the Saint-Gaudens Historic Site) which we liked. She cued up the short intro video for us after which we entered the main exhibit space and browsed. They provided a historical context for the museum, citing the area as the nineteenth century's rough analog to Silicon Valley. The work done in shops along the Connecticut River accelerated machining of parts and machine tools and trained apprentices that spread out across the U.S. They also had a lot of different machine / product examples and how they evolved into things one might be familiar with now. They went from mass producing gun-stocks to making parts for bicycles and typewriters. There were also examples of precision tools. Ultimately shops in the area also produced the expanded range of industrial machine/tools that produced smaller parts for various uses. We spent just over an hour here and felt it was a very worthwhile stop. Though we didn't bring any kids, I'd think that those over 8 might find some of the exhibits interesting.

Lovely little museum tucked away. I went because my nerdy dd wanted to learn about 19th century…read moremanufacturing - but I stayed because it was so interesting. I had no idea that Vermont was the cradle of major innovation in manufacturing. The exhibits actually make it interesting, even to non-engineering types like me. Needless to say, my daughter was completely fascinated.

It is very evocative of 19th century life on a rural farm; I wouldn't last a week as a yeoman. I…read moreespecially enjoyed the "indoor outhouse" that our prior president used. Wonder how he would feel about the gold plated ones our current occupant of the White House uses. Admission is cheap cheap cheap by NY standards and there is one weekend at the beginning of the season that is free in all VT state parks and most attractions.

I had to come out of my way to get here, and yes it is out of the way. It's amazing that a 20th…read morecentury president came out of such a humble place. On Google maps, I saw it was a small town, but basically the entire town is Calvin Coolidge Town. Yes it's only like 8 buildings and the church functions on its own and the cheese shop rents, but still. As a presidential house connoisseur, this is really a top experience because of the extent of the buildings and the authenticity and preservation of the objects. And unlike any other presidential house, this also doubles as the site a president was sworn into office. There is a thorough exhibit hall where you buy tickets, watch a movie, and see all about Coolidge's presidency with some interesting artifacts and interactive audio elements. They also have the lamp which lit the inauguration in here, and it's a pretty sweet lamp. The video introduction to Coolidge was really engaging and well-made, and one of the top videos I've seen at a historic site as well. Tours start at the general store (which is also cool, take a look before), go through the 2 barns that house antique cars and farming equipment, next to his birth house, to across the street to his later boyhood home. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and really painted Coolidge as a hard worker from a young age and how his dad, a hater of the telephone, was a public notary and personally swore him in at 2:47 am one fateful night. Coolidge should get more attention. Painting his story from the death of his mother to the death of his sister, to the death of his son really painted a picture of a figure outside of politics, and having all the buildings as they were at the time, on a quiet forested part of Vermont, was a really interesting way to spend the day. Definitely a 5/5 and worth a few hours on site. Keep cool and keep Coolidge.

Excellent museum with things for kids of all ages and adults to do. We did a handful of things but…read morewe were there during the school winter break. By the time we got there 15 minutes after opening the museum was packed and we had to wait in a long line to get in. From there the museum continued to get more and more busy. Our kids couldn't get to exhibits and it was just a constant sea of people so didn't stay as long as we'd have liked. Maybe next time.

Science, steam museum. Lots of hands-on activities for different age groups. Due to weather, we did…read morenot do anything outdoors and they close certain areas when it is snowing. We stayed two hours but longer is possible. If you can make the track up to the observation deck the view is worth it. It was a good break from the snow and cold to entertain young children for a few hours. The fog room and bubbles were our favorite!!

Would recommend for kids but skippable for adults. Admissions fee $21/adult. Parking is free…read more Activities include candle dipping, butter churning, and visiting animals. When we visited butter churning was at 2pm (kids participate only), cow milking demo at 3:15pm (non-interactive), candle dipping at any time. In the afternoon the horses and sheep were eating so the were far off in the distance. You should be able to pet the cows and see the chickens in their pen at any time though. Exhibits mostly about farm life and homemaking. Gift store includes cheese made on the farm, but no milk. No sampling. Able to do all exhibits in 3-4 hours. Note the farm managers house is currently closed for renovations, garden has died off in the winter, and trails along the river is closed due to hazardous conditions.

Fantastic! Don't miss a visit if in the area. Animals and great vibe ... peaceful and idyllic…read more Sunflower maze unique and fun. Lots of parking. 3 minutes from Woodstock downtown/center.

A very interesting museum where you can see the works of local and not so local artists. The museum…read moreis not so large where you get overwhelmed with the volume of pieces. We enjoyed our visit and were able to see some interesting interpretations.

A gem - building, exhibits, and view! An easy must-see!…read more We went on a rainy day - aunty with niece (high school) & nephew (elementary school) - and were able to park right in front of the building, which we found no problem. I just became a member at $45 so admission was free for me, $8 total for them. What a deal! The building is a gem - an old train station and the lobby makes for a welcoming, spacious, and beautiful place to see art. The ticket office is preserved and is the art room for kids and the young at heart. The woman who greeted us - an intern from Marlboro College - was super helpful as well as enthusiastic about the exhibits. We were all enthralled with the Red Grooms exhibit - his art (which is playful & joyful) plays off the white, airy space well. We only had 60-90 minutes but we could have sat on that NY bus all day. The rest of the space - off the main lobby - is less exciting (lower ceilings, nothing reminiscent of an old train station) but the art was well done, especially the Mallory Lake pastels. I just moved from the Bay Area to Western Massachusetts and am thrilled that this place exists. Note the individual membership currently includes a discount to Marlboro's music series.

Free. Originally built as a tavern in 1797, the Farrar-Mansur House is now operated as a historic…read morehouse museum by the Weston Historical Society. The collection includes 18th and 19th century decorative arts and furnishings. The very friendly and knowledgeable host/tour guide was full of facts & details about both families who loved here. How cooking was done on wood fires in the fireplace. Learn about how so many "modern household conveniences" from back in the day were designed and constructed to serve a practical purpose from the materials at hand. The paintings on the walls of the drawing room were gorgeous. Depicted scenes of live in that era as well as infamous locals. The ball room up stairs was most impressive! Maintained solely by volunteers from Weston.

The home is immaculate, so well manicured, cared for, and lovingly maintained. Absolutely beautiful…read moreand nostalgic in a good way. The farm is a must visit. We enjoyed the sheep, chickens, bunnies. The staff was wonderful and very informative. Highly recommend a visit here.

This was quite the surprise. We were visiting relatives in the area when they suggested touring…read morethis place. We had no idea it existed and no knowledge of Abe's family beyond he and his wife. The grounds are huge and the house and the displays are well done and very informative. The garden is beautiful and the views are spectacular. It was also a plus to have the tram wisk us to the Pullman car display since we were running out of time before closing. Gary the docent at the Pullman car did an excellent job explaining the history of the railcar, the company, and the life of the workers. Very educational. One bonus was as members of NARM our $25 admission per person was free. This is a great asset to the area.

Love it here. Free…read morecompletely free - no admission fee, no parking fee. Very friendly people. Small business vibes. Follow your maps and once you cross the bridge they have tons of signs to direct you, hard to get lost. Trust they're hours, we showed up in the pouring rain and they're still open 9am-5pm weekdays. As soon as you walk in you'll get free samples. We sampled 5 cheeses and 2 grades of maple syrup - it sells itself. One cheese is made with unpasteurized milk - others include sharp cheddar, sage, smoked. Convinced me to try traveling home with cheese for the first time. Tons of products available for sell including from other farms as well. I recommend picking up some of the Red Kite Candy caramels they have there. If you liked it as much as me their factory is about a 30 min drive away. Other activities include petting animals (not in winter), walking trail, and self guided tour of their maple house. Wasn't able to do the trail in the rain but I would estimate you can do all of this in 2 hours. Not at all like Billings Farm if you're concerned about going to both or only have time for one. Billings has an admission fee, no samples of milk or cheese though the make both. More of a museum but they do have up close interactions with their cows (even in winter) for the kids, butter churning, candle dipping. Recommend Billing for taking kids on homesteading field trip, Sugarbush a quick stop for foodie/charcuterie person IMPORTANT: They do NOT sell sugarbush products at any of the stores in Woodstock so don't plan to buy more later and have regrets like us - we looked in every store and couldn't find it. Not sure about Quechee though. Products can also be ordered online and shipped

I'm a cheese head…read more So when my friend was making our itinerary for a trip to VT, I was really excited to try this place! Weather got a little hariy getting there with the slushy roads, but we made it! It's pretty remote location with no street lights, so if driving in the dark look for the signs to get there and trust your GPS. There's a large parking lot across from the entrance to the little store/shop. The shop is actually the owners old family home I belive. We arrived pretty much at closing time, but we were still welcomed warmly. We got a cheese & maple syrup tasting which was yum and informative, and the staff member that did it was really nice, I forgot her name, but see photo below. One of the cheeses has won a cheese competition, very cool. We also got to meet the owner, but she was busy getting Christmas orders together. I perused all of the cheeses I wanted and settled on 4. We got to try 2 out of the 4 from the cheese sampling. The nice lady that checked me out even gave me some nice to-go samples as well. The smoked cheese was my fav, and the sage. But I enjoyed them all. I was able to easily fly home to TX with them due to the cold weather of the season. After the tasting, we got to peruse the store. They have so much other stuff to buy in additon to cheese and maple, tons of knick-knacks and gifts and merch. We didn't get to explore the farm after since it was pitch black when we left, too bad. Enjoy!

This place was not at all on my radar when I planned our trip. We had driven up to Windsor to see…read moreanother museum, and the lady who sold the tickets there talked to us about our plans and recommended this place as very worthwhile. So, after lunch, we crossed a semi-narrow wooden bridge and drove a mile or two to this site. You park in a small lot (there was a sign for overflow parking too) and either pay there (if a ranger is on duty) or proceed to the visitors' center (where you can also pay). Augustus Saint-Gaudens was an American sculptor in the late 1800s and into the very early 1900s. I was not specifically familiar with him, but his work and that of those who trained with him was featured on a lot of U.S. coins at the time. It seems like a lot of the older coinage (before the models used now) was related to him. He also designed the Shaw Memorial on Boston Commons (related to the 54th Massacusetts regiment of black troops - see the film 'Glory' for background). From the visitors' center, there are several other areas to see. The ground slopes down towards the Connecticut River in the distance. Facing that, there is a small gallery and courtyard featuring some sculptures to your right. There is also a large sculpture of Lincoln. As you proceed towards the river, there are some works housed in spaces bordered by high hedges (including a copy of the Shaw Memorial). These end at the border to Saint-Gauden's original house, which is sometimes open for tours. When we visited, the sign just said 'wait for docent to open the door'. We later learned that this only happens between 2 - 4 p.m., which would be helpful to add to the sign. A bit below that is the studio building, which has examples of the sculptor's work and exhibits on the process of creating some. Maybe 300 yards further down is a memorial (sort of a small Greek temple) where the Saint-Gaudens' ashes (and those of several family members) are buried. It was a pretty site especially if the weather is nice. The sculptures, especially those which are outdoors, make for good photos. They also offer periodic ranger-led tours. We tagged along for part of one, but had already seen some of the areas, so we broke off and continued on our own. If you are in this area and have any interest in sculpture, this is very worthwhile.

This place is beautiful. There is an art gallery and studio inside. Beautiful garden and sculpture.read more