My friends and I had an amazing time touring the farm. Katie was so friendly and kind and we loved…read moremeeting all the animals. We got to meet and feed the Alpacas, pet the horses, and hold the baby bunnies. It was such an amazing and unique experience if you have the opportunity when visiting the area definitely worth it. Also the views on her property were breathtaking.

We had the most amazing experience here. Katie, the farm owner, spent a good hour with us showing…read moreus all around the farm, introducing us to all of their animals. My boys adored the alpacas. The friendliest alpacas we've ever met, so sweet and curious! The boys got to pet the pony, hold/cuddle the rabbits, and play with the dogs. We had an incredible adventure and we are so grateful we got to come.

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!

Sugar Bear has a penchant for the unusual. In flipping through our tour book (Off the Beaten…read morePath-Vermont), he came upon the Spider Web Farm and immediately added it to our agenda for the following day. I have to admit, this was probably our most interesting find on our trip. Will Knight began his business in the 1970's as a cabinet maker. He began hobbying with spider webs by spray painting them and affixing them to recycled pieces of wood. Once laminated, these became unique works of spider art. He soon became a spider web farmer full time. His knowledge about the spiders who weave webs on his farm is immense and he loves to share. The art is available in his store in various sizes and different shades of wood. We took home a gorgeous web on black wood. This is a most unique farm, and definitely worth the drive to check it out.

This place is a true gem. The owner (and artist I should say) is extremely nice. He is not in the…read morebest physical/ health shape but still took the time to explain to us the entire process and even to demonstrate it all. He does not charge you anything unless you buy one of his pictures. His pricing method is unique (ask him) but still the are is unique I would not drive all the way there but if you are in the area or about 30 min away take the time to drop in or make a detour since this is once again a very unique art and a very spacial man. Great for kids and adults.

Freshest, most delicious products...including cider, berries, vegetables, flowers, herds, honey,…read morehamburger, milk and baked goods and a wonderful group of ladies to cash you out...who could ask for anything more?

Best produce in the Twin States; great variety; wonderful for guests, storage, and canning. I…read moredrive 100 miles to shop here.

Let me just say that Vermont is so pure and good (in terms of quality of life). My lovely friend…read moreJules wanted to give us the Vermont experience by taking us around to the local farms and having us live our best Vermont lives for the week that we were spending with her family (bless them for hosting us!). Greenhouses are plentiful here and you can pick up some potted flowers for your home garden, as well as your own herbs and veggies! You can also pick up some good old groceries here, like meat or dairy products (fresh eggs and milk anyone?). If you're anything like me and my group of friends, we like to be photographed anywhere and everywhere so the flower greenhouse was the spot to be in. Call us obnoxious, because we are actually so obnoxious, but we also appreciate the beauty of local farms! The Vermont way of life values buying local goods and honestly, I don't mind living this small town lifestyle for a bit. Not forever though, as I'm a city boy through and through.

We LOVE this place! Best espresso, delicious homemade fresh baked goods, super friendly staff in…read morethe cafe. Store is great source for fresh veggies, some fruit, artisanal dairy, cheese, meets, cooking supplies. I'm so glad to see them survive and thrive!

This place is genuinely adorable and filled with beautiful animals to see, my favorite was…read moredefinitely the highland cows and all of the babies there.The family who runs this farm is super sweet and friendly and made us feel welcome both times we went. The little shop inside was adorable and had all kinds of fresh meats and cheeses.

This place was amazing! I have never gotten to pet, feed, hold, and interact with so many farm…read moreanimals. Or tour guide was super sweet and funny! A 10/10 experience!

Chandler pond farm is a gem! Every Saturday during the summer they have a large selection of…read morehomemade donuts, fruit pies and more. My favorite is their blueberry cream filled donuts. They also have a large selection of vegetables, grass fed meats. The scenery around the farm is beautiful and the store is very cute. It is a self-pay/trust model. They except PayPal or cash. It's a little tricky using PayPal because there's no Internet when you're there, so make sure when you leave the area and get Internet you make sure to send your payment after you leave.

This is a nice little private farm situated in an absolutely beautiful setting on top of a hill…read more There is a view of the hills and countryside on one side and a small lake on the other. Inside the stand is a selection of vegetables, beef and honey. A neighbor brings over fresh, free range eggs every day or so. We bought some vegetables and eggs and they were great. We plan to return h

The concept behind this farm is super sweet (ba dum tiss). What I mean by that is that there is a…read morelot of trust involved here, as they utilize a farm share system. Sort of like subscribing to those businesses that send you cool mystery packages, a farm share is where you pay to support the farm and in return you get a share of the farm's harvest, whatever they end up harvesting. You will need to pick it up yourself of course. Jules invited me to tag along with her to pick up the farm share harvest for the week. No one was really there to monitor everything that day (we were actually the only ones present at the moment). The farm people just left the harvested goods there in a barn and you sign off on the list that you picked up your share! This time around we got scallions, kale, and scallions. There is even a barter box where you can leave behind items you do not want and in return, you can take any items that you want.

It's #thankyouthursday, so I'm taking some time this morning to think of businesses that made life…read morein 2020 better for me and for their communities. And Sweetland is the first place that came to mind. This place is working super hard to bring local, nutritious meats and produce to the community. On top of that, they do everything they can to actually build that community and it's resilience. In normal years, their CSA pickup and you pick crops for members are a really awesome way to meet and visit with neighbors, and they also host a variety of awesome events and let you wander around the beautiful farm. Chris and Norah and the crew are also really kind and welcoming. This year, despite being crazy busy filling their sold out CSA shares, they also put lots of time and effort into starting a grocery pick up service for community members to be able to get food safely. I worked with them on this project, and was amazed by how hard working, caring, and innovative they are. They really cared about their team, other local farmers, and their community. It's very inspiring to be around them.

Had a super time walking around Shelburne Farms' beautiful immense grounds and also perusing their…read moremarket store with its assortment of products straight from their working farm - from fresh cheese, meats and baked goods to furniture, wool yarns and sheep skins. The grounds go down to Lake Champlain, including where the adjacent Inn and Flower Garden are. Some of the walking paths criss-cross the maple syrup tapping lines. Fun to see and pet their cows plus the big Farm Barn, where the independent organic O Bread Bakery* and Beeken/Parsons furniture maker both operate. (* See separate review.) Although our visit was on an early December Sunday, there's apparently more going on from Spring on and over Summer. Would recommend stopping by Shelburne Farms any time, especially great for kids!

Shelburne Farms has it all! From great PYO fruit in season to great Vermont maple products. The…read moreatmosphere is relaxed, the staff friendly and welcoming (especiallyto the childrenin our group). They were especially accommodating to me since I have balance and mobility challenges. A great place to go.

A CSA is great. I love them. I've had one with Full Moon Farm for the last few seasons and have…read morebeen disappointed each year. Each year I get email excuses as to why this year's share isn't so good--too much rain, not enough rain, cold weather, warm weather. Each year the share seems a little less. I get how a CSA operates and as a member I rely on the farm which is susceptible to the uncertainty of Vermont's weather. However, Vermont's weather is uncertain. We all know this. Maybe the farmers here should be better prepared for it instead of passing along their shortcomings to their members. I've spoken to a number of friends who have a CSA elsewhere and they are doing much better with theirs. It seems other farmers have figured it out better than Full Moon has.

In Burlington, it's all about buying local and supporting local businesses and all that good stuff…read more One of the great ways to do this is to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). We've known Dave and Rachel, the owners of Full Moon Farm, for years now, but only joined as members this year. For a flat price, paid in early spring, we get a weekly share of the produce grown at their farm. (the price depends upon what size share you get) The produce we're getting is organic, locally grown, fresh, and picked the day that we get it. I am not looking forward to eating store-bought produce this winter. Being a member of a CSA is a great thing to do for a variety of reasons (support local economy, good for the environment, you are eating fresher produce, it's fun to try to eat "in season"), and there are CSAs all over the country. It's also been great to get to know Dave and Rachel as more than just our neighbors, to learn about how the temperature and rain is beneficial for some crops, and detrimental to others. I would highly recommend joining a CSA, and I anxiously look forward to next week's pickup!