I've had a love affair with the State of Vermont since the 1980's when I lived in New England for a…read morefew years. Aside from the magnificent beauty of the entire state, is has the covered bridges, which are so much fun to track down and photograph. I left New England in 1985 and didn't return till 2025 but took myself (and my husband) back to VT, and yes, went covered bridge hunting. What amazed me is that even WITH the added technology of GPS, I still had trouble finding some of the bridges. GPS only works when we have cell service, and many places still do NOT... duh. Anyway, we easily found the Taftsville Bridge, and it did not disappoint. It was one of the larger bridges we rode over, and it definitely was the oldest one that we saw, having been built in 1836. It's one of the oldest in the entire country, too !

This beautiful covered bridge is hard to miss when passing by. The bridge is operational with one…read moretraveling lane at a time. This landmark makes a perfect spot for pictures. Built in 1836, covering the Ottauquechee River, the Taftsville Covered Bridge is a 189ft multiple kingpost truss bridge with multiple support arches.

What a great way to spend the afternoon! I went with my wife and Australian shepherd and we had a…read moreblast! This place is dog friendly which you rarely find in these types of places. The castle was so cool and has so many unique and rare antiques. The tour guides were so knowledgeable about the history, building techniques, and all of the antiques and art work in the castle. The castle has a beautiful marble deck outside over looking the green mountains and it was a perfect way to end out the tour. I would highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area!

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

As one of our (currently) 433 National Park sites, this one tells the story about why we have…read moreconservation and the story behind the families who have contributed to our conservation efforts. Located just on the edge of town, this park is huge and I would have loved to hike in the back country. Unfortunately we arrived late in the day and only had enough time for a mansion tour and to take a short hike on the 'Jr Ranger Loop'. The house itself is beautiful and I highly recommend stopping in for a tour. Loved chatting with the rangers here.

Last weekend, my wife and I were thrilled to discover that Vermont is home to its very own National…read morePark and it's located right here in Woodstock! As longtime supporters of National Parks, we couldn't wait to experience it for ourselves. Entry to the park is free, though ranger-led tours of the mansion run about $9 per adult. The park's history is absolutely fascinating. It preserves the boyhood home of George Perkins Marsh, a pioneering environmental thinker whose book Man and Nature laid the foundation for conservation in the U.S. Another interesting fact: the park includes the oldest continuously managed scientific forest in the country, originally reforested by Frederick Billings as a model of sustainable forestry. We opted for a ranger-led mansion tour (worth every penny), which brought the estate's legacy of stewardship to life through beautifully preserved furnishings, art, and stories of the Marsh, Billings, and Rockefeller families. After the tour, our ranger highly recommended a scenic trail hike. It was an easy, peaceful walk that led us to a lovely lake loop - perfect for stretching our legs and soaking in nature. The trail meandered beneath shady trees and felt like a serene escape from the world. All in all, if you're curious about conservation history or just looking for a peaceful, enriching outing in woodland surroundings, this park is a gem. The blend of free admission, affordable ranger tours, compelling legacy, and gentle trails make it a memorable and meaningful stop in Woodstock.

At this location in North Hartland, VT, you get two covered bridges for the price of one... and…read morereally, there's no money involved in seeing them, which brings me to a good point. Not only is finding covered bridges really fun and interesting, not to mention sometimes challenging with how off the beaten path they can be, it doesn't cost one penny to drive through them and view slices of history. My husband and I love it !! My understanding is that the main bridge here (the one over the brook) was destroyed after a hurricane in 1938, although it was originally built in 1870. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The second smaller bridge, directly on land, was built in 2001.

My visit to these Bridges was more stressful than enjoyable. I was so preoccupied in fact that…read morewhile writing this review I realized I hadn't taken a single picture but I did video crossing the bridges in my car so my photos are stills pulled from the video to help show my experience. Willard Twin Covered Bridges are basically one older historic covered Bridge very close to another newer one that was built to kind of mirror the historic structure. In theory, the idea of having the two covered bridges side by side seemed cool and like something I would want to see. In reality, getting there was kind of difficult. The location isn't well marked and I had to turn around more than once. Also, when I did eventually find them, they are much shorter and smaller than I expected, especially when you compare them to many of the other covered bridges in the area. Crossing them in my vehicle was very tight and quite nerve-wracking if I'm being honest. The narrowness and the short span of the bridge made the crossing less than charming. You're also kind of in the middle of a small residential area, so I was trying to make sure not to block any driveways or be in anyone's way. They were also really visually underwhelming and just didn't have the aaah factor that a lot of the other bridges have. If I had known how small they were and how nervous I would feel driving across them and how they're kind of situated right near houses, I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to do this again. Unless you're trying to see every covered bridge in the area, I would pass on these ones.

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 was a pleasant visit that I took on my way back down from visiting the White Mountains. This…read morehistorical home was the home of and don't laugh at my explanation, a French guy who grew up in NYC. Augustus Saint-Gaudens died in 1907 and lived here for 7 years til he died. He was a sculpter and he created the gold coin called the Saint-Gaudens double eagle, a twenty-dollar gold coin, or double eagle. This is the only way I knew who he was because I have seen this coin referenced in books and online when I was young. The house is a nice pleasant stroll in the late 1800s early 1900!

This bridge gets the award for the prettiest approach to a covered bridge. It's down a dirt road…read morethrough the woods. Gorgeous! This bridge was built in 1870. And doesn't look like it has been changed much since then. It looks authentic. It looks like what a beautiful old covered bridge should look like.

Located just a quick detour off I-89 in Lebanon NH. 2 things make this covered bridge superb. 1)…read more You have your own private covered bridge sidewalk to walk through. 2). There is a nice little parking area with picnic tables so you can sit back and enjoy the bridge view.

A fascinating collection of old cars and equipment. Worth a visit. Pay what you willread more

Amazing place for kids and adults alike. Kids can play with this from past generations while older…read morefolks can see stuff from their childhood and before. We appreciate everything the Ice House Museum does for the community.

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.

We visited Billings Farm because it kept coming up as a must-see stop on our New England road trip…read more I don't like leaving negative reviews, but with 4 teenage kids, the experience was very underwhelming. The highlight was definitely the baby calves, so be sure to time your visit since that area is only open during certain hours. You can only pet two of the milk cows in the barn, and beyond that there were a few horses, pigs, sheep, and chickens. It felt more like a large petting zoo than a destination worth the admission price. For our family of six, it cost over $100 to visit, which didn't feel like a good value. We have very similar farms in California that are either free or only a few dollars to enter. If you have very young children, it might be worth a visit, but for adults or families with older kids, I wouldn't recommend it.

This was a fun farm to visit. There was not an incredible amount to see overall, but we went during…read morethe baby animals festival, so there were a couple extra things to look at and some vendors as well. The museum was the highlight of the visit, with old farm equipment and interesting history throughout. There is also a small gift shop on site. I would recommend it more if you are interested in the museum side of things rather than the animals, since there is not a ton to do otherwise, but it is still a nice stop.