Wow! Today was absolutely stunning touring all the back roads (new and old) thanks to our forum member Minnesotaman, who stays in Woodstock a month each year (going on 18 years I think!). This man has all the knowledge you need to tap for this area! I owe most of my experience in the backroads of Woodstock to him and can't wait to explore more after he returns next month!
Anyways, let me start the top ten day with the Taste of Woodstock! We got there around 10:30, light traffic and found a great spot to park. The tents were all lined up on Elm Street due to the fact that they closed the street down for the event. Beautiful!!!! Wine and food galore and music! Oh my gosh, everyone was so energized and smiling. A great crowd indeed.
We then took Mountain Avenue through the covered bridge; gorgeous homes adorn the street on both sides and they were absolute eye candy. We headed to the Faulkner Trailhead in the Marsh-Billings Rockefellar National Historic Park. They hosted one of the tents in the street fair and we got numerous, large glossy trail maps for future hikes. Unfortunately, we hit a small rain cloud heading up so we decided that we would rather do the backroads at that point as the clearing in the west sang to us to move on. And that was the best decision ever! Faulkner Park in and of itself, is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!
https://www.woodstockvt.com/events/taste-of-woodstock
We took River Road to Cloudland Road where we were the only ones traveling there. That road is simply lovely! We took Galaxy Hill Road to the Pomfret Road to Howe Hill Road to Allen Hill Road where, upon Minnesotaman's recommendation, we stopped at the Amity Pond Natural Area, a gift to the state of Vermont by Richard and Elizabeth Brett. OMG! Simply the most serene trail through the forest landing us in fields of wildflowers with views of the mountains in the distance. It was 57 degrees in the forest and felt like fall! Breezy and beautiful and butterflies abound! The highlight of my day! We tried to find Amity Pond but will have to research where it was. Saw the sign but no trail so we turned around and headed back out to East Barnard by way of East Barnard Road, Bowman and Tower Roads to Silver Lake.
Silver Lake was sparkling with lots of kayakers and beach goers. It looks to be lovely in the fall! A great next stop was the Barnard General Store where we had a yummy deli sandwich, what a great community feel here, love love loved it!
https://www.facebook.com/barnardgeneralstore
We headed back to Woodstock on route 12 south and stopped at this lovely farm store called, “On the Edge Farm”. Besides their own natural Vermont meats that they raise, there are jams, pies galore and gifts. Link to follow. The owner was delightful and said she decorates for fall so this will be a great stop for you if you are in the vicinity of the Barnard/Pomfret areas.
https://www.ontheedgefarm.com/
Other roads worthy of mention: at the end of Cloudland Road are Old Kings Highway and Joe Ranger Road, which I have been on a few times and they are just as lovely and will loop you back to town. The following roads were recommended by Minnesotaman but we just did not have time to check them out:
Hewitt Hill Road, Lime Pond Road (Lime Pond).
We also missed the 1902 Maple Grove Farm which has been on my agenda for so long and either I had my head buried in my Jimapco,
or as Minnesotaman said, if brush has grown near the road it would be easy to pass by. I was pretty disappointed but there is always another day to explore around Pomfret.I also thought there was a general store in East Barnard Village but we drove around and couldn't find it there. So quaint! There were only about 4 buildings there and it was quintessential, small town Vermont for sure. Loved the four way signage there too!
Mid September, we are heading back to Woodstock before the fall crowds appear, to hike more trails in the Marsh-Billings Rockefeller National Historic Park. It is over the top amazing! I'm kind of glad we didn't do the hike today because I would really like to go up the Faulkner Trail and down the Precipice Trail which is rated more challenging. You could spend a whole day at this national park which includes Billings Farm! I love the energy and vibe of Woodstock and it is stunning in every way. What a great town!
https://www.nps.gov/mabi/planyourvisit/ ... trails.htm
Another outstanding day in pre-fall like weather with so many winding and beautiful dirt back roads. I just can't wait to get back and explore and see what else we missed and I am definitely going to go back to Amity Pond Natural Area, South Royalton. Another shout out to Minnesotaman for telling me about this place and that there would be wildflowers and what a show they put on indeed. A long day trip but worth every darn twist and turn and eye candy galore!
Trees are changing slowly up there folks with a flare of red here and there. The blessed fall cometh! My heart is singing!
https://fpr.vermont.gov/amity-pond-natural-area
https://www.vtstateparks.com/assets/pdf ... nd_map.pdf
