Vermont in Mid May
 

Can someone recommend where to stay when one has only three nights in Vermont? We arrive in Rutland and would like to visit villages and hopefully do some hiking if the weather is good. History appeals to us too. We need suggestions for upscale country inns and B&B's. Do you recommend staying all three nights in one area and taking day trips or splitting it up and staying in different regions of Vermont? From VT we will drive to CT. We are active seniors.

I would head to Woodstock. It is about an hour east of Rutland. They have many wonderful inns to visit. It is a classic New England town. It has the Billings Farm Museum - a recreated turn of the century farmstead. They also have the Billings Rockefeller National Park. Lots of history there and lovely grounds to walk. I wouldn't plan your whole itinerary around hiking as trails can still be wet. Late may also brings out black flies - nasty little buggers that can really get to you if you stay in the woods. They go away by mid-June. I wouldn't put off your trip due to that, but I would not stay in the woods. May would be a good time to find a room in a popular place like Woodstock. You could make it a base camp and take day trips from there.

Many thanks for the help on a place to stay. We have booked two nights in Waitsfield at the Round Barn Inn and two nights in Barnard at the Maple Leaf Inn. We will go to Shelburne Farms and Museum, Burlington, and Billings Farms. Hope to get to Queechee also. Does this sound reasonable?
Kitty

Sounds good. Barnard is about 8 miles from the Billings farm. The main part of Woodstock is just another couple of miles. Nearby, Queechee falls in nice to see, but there's not really much else there. Simon Pearce glassware/pottery/restaurant complex is worth a stop.
I also really liked a restaurant in Barnard, Max's Tavern, the casual part of the Barnard Inn. Not as inexpensive as its name might suggest, but the food was really quite good, and the prices were fair. It gets quite crowded sometimes, and they don't take reservations ,so factor that in.

Shelburne Farms and the Shelburne museum are 2 totally separate places. The "museum" which is a huge complex a dozen or more separate buildings needs 2 days to see it all!

As "mysecretvermont" pointed out, trails can be quite mucky in the Spring, however, the trail to the base of Queechee gorge is realtively short and quite scenic.Another scenic trail, to a pond, leads in the opposite direction. Near the gorge is Vermont Institute of Natural Science, well worth a stop to see birds of prey in flight and their new frog exhibit, especially if it's a nice day.

On a rainy day, you can hop into Hanover, home of Dartmouth College. The school has an excellent, free art museum, and there are good restaurants in town for lunch.

Of course, you may never even make it to Queechee this trip. Have fun wherever you land!

Consider driving north from Rutland to Ft. Independence (amazing history), onto Middlebury and then Shelburne or Burlington. The driving is very easy and with 12 hours of daylight you can prevent the wasted time of packing and unpacking.

Woodstock is a classic New England town?

Funny

I know some Vermonters that say "If you like Woodstock, you ought to try Vermont sometime"

:)

We've stayed at the Maple Leaf Inn a couple of times, and it is LOVELY -- and very romantic for two! Heated floors in the rooms, for example; real fireplaces with ready-to-light wood and starter already in place, though maybe not needed in May; lovely innkeepers; etc. It's just a few miles from Woodstock.

In Woodstock, by the way, Bentley's offers nice lunches, and Gillingham's General Store (across the street from Bentley's) has a huge selection of all kinds of foods, wines, gadgets, gifts, etc. Fun place to wander around in.

Yes, Quechee has a large antiques place, with many vendors, and is a nice place inside where you can wander in comfort regardless of weather.

If you're interested in maple syrup making, the New England Maple Museum is just north of Rutland, on Route 7, in Pittsford. This has a walk-through display of how maple syrup was and is made, plus a slide show about the process, and samples of all the various grades of syrup. There's also a store offering all kinds of maple syrups and candies and "gifts". (I shouldn't mention it, but we find the best place to buy real maple syrup, of course, is in local major grocery stores, like Price Chopper or Hannaford's!)

Just a few miles south of the Shelbourn Museum on Rte 7 is the Vermont Wildflower Farm. I was there last summer in July. There is a short walk through the woods with all sorts of wildflowers all labeled FYI. There is a nice shop where you can buy wildflower seeds appropriate to your area and other giftie sort of things related to the outdoors. It was a pleasant stop on our way to Shelbourn, etc.