There is something about the feeling of being outside in the Vermont winter. The crisp clean country air and the peaceful silence that comes with a soft snowfall. One great way to get outside and experience this serenity is snow shoeing. Lucky for us, there are plenty of great cross-country ski trails around Brattleboro that also make fore a snowshoers paradise. As a matter of fact, you can snowshoe almost 15 miles of trails right from the backyard of our Brattleboro Inn! But there are also several nearby locations that are well suited for all snowshoeing skill levels.

For first timers, check out the Brattleboro Outing Club. The outing club sets up shop in the winter on the golf course, creating a 14km system of trails for cross country skiing and snowshoeing throughout the picturesque hilly country club. They even rent equipment and offer lessons right on site on the weekends. The outing club is located just across the water from our inn, on Upper Dummerston Road.

If you are looking for something a bit more challenging, or a nice afternoon trip, check out Grafton Ponds. Grafton Ponds is located in Grafton Vermont, about 25 miles up Route 30 (to Rt 35, to Townshend Road). A bit bigger than the outing club, and with snow making equipment and groomed trails, Grafton Ponds is a local favorite for a serious day on the trails. Grafton Ponds rents equipment, offers lessons, guided tours and even snow tubing. All situated in a picturesque community in rural Vermont.

For those who already have equipment or prefer the “wild” side of getting out on a mountain, the Kilburn Loop trail in nearby New Hampshire’s Pisgah State Park should certainly fit the bill. Pisgah State Park has 13,500 acres of forest and covers more than twenty-one square miles.  Trails roam for miles in the park and six different trailheads leading into the park each allow for a specific use such as snowmobiling, or snowshoeing.

Of the trails, the Kilburn Loop is for skiing and snowshoeing as motorized vehicles are prohibited to protect these ungroomed trails. The trail itself is five miles long and loopy. While the trail is rather steep at times, it is also picturesque and offers a series of rewarding views and places to pause.

Sure Pisgah State Park and the Kilburn Loop are a challenge, but a fun one. If you don’t have your own snowshoes, the Outing Club mentioned earlier rents them on site (on the weekends) as does Burrows Specialized Sports in downtown Brattleboro.

Any way you try it, snowshoeing is a great way to spend an afternoon staying active in the winter. And Brattleboro is a great base for any snowshoeing adventure.

The Keene Pumpkin Festival in Keene, New Hampshire is the kind of event you have to see to believe.  Last year the total  pumpkin count was 25,644.  This year even more are expected on October 17th when folks from all around bring their customized pumpkins to Keene for the 17th annual pumpkin festival.

The jack-o-lanterns line the streets of downtown Keene, set up on huge scaffolds.  At night they are even illuminated, creating a spectacular glow of pumpkin colored light into the night.  This event, like any good fall festival, is complete with craft and art vendors, live music and entertainment, fireworks and of course lots of great food (last year Tim unsuccessfully tried to eat his weight in cider donuts).

So carve your pumpkin and take it to the Keene Pumpkin Festival!  Help them reach their world record goal this year of 29,000 pumpkins – topping their old world record which was just short of that. For lots of information about the festival and a schedule of this years event, check out www.pumpkinfestival.org.

Mt. Wantastiquet in Hinsdale, NH is just a short walk from downtown Brattleboro, VT and  is one of our favorite simple hikes.  It’s easily walkable from our Vermont B&B, and offers 3 great choices for hiking.

Start by walking downtown and crossing the steel bridge into New Hampshire.  Make the first left and follow that dirt road to the end.  You’ll see a small parking area, where you can head off in several directions.

When we want to take a leisurely stroll with the dog we head to the left and take the nearly flat walk along the Connecticut River.

When we are looking to build some endurance we will head up the hill to the right, and take the winding  switchback style jeep trail to the top of the mountain. This trail is pretty gradual, but a steady climb.  We would label it as a moderate hike, and it takes about three hours from our front door to the top and back.

Finally, if we are short on time, we will take the short cut straight up the mountain which is much steeper, but shorter.  We would label that path moderately difficult, this trail only take about two hours from our door step and back.

Both the switchback and the short cut will take you to a clearing at the top where you will see panoramic views of Brattleboro and the river valley.  Even on a hazy day you can see our slate roof peaking out over the trees and our huge Japanese Maple with its bright red leaves, in the back yard.

If you are really looking for a longer adventure, venture over the top of the mountain and hike the backside down all the way to the old “Castle” (see our haunted hike).  Be warned though, that is a long trek.

When you come off of the mountain, you walk back to the Inn through downtown, where you can stop to enjoy a well deserved lunch.  This certainly makes  Mount Wantastiquet a great local hike and one of the many reasons we love living in Brattleboro.

For more great Brattleboro area activities, be sure to keep an eye on our blog at InnBrattleboro.com!

The Chesterfield Gorge in Chesterfield, New Hampshire is the perfect location to take an easy hike with beautiful views.  This stroll through the woods along the Chesterfield Gorge is serene.  Surrounded by the beauty of nature and the sound of rolling water this is a relaxing way to spend an hour.  This is one of mine and Tim’s favorite spots to have a picnic.  We usually start at the Vermont Country Deli to get some sandwiches and snacks to pack in our picnic basket.  The other option instead of running around to get lunch, take advantage of the Take a Hike Package which includes a picnic backpack (that you get to keep)  filled with lunch and a bottle of wine or beer.  Enjoy the Chesterfield Gorge, I know we did!

So being that Halloween is just around the corner, I thought it would be time to share a unique hike that is just a few minutes away from our Inn in Brattleboro.  The hike is in the Madame Sherri Forest in Chesterfield, New Hampshire (which is just over the bridge from Brattleboro – directions below).

The 448-acre forest is part of the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Greenway, a series of trails connecting the mountains of southwestern New Hampshire and includes a trail which connects to the Mount Wantastiquet State Forest. (See our hike up Mount Wantastiquet).  The forest is named for the eccentric Madame Antoinette Sherri, who built a European chateau on Gulf Road in Chesterfield back in 1924.

Madame Sherri was a music hall singer in Paris in the early 1900’s.  She married Andre Riela in Paris and they relocated to America in 1911 to join his family here.  Madame Sherri and her husband became prominent theatrical costume designers and ran a successful costume shop in New York City.  They are actually cited as having taught Charles LeMaire (the noted Hollywood costume designer) the art of costuming.   During the Prohibition Era, Madame Sherri and her husband would travel to Chesterfield NH to “party” with friends of theirs from the Broadway scene.  After her husbands death in NY in 1924, Madame Sherri purchased a farm in the area she had grown to love, on Gulf Road in Chesterfield.  Her plan was to build herself a summer home.  The exotic stone castle that she ended up having built in the woods, as well as her unique touring car (a cream colored Packard), her French accent, and of course the numerous interesting visitors from the theatrical world kept local gossips busy for years.  Her pet monkey and her frequent chauffered rides around Brattleboro wearing nothing but a fur coat certainly added to the mystery and intrigue around this interesting woman.  Rumors persist that Madame Sherri ran a brothel from the castle.

In the 1950s the home was abandoned as Madame Sherri grew older and moved to Brattleboro’s Maple Rest home.  The stone castle had been abandoned and neglected for years when it was destroyed by a fire in October 1962.  Madame Sherri herself died three years later, at the age of 84.   To this day visitors report hearing voices, music and the sounds of parties from a time long passed.  Occasionally a visitor will even encounter the ghost of Madame Sherrie, beautiful and young, gracefully descending the stone stairway which still stands today.

To get to Madame Sherri’s forest from our Brattleboro Inn, take a left from the driveway and head to the traffic circle.  At the circle, bear right onto Route 9 west to Chesterfield. Just after you cross the bridge into New Hampshire, make a right onto the first street (Mountain Road). Then take your first (immediate) left which will put you onto Gulf Road. Travel up the scenic Gulf Road for just a little more than two miles; Madame Sherri’s Forest is on the right.  There is a small parking area.  Cross the footbridge and head up the hill for to see the stone stairs…

Just a short drive from our Vermont Inn, across the bridge in Northfield, New Hampshire you can find a unique entertainment experience that will take you back in time.  I’m talking about the Northfield drive-in movie theater.

Tim and I took a trip over there with some friends this past Saturday night for their double feature of WALL-E and Iron Man.  Opened in 1948 and one of the oldest Drive Ins in New England, the Northfield Drive in plays movies Friday – Sunday nights.  Always 2 and occasionally 3 or more movies are played in a row on remarkably preserved equipment and screens from 60 years ago.

Having grown up just minutes from the first drive-in movie theater in America, established 75 years ago in Camden, New Jersey; this trip to Northfield brought back wonderful memories of my childhood.  I was 6 years old the last time I saw a movie at the drive-in, it was Superman.  My sister and I would wear our feety PJs and fall asleep in the back of the big orange Volkswagen Bus my parents used to have.  I am sure it made for a great date night for them.

Now 25 years later Tim and I were able to have our own old school date night at the drive-in.  We packed up the car with blankets, pillows, our camping chairs, and bug spray.  We curled up in the back of the Rav4, turned on the radio to the designated station and had a blast watching WALL-E and Iron Man (OK so I admit, I slept through Iron Man – but it was 10:30 and that’s past my bedtime).

One of the highlights of the Northfield Drive-In is their awesome retro snack bar.  From corn dogs to ice cream, it was like walking back in time.  I will say, one pleasant surprise was that the prices were very reasonable.  Tim had a couple of corn dogs, I had some chicken fingers and with two drinks we paid under $20! Fun and affordable.

Another excellent retro touch were the original intros and snack bar commercials, which I am guessing are from the 50’s or 60’s.  Completely cool and corny at the same time.

Overall, this was probably one of the most original dates Tim and I have ever been on, we are certain to be back.

The Northfield Drive In is located in (you guessed it) Northfield New Hampshire.  It is about 15 minutes from our lovely Vermont Inn and runs movies starting at around 8:30 all summer long.  The full schedule and details can be found on their website.