VT SKI + RIDE Summer Guide 2016

FREE SUMMER 2016 vtskiandride.com

5 Red-Hot Music Festivals Vermont’s Mountain Sports & Life

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Must-do

SUMMER Guide

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OUR 16 FAVORITE PLACES TO BIKE

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CONTENTS / 01.04 At Sugarbush, the summer greens are just as challenging as the winter whites.

FEATURES TRAIL BLAZING p. 26

More than 25 miles of new mountain bike trails are ready for your knobby tires.

Here’s our guide to 16 great trail networks around the state, where to ride and what to do after.

FARM STAYS p. 34

At farms around Vermont you can stay in four-poster beds, learn to make cheese, spin yarn or just kick back and taste an ancient way of life.

FRENDLY GATHERINGS p. 42

Thanks to a group of pro snowboarders, Vermont may have the grooviest music festival since Woodstock.

Plus our picks for four other red-hot festivals around the state.

FIRST TRACKS THE BUCKET LIST | 14 WAYS TO LIVE LIKE A LOCAL, p. 4

EDITOR’S LETTER | THE SHORTEST SEASON, p. 3 It used to be we couldn’t wait for winter. Now, there’s too much to do each summer.

RESORT NEWS | WHAT’S ON TAP?, p. 11

COACH | SUMMER SCHOOLS, p.51 Learn to bake, fish, scull, brew, or clown around like a pro at these world-class schools.

From swimming holes to food festivals, here’s what you can’t miss.

Resorts ramp up this summer with new climbing walls, concerts and more.

Photo courtesy Sugarbush Resort

COLUMNS

APRÈS | TASTING TRAILS, p. 17

GEAR | WEEKEND ESSENTIALS, p. 54

Vermont’s distilled spirits are rising—so are our beers and tasting rooms.

Our picks for all you need from some of Vermont’s top brands.

LOCAL HEROS | ROLLING ON STRONG, p. 20

CALENDAR | 60-PLUS GREAT SUMMER EVENTS, p. 57

Ten years after her accident, Kelly Brush Davisson is changing other lives.

LOCAL HEROS | DRIVING TO WIN, p. 23

Champion golfer and biathlete, Chloe Levins shares her favorite golf holes.

Summer’s best concerts, races and other events.

CHAIRLIFT Q/A | THE TREEHOUSE GUY, p. 64

B’Fer Roth knows treehouses: he’s built 60 and now has a TV show.

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THE PUMP HOUSE INDOOR WATERPARK

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THE TOO-SHORT SEASON

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PUBLISHER, Angelo Lynn Angelo@vtskiandride.com EDITORIAL Editor/Co-Publisher, Lisa Lynn Editor@vtskiandride.com Creative Director, David Pollard Assistant Editor, Evan Johnson Evan@vtskiandride.com Contributing Editors: Biddle Duke, Bud Keene, Brian Mohr, Greg Morrill ADVERTISING SALES & DISTRIBUTION Christy Lynn, Advertising Manager Christy@vtskiandride.com | 802-388-4944 Ben Hall Ben.Hall @vtskiandride.com | 603-717-5496 David Payne David@vtskiandride.com Greg Meulemans greg@vtskiandride.com Circulation and Distribution Manager: Lisa Razo subscribe@vtskiandride.com

hat skier doesn’t lose a little bit of his or her soul when the snow melts each spring?

Before I moved to Vermont, I felt that way.

Now, by May the feeling passes and I pack up the car and head back up to the mountains.

The choices, though, get more complicated—it’s no longer “fat skis, race skis or AT gear?” The question now is “road or mountain bike, tennis or golf, paddleboard or kayak, reggae or classical concert?” Hey, those are tough decisions.

And they are getting tougher. Around the country, summer business at ski resorts has increased by 68 percent in the last decade. Vermont resorts continue to evolve into four-season destinations. This summer, Stowe adds an immense rock climbing wall and kids’ Adventure Center, Sugarbush hosts the Vermont Mountain Bike Association festival and boosts its golf programs. Jay Peak’s water park is in full swing and has expanded its concert series. Around the state, there are a mind-boggling number of new mountain bike trails (see “Trail Blazing,” p. 36).

Summer is now just way to short.

This summer may seem even shorter: our winter officially starts on October 1. That’s when VT SKI + RIDE and the Rotary Club of Burlington bring the first consumer ski show to Vermont.

It will feature 2017 gear, live music, demos and will benefit the Flyin’ Ryan Foundation. Keep an eye on vtskiandride.com for details. And have a great summer. —Lisa Lynn, Editor

GO TO VTSKIANDRIDE.COM TO: WATCH action footage of Vermont biking, kayaking and concerts. WIN prizes such as great gear, weekend lodging, lift tickets and more. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Don’t miss an issue, sign up for a free digital edition, news updates or the latest deals and contests.

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Business Manager: Elsie Lynn Parini Elsie@vtskiandride.com HEADQUARTERS

Photos courtesy Ben Hall, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Ali Kaukas

VT SKI+RIDE is published four times a year by Addison Press Inc., 58 Maple Street, Middlebury, VT 05753 VT SKI+RIDE print subscriptions are available for $24 (U.S.) or $35 (Canada) per year. Digital subcriptions are free. Subscribe at vtskiandride.com

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For Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, getting the great mountain biking shots in “Trail Blazing,” might not have been all work.The chief photographer at The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, Brodeur spends summer weekends riding or photographing his son Aidan Casner, one of the top-ranked downhillers in the East.

The photographer behind “Frendly Gatherings,” Ali Kaukas may have the life we all want. The Manchester, Vt., photographer shoots around the country for the Wanderlust festivals. She spends summers and winters in Vermont and shoulder seasons surfing and practicing yoga in Costa Rica.

With this issue we welcome the newest member of our sales team. Ben Hall is an avid telemark skier, backcountry guide and mountain biker. He’s also the former community outreach manager for Eastern Mountain Sports. When Ben is not on the road he helps out as our resident bike expert.

ON THE COVER: A dusk paddle on Chittenden Reservoir, just north of Killington. Photo by Brooks Curran.

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It’s not summer until you’ve plunged into a cool, deep pool at a swimming hole like this one at

Photo ©Brian Mohr/EmberPhoto

Warren Falls, near Sugarbush Resort.

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FIRSTTRACKS YOUR SUMMER BUCKET LIST

14 Things Every Vermonter Should Do

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sk hardcore skiers what their favorite season is in Vermont and they’ll tell you the winters are great but the summers...sigh...that’s what we live for. Summer means lakes, trails, campfires, festivals, swimming holes, fireworks and a whole lot more. Here’s your checklist, consult our calendar on page 57 and start planning.

1. PLUNGE INTO A SWIMMING HOLE If there’s one secret that Vermonters guard more carefully than winter powder stashes, it’s summer swimming holes. But we’re willing to share a few of our favorites: Near Sugarbush, just off Route 100, the Mad River plunges through the boulders of Warren Falls. In Bolton, look for the Bolton Potholes, a series of five waterfalls that spill into deep pools below. Stowe’s Bingham Falls, off Route 108, is legendary for its high dive rocks and swimmable pools. And north of Manchester, stop by the Dorset quarries on 7A. The sheer marble cliffs make a perfect diving platform into what looks almost like a natural swimming pool. As always, please be respectul of land owners and private property. www. swimmingholes.org/vt.html.

2. ZIP THROUGH THE FOREST Ziplines keep getting faster, longer and yes, even more fun. At Stowe’s new dual zipline you can race a friend at speeds of up to 80 miles-per-hour as you fly 130 feet above the forest canopy. After, head over to the new Treetop Adventure Course too. Sugarbush, Okemo, Killington and Bromley offer treetop thrills as well.Tickets go from $69 to $109.

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u 3. TAKE FLIGHT. There is something magical about floating over the Green Mountains from the lofty perch of a hot air balloon.The two places to do so—and to watch dozens of other balloons take flight—are the Quechee Balloon Festival, June 17-19 or the Stowe Balloon Festival July 8-10 (make a reservation for a ride at www.stoweflake.com or www.quecheeballoonfestival.com). You can also book your own flights all summer with outfitters located in Swanton, Essex and Quechee. For a list, visit vtskiandride.com/airtime.

4. PICK YOUR OWN. From June’s strawberries to August’s blueberries to October’s apples, if you name it, you can probably pick it at one of Vermont’s farms. Fill a box, pay by the weight and take the bounty home to freeze, preserve or eat fresh. Go to www.visit-vermont.com/state/pick-your-own-farms/to find a farm near you.

6. PLAY A ROUND OF DISC GOLF For an arguably more laid-back variation on golf, grab a few friends, pick up a set of discs (variations on a Frisbee) and check out one of the growing number of disc golf courses around the state. Vermont has some 30 courses, including ones at Okemo, Killington, Sugarbush, Stowe’s Trapp Family Lodge and Barre’s Millstone Trails—or look on dgcoursereview.com to find a course near you. Greens fees are cheap ($6 for the day at Killington, anyone?) to non-existant and you don’t need a cart or a caddy.

7. SOAR OVER THE GREENS If you have never soared silently over the Green Mountains in a glider, you need to. Stowe Soaring (stowesoaring.com) and Sugarbush Soaring (sugarbushsoaring.com) have gliders that will take you up for stunning views of Vermont and beyond. Short (15 minutes) rides start at just over $100 and Sugarbush Soaring offers lessons and rentals as well.

8. CONQUER A GAP — OR SIX. If you think you’re a strong road cyclist, test yourself on some of the most unrelenting climbs in the East. Lincoln Gap features the steepest paved mile in America (from the Sugarbush side) or try the 13mile, 1,200-foot elevation gain as Route 108 winds over the Greens from Stowe to Smuggler’s Notch. To really put a notch (sic) in your belt, link together the four gaps (Lincoln, Appalachian, Middlebury and Brandon) that make up the “LAMB” ride. If you are a glutton for punishment add in Rochester and Moretown gaps. To join a group, sign up for the Vermont Gran Fondo (June 4) which covers Lincoln, Appalachian, Rochester and Moretown gaps.

Photo by Butch Lombardi

During the annual Quechee Balloon Festival a balloon descends into Quechee Gorge.

The hills (and meadows) at the Trapp Family Lodge are alive with the sound of music.

Photo courtesy Trapp Family Lodge

5. SPEND A NIGHT ON THE LONG TRAIL. Stretching from Massachusetts to the Canadian border, Vermont’s “footpath in the wilderness” has more than 70 overnight sites including lean-tos and cabins available to anyone. These range from Taft Lodge on Mt. Mansfield (which sleeps up to 24 in bunks) to simple tent platforms. Bring fixings for dinner and your sleeping bag and plan to catch the sunrise in the morning from a mountaintop. Overnights at sites with GMC caretakers cost $5 and are available on a first-come-firstserved basis, so bring a tent as a backup. www.greenmountainclub.org

9. PICNIC AT A CONCERT Vermont turns up the volume each summer with festivals and concerts for every taste (see “Frendly Gatherings,” p. 42). For more classical fare, pack a picnic dinner and head to one of the concerts put on by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra all over the state (www.vso.org) or to the Marlboro Music Festival at Marlboro College for world-class chamber music (www.marlboromusic.org). Trapp Family Lodge’s Music in the Meadow series brings everything from classical to folk music to its high meadows with stunning mountain views. (www.trappfamily.com) vtskiandride.com Summer 2016 7

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u The best way to watch a sunset on Lake Champlain? On a SUP, of course.

For an “only in Vermont” moment, don’t miss a Farm to Ballet performance.

Sample the work of Vermont’s top chefs and farmers at Vermont Fresh Network’s Annual Picnic.

Photo courtesy Farm to Ballet

Photo Vermont Fresh Network/HHoverfly

Photo by Oliver Parini

10. SKIM ACROSS A LAKE. By one count, Vermont has 66 lakes. But if you add in ponds and reservoirs, there are probably a hundred more. Calm, clear waters, undeveloped shores, loons calling—these are all reasons to explore Vermont’s lakes by stand up paddleboard or canoe. For rentals ($55 a day for an SUP), lessons and even weekly races, consult with Umiak Outfitters (www.umiak.com) at the Waterbury Reservoir or North Beach in Burlington. For some serious skills training, the Vermont Stand Up Paddleboard Academy in Jamaica offers courses in racing, SUP yoga and more. It will also bring a board to you anywhere in southern Vermont for $150 an hour with a two-hour minimum. www.vermontskiandsport.com 11. RACE TO THE SUMMIT. The best part about these races to the top? There’s only one hill. Head to Okemo on June 25 for a challenging 5.8-mile uphill road bike race to the 3,344 foot-high summit. On Aug. 20, Killington hosts the Killington Boot Camp Race to the Peak 5K, a run from the Ramshead Base Lodge to the summit’s Peak Lodge. On Aug. 28, the North Face Race to the Top of Vermont in Stowe is open to riders and runners.

12. FOLLOW A PADDLER’S TRAIL Vermont has trails for skiing, hiking and, yes, even paddling. For an unforgettable experience, paddle and camp out along the Lake Champlain Paddler’s Trail, a 125-mile route that uses a network of lakeshore and island campsites on public and private land on Vermont and New York shores. A guidebook comes with a membership fee in the Lake Champlain Committee (www.lakechamplaincommitte.org). Along the Connecticut River, you’ll find ample camping and wildlife viewing.

For an even longer trip, try a portion of the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail, which stretches through waterways of New York (starting in Old Forge), Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Maps and information are available at www.northernforestcanoetrail.org.

13. FIND A FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL Channel your inner sommelier at some of Vermont’s summer food and wine events. You’ll find Vermont brews and spirits, farm-fresh fare, award-winning chefs, live tunes and more. Mark your calendar for the Sugarbush Brew-Grass Festival, June 11, the Burlington Wine and Food Festival, June 12-18, Okemo’s Hops in the Hills, Aug. 5-7 and the Stowe Wine & Food Classic Aug. 26-28. But the best place to get a true taste of the best of Vermont’s restaurants, distillers and farms is at the Vermont Fresh Network 20th Annual Forum tasting picnic at Shelburne Farms, Aug. 7, www.vermontfreshnet.com.

14. WATCH A FARM BALLET. This is one of those “only-in-Vermont” things you just have to see for yourself. Chatch Pregger, a Vermonter who has trained with the Joffrey and other international ballet companies, created the Farm to Ballet Project last summer. This year, nine outdoor performances are planned at farms around Vermont, each celebrating local food and farms. For a schedule, visit farmtoballet.org. —Evan Johnson

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Burke Vermont

Recreate.

Relax. Repeat.

SUM OM

T KINGD AS

Hike a mountain. Spin your wheels.

Hit the links. Take a paddle. Catch a fish.

Look for birds. Smell the flowers. Eat some food.

See a show. Buy some art. Build a campfire.

R IN TH ME

ORTHE EN

It’s that simple.

Get information on upcoming events and lodging & vacation packages at

www.BurkeVermont.com

Recreate. Relax. Repeat.

Get a good night’s sleep–you’ll need it.

Because there’s more to do tomorrow.

Burke Vermont

Photo cred

it: Ryan Th

ibault

Over 100 miles of mountain biking trails for all ability levels in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

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Resort Report

WHAT’S ON TAP?

This summer, ski resorts are adding climbing walls, tower jumps, tubing and treetops courses. And a solid line-up of festivals and concerts.

Sugarbush’s Brew-Grass Festival kicks off summer by combining bluegrass, and a tasting of top Vermont brews.

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ationwide, summer business at ski resorts has gone up 68 percent since 2007, said Destimetrics’ Ralph Garrison at a conference hosted by Stowe software company, Inntopia, this past May. In Vermont, that number is probably a lot higher. And with good reason: around the state resorts have been building water parks and mountain bike trails, zip lines and canopy tours, kids programs and adult camps.

For the summer of 2016, there’s now ever more to do as resorts have added new hiking and biking trails, concerts and events and features ranging from climbing walls to zip lines. Here’s our rundown, north to south:

Jay Peak Resort—now under new management—is fully operational and open for the summer.

Its famed waterpark—the Pump House—is open, as is the 18-hole golf course, the hotel and restaurants.

Jay’s second-home owners and loyal Jay skiers are returning for events and special offerings like Jay’s kid Adventure Camps. Plus, don’t miss Jay’s Third Annual Jeezum Crow Festival, July 22-23, featuring two days of live music. Later in the season, Jay hosts Strangefolk and Bruce Hornsby as well.

Sister resort Burke Mountain (formerly QBurke) is also under new management and open for lift-served mountain biking. It hopes to open its swank new 116room hotel by fall, if not sooner. Nearby, Burke Mountain Academy (where Mikaela Shiffrin and a who’s who of other ski racers have trained) is pouring $2.8 million into a new 6,000-sq. ft. indoor training facility it hopes to open by this fall. The training center is being named after Ronnie Berlack, the graduate and ski racer who was killed in an avalanche in 2015.

Smugglers’ Notch Resort is doubling down on its “family friendly” theme. This year, its outdoor activities, include a new mountain biking skills park, a swimming beach and recreation area at the reservoir in Bootleggers’s Basin. It is also home to the first flyboarding operation in the East (think of a jet-propelled hoverboard you strap into as you shoot over the water).

The most dramatic new developments in the state can be found at Stowe Mountain Resort’s $80 million Adventure Center at Spruce Peak, which includes Stowe Rocks’ three-story climbing gym. Stowe’s Zip Tour Adventure, which came online last summer, claims to be the longest and fastest in the East: you can reach speeds of 80-plus mph if you let ‘er rip. Also new last summer, the Tree Top adventure course is something out of The Jungle Book with more than 60 aerial tree-top connections to test balance, strength and agility.

Nearby, TopNotch Resort has added nature trails and mountain bike trails that will connect to the rest of the Stowe network so you can ride right from your room.

—or head to the Equestrian Center to do ride out on horseback. The resorts’ renowned tennis academy, croquet lawn, pool, shuffleboard and spa are also in full swing.

The Trapp Family Lodge’s mountain bike trail system continues to grow. The Upper Growler trail was extended last fall and the final section will continue to the Slayton Pasture Cabin. Also planned are new routes along Round Top, more singletrack and multi-use trails, and an expansion of the disc golf course around the new Bierhalle at the new von Trapp brewery. With 64 mountain bikes in

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Try flyboarding at Smuggler’s Notch (above) or Stowe Rock’s climbing wall at the new Spruce Peak Adventure Center.

the rental fleet Trapp’s mountain biking instruction and guided tours provides a great introduction to the sport. If you’re into running, Trapps’ trail system has near-perfect terrain for the cross-country runner, and will be hosting many trail running events throughout the summer.

While Mad River Glen doesn’t offer lift-served mountain biking, ziplines or jungle gyms in its tree-tops, it will be offering good times to its legions of fans as it opens General Stark’s Pub during summer weekends. Visitors and pass-holders can hike up Mad River Glen’s legendary trails, then refuel on the pub’s deck with what is being touted as the “Best Fish Fry this side of the pond.”

Just down the road Sugarbush Resort officially opens for summer on Saturday, June 25 with mountain biking, disc golf, a zipline, the bungee trampoline and one of the best kids camp program going. But weeks before that happens, the resort hosts its 6th annual Sugarbush Brew-Grass Festival on Sat, June 11, 2-6 p.m. at Lincoln Peak. It’s a 21-or-older affair, with Vermont brews and bluegrass bands. The Sugarbush Resort Golf Club, under new head golf pro Roger King, will feature several new programs including a Boomer Scramble and Kids Saturdays. The resort will also be hosting the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival at Mount Ellen on July 2224, one of Vermont’s premiere mountain biking events.

On the heels of a $3.5 million summer investment last year that brought the Beast Mountain Coaster (a 4,800’ coaster features 360 degree corkscrew inversions), Skyeride and more to Killington, the resort is spending an additional $850,000 this year on dual ziplines, six more mountain bike trails at Ramshead, summer tubing lanes and a 40-foot tower jump.

Okemo Mountain Resort launches into the second year of its Evolution Bike Park with a fleet of new Scott bikes and plans for trail expansion. At Okemo’s Adventure Zone, located at Jackson Gore, the newest additions are two bouncy castles and the Coleman Brook Mining Company, where kids can sift for sparkling gems, minerals and even fossils. A new Amp Energy Air Bag, measuring 33 feet by 33 feet and 13 feet tall, makes its debut this summer in the Adventure Zone.

If you’re into fly-fishing, the Woodstock Inn & Resort has partnered with Orvis for an innovative fly-fishing program and will continue with its partnership with New England Falconry to offer an introduction to “the sport of kings.”

A few miles south there’s a buzz in the air at Magic Mountain as it’s in the process of being sold to new owners, Ski Magic LLC. According to Ski Vermont, the new owners are committed to infrastructure investment befitting a resort of its size. Ski Magic LLC is expected to take over ownership and operations in July.

The New England site of the groovy yoga-fest Wanderlust (June 16-19), Stratton Mountain Resort is ramping up its outdoor concerts for the rest of the year with headliners Donavon Frankenreiter, The Wailers, The Machine and others.

At Mount Snow Resort the riding just got better for kids ages 7-14 with a new fleet of rental downhill mountain bikes, helmets included and new downhill trails (see Trail Blazing, p. 28).

Yes, this summer will make up for last winter.

—Angelo Lynn

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SPONSORED CONTENT

The

Sugarbush Resort GETTING A RUSH...

Skiing and riding down Sugarbush can be a real rush, but mountain biking down that same terrain can get the adrenaline pumping even harder. Sugarbush offers 20 miles of lift-served downhill, crosscountry and freestyle mountain biking terrain leading to the base of Lincoln Peak. If you don’t own a bike or have gear, rentals are available right in the base area.

Lessons are available for all ages and abilities, from those looking to get out for the first time, to those looking to tune up their skills on technical terrain.

In addition, the Vermont Mountain Bike Association has connected nearly 60 miles of mapped trails to Sugarbush's own terrain, including technical trails throughout the Valley and less technical terrain at Blueberry Lake. Sugarbush is also hosting the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival from Friday, July 22 to Sunday, July 24 packed with hosted rides, downhill access, and more.

For those not interested in mountain biking but still looking for some adventure, Sugarbush

offers summer camps for ages 3-18 from late-June to midAugust. The resort offers special weekly themed camps for children ages 6-12 with themes including adventure, climbing, farm-toplate, water and outdoor skills.

One week you might be climbing Lincoln Peak and scoping the wildlife and the next you could be honing your archery and carving skills. Golf and tennis camps are available as well. Lodging packages are available for all camps.

GET SWINGING...

Not every resort has its own par-71 Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed golf course, especially one as challenging and beautiful as Sugarbush’s. Golfers will enjoy a course designed under Jones’ mantra of “every hole should be a hard par and an easy bogey” while taking in breathtaking views of the Monroe Skyline and Mad River Valley.

Now led by Head Golf Pro Roger King, the club has added several new programs including the Boomer Scramble and Kids Saturdays to help round out programming that returns

favorites like Valley League Night, Ladies Nine at 9:00, and numerous clinics. Not to mention King is also the current VTPGA President. Prior to that he was VTPGA Tournament Committee Chairman for 5 years, as well as the 2012 VTPGA PGA Professional of the Year and 2012 VTPGA Match Play Champion.

Whether you golf or not, don’t miss out on Hogan’s Pub – the Mad River Valley’s premiere lunch spot for magnificent views and thirst-quenching brews. The pub offers sandwiches, soups, burgers and more all off one of the sunniest decks in town.

DON’T MISS...

June 10-12, 2016 – Sugarbush BrewGrass Festival, Sugarbush Resort Enjoy craft beers from more than 20 breweries, local food and jamming bluegrass bands. Kick-off the weekend with a party on Friday night before the festival on Saturday, and enjoy a 9-hole golf scramble Sunday.

June 14-15 – Boomer Scramble,

Sugarbush Resort Open to participants ages 65 and over, enjoy a two-day golf tournament for a chance to win some great prizes. Golfers can sign up as a full team or be grouped up with others.

Lodging packages with breakfast available at the Sugarbush Inn. July 8-10 – Mad Marathon, Sugarbush

Resort The 6th Annual Mad Marathon and Mad Half return for 2016. Enjoy one of the most beautiful and toughest courses around with rolling hills, dirt roads, breathtaking views of the Green Mountains, historic barns, quaint villages, covered bridges and more.

July 22-24 – Vermont Mountain Bike

Festival, Sugarbush Resort The Vermont Mountain Bike Association has teamed up with Sugarbush to host Vermont’s premier mountain biking festival. Based out of Mt. Ellen, the event will include rides throughout the Mad River Valley, Perry Hill, and Green Mountain Trails.

Tuesdays, June 28-August 30 – Toss ‘Em

Tuesdays, Sugarbush Resort Enjoy a summer night out with a friendly cornhole tournament, draft beer specials and wood-fired pizza in the Lincoln Peak Courtyard. Select drafts and slices are just $3 while the tournament is free to enter.

For more info: www.sugarbush.com

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SPONSORED CONTENT

The Summer File

SUMMER ADVENTURES ARE IN FULL SWING AT STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT. TRY THE STOWE ZIPTOUR, TREETOP ADVENTURE OR THE NEW STOWE ROCKS CLIMBING GYM. THERE ARE ALSO TWO 18-HOLE GOLF COURSES, HIKING, DINING, SHOPPING, NATURE TRAILS, AND A WORLD CLASS SPA AND WELLNESS CENTER. VISIT STOWE.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION OR CALL 802-253-3500.

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Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, then enjoy the thrill of flying down three of the world’s longest zip-spans.

Or, head over to Stowe’s TreeTop Adventure. With 6 different levels of courses consisting of aerial tree-to-tree connections and 68 various

the Aqua Pool Bar or sip an Hourglass Ale at the Hourglass Lounge. You worked up an appetite so you can justify an elegant dinner of freshest farm-to-table seasonal fare at Solstice. Stowe Mountain Lodge’s signature restaurant offers Vermont arti-

theater, and films going at the Spruce Peak Arts Center, sprucepeakarts.org.

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Friday Farmers Market on the Green: Spruce Peak Village Center 11am-3pm

SHOP‌

2 Live Music at the Pavilion Spruce Peak Village Center Noon-4pm

challenge/game elements, it’s a truly inspiring activity for all ages.

Kids will also have fun at the new Stowe Rocks Climbing Gym at Spruce Peak Plaza. Adults can head over to

san-inspired cuisine, Vermont cheeses, fresh produce and all-natural meats in an elegant and relaxing setting.

You can also take the gondola up to the Cliff House at the top of near the summit

At the Spruce Peak Village Center, you will find all sorts of outdoor apparel at Adventure Outfitters or First Chair Alpine Co.. Try The Alpinist for more lifestyle apparel, including Polo Ralph Lauren.

JUNE 17-19 Scout Film Festival

JULY

3 Rusty DeWees Independence Day Bash Spruce Peak Village Center, 4:309:30pm. Fireworks at Dusk

AUGUST Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26 Friday Farmers Market on the Green: Spruce Peak Village Center 11am-3pm 6 Live Music at the Pavilion Spruce Peak Village Center Noon-4pm 26 The North Face Race to the Top A running and bike race to the top of Mt. Mansfield. (www.rttovt.org)

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SPONSORED CONTENT

The

Smugglers’ Notch DON’T MISS...

June 13, 2016 – Weekly Mini Disc. Golf

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That’s what summer at Smugglers’ Notch Resort is all a out - filling our da s with pla plash, soak or slide at three outdoor water pla grounds with pools and waterslides or at two mountain reservoirs, where ou can ounce on a water trampoline or take a ride down the oom lume waterslide plore ermont s reen ountains on a guided hike or a nature walk n o mountain iking skills parks and trails, or toss a disc at the illage disc golf course Pla craz fun famil games, like lifesize foos all, or get up close to a critter at reature eature hen ou choose a mugglers vacation or new a cation pass that allows a full da s access

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to resort pools and amenities, ou ll en o ever thing that has made mugglers the mountain pla ground of generations of families

THRILL SEEKERS... r or rek at mugglers otch offers a guided anop our for ages and older et a ird s e e view of the reen ountain forest on eight zip lines and two suspensions ridges connecting tree platforms high a ove the forest oor or a more ph sical challenge, head to r or rek s reetop stacle ourse ou ll swing, clim , and crawl on more than different elements, with one that can accommodate kids as oung as

UNIQUE TO SMUGGS... o ig ang out in the oversized chair Ponder our moves

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Pla a round of our disc golf at mugglers rewseter idge s hole course pen to all levels, greens fees and league fees appl July 4, 2016 – Old-Fashioned July 4th

Celebration. tarting at a m in effersonville, watch and then walk to the carnival for live entertainment, kids activities, food and other vendors ack at mugglers starting at p m , en o a tast ireman s ar ecue on the reen eginning at p m , the ermont ational uard th rm and pla s their mi of classic favorites and patriotic tunes ireworks at dusk July 10 and August 19, 2016 –

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Jay Peak Book a golf vacation. Drop the Chute at the Pump House. Surf the wave. Take a tram to the top, check out the view, hike or ride back down. Play till you drop or rela in the sun or fans, a s the place to e winter or summer COOLING OFF… There’s nothing like splashing in the water to cool off a hot, summer’s day, which is precisely why Jay Peak’s Pump House has become such an destination in northern Vermont. Its vast 50,000-square-foot arena holds 9 water attractions ranging from the 65foot high La Chute, which sends riders down a chute at mph to surfing the Double Barrel Flowrider, a cross etween skate oarding, surfing and snowboarding that has become all the rage for the teen set, adults too!

But beware access. The only way to guarantee you have a spot in the lineup is to book online before you go, or stay there as a guest.

TEEING UP... f ou rather e golfing or drop the kids at the Pump House while you hit the links), Jay’s ideal for a golf vacation. The Jay Peak Championship Golf Course has been named the number one public course in Vermont for five of the past si ears Golfweek Magazine. Plus, the resort’s lu ur lu house suites sit right ne t

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to the course with e cellent dining at the restaurants nearby) making it a great vacation for the family.

GAMES, MUSIC & THE TRAM… Like beer and like to play games? oin a for the first ermont raft Beer Relay at Jay Peak, a 5k, 4-person relay on June 11 that will test your will and palate as you race through team games and individual challenges. Teams will compete for bragging rights and prizes, all while sampling the best craft beers in Vermont.

Or do you prefer your brew while jamming to one of the most popular music series in the state? Jay’s third annual Jeezum Crow Festival, July 22-23, features live music from bands like Dark Star Orchestra, Alejandro Escovedo, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Sleepy Man, Aqueous and others. The festival features nine bands in two days and is located at the Stateside Amphitheater.

If you’re in the mood to be high and gaze at the big spaces around you,

take a ride on Jay’s spectacular Tram to the top of Jay Peak and look for hundreds of miles in all directions.

Round trip rates on the 60-passenger Tram are $15 per adult, less for kids or $40 for a family. r rela at a Peak s aiga pa that will almost definitel include the hands-on massage treatment that cures the little reminders of your day’s adventures. Jay Peak is an active place for active families, and Taiga Spa is an oasis of calm within it.

RAISE ’EM, JAY! For kids, every moment of a Raised Jay camp will stay with your son or daughter forever rom the first paddle of a kayak to the 18th hole, your aised a er will e perience hiking, ice skating, surfing, golf, ka aking, tiedye, outdoor survival skills, rappelling, and, most importantly, the simple, free feeling of being a careless kid in the summer. To be eligible, children must be between the ages of 6 and 12.

See jaypeakresort.com for info

DON’T MISS...

Friday, Saturday, July 22-23, 2016 THIRD ANNUAL JEEZUM CROW FESTIVAL, 2 Days, 9 Bands, Children 6 and under are free.

Friday, Saturday, August 12-13 STRANGEFOLK: GARDEN OF EDEN FESTIVAL, Stateside Amphitheater at Jay Peak Resort; Percy Hill to open both nights of the festival at 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 13th 12TH ANNUAL AUGUST WEST FESTIVAL on he reen ne t to a ountr Store) in the Town of Jay; Noon to 6:00 p.m. FREE Live Music with Hoopla and Rick Redington & The Luv. Saturday, September 10, 2016 BRUCE HORNSBY & THE NOISEMAKERS Stateside Amphitheater at Jay Peak Resort. General Admission, $40; irst-come, first serve access to the lawn area of the Amphitheater.

For full schedules and how to buy tickets, visit jaypeakresort.com/Music

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Après

Sas Stewart and Sivan Cotel, both 33, raise a glass at Stonecutter Spirits’ tasting room. In March, their Sonecutter Single Barrel Gin was named “Best Flavored Gin” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competi-

TASTING TRAILS

Photo courtesy Stonecutters Spirits

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n the beginning there was beer. Vermont made it and it was good.

So good, in fact, that people began to travel from across the country to pop open a hoppy Heady Topper, try a Sip of Sunshine from Lawson’s Finest or taste anything from Hill Farmstead, named top brewer in the country for three years in a row by RateBeer.com.

And lo, the Vermont beer tour was born and soon swank tasting rooms were built.

Then hard cider caught on, both big brands like Woodchuck and rising craft ciders such as Shacksbury and Citizen Cider. And Vermont distillers such as Caledonia Spirits, Smugglers’ Notch Distillers and Stonecutter Spirits began taking home international awards for their spirits.

In a short time, Vermont became a very, very good place to drink.

“I’ve had people charter a private plane and fly in here from Philadelphia for a day of beer tasting,” says Joe Bous-

Move over Napa, inVermont you can tour breweries by mountain bike, canoe to a winery, or visit seven world-class distillers, brewers and cider houses in a five-mile stretch. quet, who works for Stowe Aviation, the airport out of Morrisville. No wonder: Within a 12-minute drive of that airport are tasting rooms for Green Mountain Distillers, Rock Art, Lost Nation, the Alchemist, von Trapp, Idletyme, Stowe Cider and Lost Nation.

Outfitters such as Umiak now offer beer tours. Across the mountains in Jeffersonville, you can do a “Water and Wine” tour, with Vermont Canoe and Kayak where you end up at Boyden Farms Winery after drifting down the Lamoille River. In Middlebury, in just five miles you can visit tasting rooms for Lincoln Peak Winery, Woodchuck Cider, Otter Creek and Drop In brewers as well as distillers Appalachian Gap, Stonecutter Spirits and Whistle Pig—and the chamber of commerce offers chauffeured tours of all seven.

This summer, even more tasting rooms are coming online. In Stowe, the Alchemist (maker of Heady Topper) plans to open in July and von Trapp Brewing is putting the

FIND OUR FAVORITE LOCAL RECIPES AT VTSKI+RIDE. COM/DRINKS

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u Named “Vermont’s Best Bartender,” Matt Farkas carries on the craft he learned from his father who has tended bar at Bromley for decades. His favorite summer recipe, a Barr Hop, is below.

BARR HOP 2 oz Barr Hill Gin 1 oz Cocchi Americano 1 oz grapefruit juice .5 oz ginger syrup Add ingredients and ice to a 12 oz beer tulip. Top with a Vermont IPA. Garnish a grapefruit twist

finishing touches on its bierhalle. Lawson’s Finest is moving out of the Lawson family garage in Warren and into a new brewery and tasting room in Waitsfield, hopefully by 2018.

Sean Lawson who is the president of the Vermont Brewers Association notes that Vermont’s breweries drew 1.5 million visitors to their locations in 2014, with over 1.2 million people coming from out-state.

Beer tours have become so popular the Vermont Brewers’ Association has created the Vermont Brewery Challenge. To take it, you pick up a “passport” at any participating brewery or brew pub, at the Vermont Brewers Festival (July 15-16 in Burlington) or print it at www. vermontbrewers.com. Visit a brewery, stamp your passport

Vermont’s Best Bartender

If you’ve ever had a knock-your-socks-off cocktail at Bromley Mountain, you can probably thank Steve Farkas. And if you’ve ever had one at the Mule Bar in Winooski, Steve’s son Matt probably created it.

Both men were on hand for the 2016 Bartender of the Year competiton this past April in Killington: Matt to compete, Steve to cheer his son on.

As the clock ticked and a dozen of Vermont’s top bartenders shook and stirred their concoctions in the final round, the younger Farkas worked with the odd mixture of ingredients in the “mystery bag” competitors were handed: white miso, cinnamon toast, tango tangerines and Smuggler’s Notch Litigation Wheat Whiskey—as well as anything else he chose to add. Farkas stirred in Campari, strawberries, sage and grapefruit juice; and named it “Father and Son.” When the judges announced that “Father and Son” was the winner,

and if you collect stamps from all 34 and mail in the passport you can win prizes.

Now, Vermont distillers are doing the same with designated stops at more than 18 distilleries around the state. “We used to be able to say we stocked beer from every craft brewery in Vermont and most of the local spirits” says Cameron Keitel, food and beverage manager of Burlington’s Hotel Vermont. “But with more than 40 really good breweries out there and new brands of spirits coming on almost weekly, that’s getting tougher.”

Recently, Keitel worked with Silo Distillers out of Windsor to make a house line of spirits made from locally-grown corn and rye. The grains are fermented, stripped of alcohol and then fed back to local pigs and cows—a true example of “grain to glass.”

Keitel has also been working to raise the profile of Vermont’s top mixologists and presides over the Vermont Bartender’s Guild. Last April 12, he organized the second annual Vermont Bartender of the Year competition, which brought together 12 of the state’s top mixologists, Vermont spirits and creative cocktail addons such as the aromatic flavor mists created by Vermont’s Alice and the Magician. (The event, sponsored

by VT SKI + RIDE was open to the public) Matt Farkas, a second generation bartender was there (see “Vermont’s Best Bartender”). Looking around the room as the event unfurled— tables lined with made-inVermont spirits, bartenders furiously shaking and guests milling around—he noted, “It’s a really good time for mixology in Vermont. —L. Lynn

Steve Farkas had tears in his eyes. “I’ve been a bartender at Bromley since I can remember,” said Steve. “Matt grew up there, he’s an amazing snowboarder. I taught him to bartend and now he’s teaching me.”

A brand ambassador for Caledonia Spirits (maker of Barr Hill gin), Farkas admits he’d never make a drink like that outside of a competition (the ingredients are just “too weird.”) “I’m a firm believer in understanding the classics, using what we can learn from history and applying our modern accessibility to a gajillion more products. Right now, the door is wide open to explore so many new flavor profiles and presentations of cocktails.”

As for his favorite cocktail? “It changes by the minute,” he says. “I like to think seasonally and right now I’m really into aperitivo style cocktails you can sip in the sun and enjoy plentifully without over indulging.”

And, he willingly shares one he calls, appropriately Barr Hop (see recipe above.) Bottom’s up!

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Local Heros ROLLING ON STRONG Ten years after a ski racing accident left her in a wheelchair, Kelly Brush is riding, surfing, skiing and changing the lives of others.

KELLY BRUSH AGE: 29 OCCUPATION: Nurse practitioner. CLAIM TO FAME: Has helped the Kelly Brush Foundation raise more than $2.5 million to improve the lives of people with spinal cord injuries. LIVES IN: Charlotte, Vt.

Kelly Brush rolls through the farmland of Addison County and, above right, with her daughter, Dylan.

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ast spring, Kelly Brush Davisson achieved one of her life

goals: to ski Tuckerman’s Ravine. This past May, she achieved another: She gave birth to her daughter, Dylan.

Ten years ago, those goals might have been different.They might have been to be an All-American skier at Middlebury College. They might have been to do a lot of things. But on January 18, 2006, in a matter of seconds a clock can never count, her life changed.

“I don’t remember anything until I woke up from surgery,” Brush recalls. “I had a tube down my throat and everyone was there. ‘You hurt your back,’ was all my dad said, and we’re going to figure it out.”

Her father, Charlie Brush skied for Middlebury and later coached skiing and football there. Kelly’s mother, Mary Seaton Brush,was a World Cup ski racer and competed in the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics.

Kelly’s sister Lindsay was on the Middlebury ski team.

Kelly was dating Middlebury skier Zeke Davisson.They were both at Jiminy Peak racing in the Williams Winter Carnival.

When Zeke heard what had happened—Kelly had caught an edge, spun backwards, catapulted into a lift stanchion and then off the trail— he rushed to the scene. “Her helmet had shattered and blown off. She was barely conscious, and her breathing was irregular,” he remembers.

She had a collapsed lung, four broken ribs, a broken vertebrae in her back and a spinal fracture.

Kelly’s spinal cord injury left her paralyzed from the waist down, confining her to a wheelchair. But in 10 years, that’s not stopped her from cycling (on a hand cycle), playing, tennis, surfing (“it’s more like boogie-boarding,” she admits), sailing, or skiing, with Zeke’s help, Tuckerman’s Ravine a year ago.

“I honestly don’t think my life is very different than if I hadn’t had my accident,” she says. “I would not have started the foundation but everything else, I just do.”

That foundation though, thanks in large part ot the money raised through the Kelly Brush Ride, has changed the lives of hundreds of others with spinal cord injuries. “That year our ski coach, Forest Carey, told us each to go out and raise $1,000 and we’d do a century ride for Kelly in the fall,” Zeke remembers. “About 25 of us rode 100 miles.” Instead of raising $25,000, the team raised $60,000. That initial money went to help pay for a hand cycle and sit-ski, which costs about $12,000.

A year later, Kelly and her family set up the Kelly Brush Foundation and the Kelly Brush Ride drew hundreds of cyclists and raised more than $100,000. In the years since, the ride has regularly drawn 600 to 700 cyclists, including about two dozen hand cyclists who ride anywhere from 25 to 100 miles.

After the accident, Kelly spent a week in the ICU and then two months at the Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver, Co. After six weeks, she tried a hand cycle. “That was the first time she felt the wind in her hair and she could feel like an athlete again,” Zeke says.

Since then, Kelly and the foundation have been working to bring that feeling to others. In 2012 she and Zeke were married and in 2015 Zeke left his job as an attorney to run the foundation. This spring, Kelly finished nursing school in Maine and the couple moved back to Vermont.

3 GREAT RIDES THAT DO GOOD Sept. 9: Support the Kelly Brush Foundation by joining the Kelly Brush Century Ride out of Middlebury. www.kellybrushfoundation.org.

Aug. 13: The Harpoon Point to Point is a road and mountain bike ride for the Vermont Food Bank, headquartered at Harpoon’s Windsor, Vt. brewery. harpoonpointtopoint. com

So far, the foundation has helped purchase more than 300 pieces of adaptive ski equipment. Grants have gone to people like Kevin McDonald, 41, who fell from a deck. Last winter, using a sit-ski, McDonald was able to ski with his son at KillingJune 25: The Long ton for the first time since the accident.

Trail Century Ride Another grantee is Amber Clark. out of Long Trail’s While Kelly was in the Craig rehab hosBridgewater, Vt. pital, her roommate was Amber Clark. brewery raises funds “It was strange, she had the exact same for Vermont Adapinjury as I did, at the exact same time and tive Ski & Sports. we were about the same age, but that was longtrailcenturyride. where the similarities ended,” Kelly recom calls. Clark, who was working at Subway at the time, had had an accident while tubing. After the women left the hospital, the two lost touch.

“Then one day Amber reached out to me on Facebook,” Kelly says.

“She had gained weight and was out of shape. She now had two sons and told me the hardest part about her accident was not being able to ride with them.” Amber Clark applied and earned a grant that bought her a hand cycle. By riding it she has lost 45 pounds. “She said to me, ‘you know, I was always using my injury as an excuse. Now I see it doesn’t have to be,” Kelly says.

And for Kelly, it hasn’t. “I’ve never once heard Kelly say, ‘oh why me,’ or really dwell on it,” says Zeke. “My sister and Zeke have been my biggest allies,” Kelly says. “They just push me and say, hey were going to find a way to do this.”

That attitude may be something Kelly was born with. In 2013 her parents were snowcat skiing in Chatter Creek, B.C., when an avalanche buried her father. When he was finally dug out, Charlie Brush was blue and not breathing. The guides administered CPR. Brush recovered and was back cat skiing the next day.

“That was pretty surreal,” Kelly recalls. “It’s another reminder that life is pretty precious. And that sometimes we get second chances.”

—L. Lynn

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DRIVING TO WIN

Local Heros

She shoots, she skis, she putts. Chloe Levins is as good on the golf course as she is on skis.

CHLOE LEVINS Age: 17 OCCUPATION: Student, incoming freshman at Middlebury College CLAIM TO FAME 2016 Youth Olympic Games, fourth place in biathlon, 7.5K pursuit. Second-place in 2014 Vermont State Amateur Golf Championship LIVES IN: Rutland, Vt.

T

Photos courtesy Chloe Levins

his past winter, Chloe Levins started the 7.5 K pursuit at the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, in 22nd place—a position based on her finishing time in the sprint. She took off, steadying her body at each of the 20 targets, pulling the trigger, then sprinting on to catch the next skier ahead.

In just 25 minutes the high school senior passed 18 skiers to finish fourth. She not only had the fastest time of any starter, she was the only woman in the field of 49 to hit all 20 targets. In other words, if it had been an even start, Chloe Levins would have won, hands down.

For Chloe, winning is nothing new. Earlier in the year, at the Youth Olympic Trials in Anchorage, Alaska, she won three of her races for an easy spot on the team.

And that’s just biathlon.

In 2014, at the age of 15, Chloe finished second of all women—of any age—in the Vermont State Golf Championships. And she’s won the Vermont state high school championships—twice.

“There are definitely similarities between the two sports,” says Chloe. “I love golf because of the concentration it takes.You really have to be aiming and thinking ahead and it’s physical.”

Both golf and skiing are in Chloe’s blood. Her mother,

Mary Anne Levins, was a three-time All-American golfer at Duke and played on the LPGA tour. Since then, she has been the chair of the Bill Koch Nordic league throughout New England and coaches golf. She had Chloe out skiing when she was two. “And I think I was golfing pretty soon after that,” says Chloe,with a laugh.

“Mom always made training fun for us,” Chloe recalls. It was Mary Anne Levins who helped organize what became the largest paintball biathlon event in the country at Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden, Vt. and got the Rutland high school team really going.

Chloe has had plenty of other role models in her family as well. Her father, Jim, skied for Middlebury College’s alpine team and her two older siblings, Jimmy and Keely golf and Nordic ski (respectively) for Middlebury as well.

“Vermont’s kind of a big playground for us,” Chloe says.

“I love that we have these really challenging courses we can play all summer and then can go out and ski all winter.”

This fall, Chloe will head to Middlebury College as

At age 15 Chloe Levins was already one of the top women golfers in the state. At 17, she’s one of the top biathletes in the country.

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u well, where she’ll ski, golf and study anatomy and physiology, with a focus on neuroscience. “It’s going to be a challenge to train for biathlon and do all that at once,” she says. And this summer? Chloe laughs: “I’m just going to have fun and play a lot of golf.” —L. Lynn

Sugarbush’s holes #3 and #4 are among the more challenging in the state.

CHLOE LEVINS’ FIVE FAVORITE HOLES Rutland Country Club, #14

If I had to pick one hole as my favorite it would be Number 14. Besides the gorgeous view of Killington and Pico from the upper tee box, this 350-yard, par 4 demands accuracy. Visually, the tee shot is massive with bunkers and a rock outcropping on the right and a hazard on the left. This hole’s narrow green is bordered by a steep slope on the right and thick rough of the left. Missing this green jeopardizes your chance of making par.

Sugarbush Resort, #4

This hole (shown in photo above) is an extremely difficult hole. Trees and bunkers are in perfect range of many drives but the decision to lay up or not to lay up is one of the mental challenges of golf I most thoroughly enjoy. Laying up makes the approach shot to this hole’s elevated green even more challenging.

Burlington Country Club, #10

This long and challenging par 3 with an elevated tee is one of my favorites in the state. A large bunker wraps around the left side of the green and the right-toleft and back-to-front sloping green force you to place your ball on the right side of the green, while avoiding the tricky pop-bunker.

Neshobe Golf Club, # 5.

The lush grass, pastures, and rolling fairway of Neshobe remind me of Scotland.

This short par 5 is straightforward and has a large sloping green. For long hitters who can hit the green in two, this is a great birdie option.

Manchester Country Club, #14

This is a beautiful hole: the fairway undulates from tee to green and is riddled with bunkers. The slight dog-leg left plays perfectly for my natural shot. Good placement of the tee shot is crucial to hit the green where you want to.

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Public/ Private

# of Holes

Town

Phone

Website

Basin Harbor Club

Public

18 Holes

Vergennes

800-622-4000

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Blush Hill Country Club

Public

9 Holes

Waterbury

802-244-8974

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Bomoseen Golf Club

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Bomoseen

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Cedar Knoll Country Club

Public

27 Holes

Hinesburg

802-482-3186

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Enosburg Falls Country Club

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18 Holes

Enosburg Falls

802-933-2296

www.efccvt.com

Green Mountain National Golf Club

Public

18 Holes

Killington

802-422-6700

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Manchester Country Club

Private

18 Holes

Manchester Ctr

802-362-3148

www.mccvt.com

Montpeiler Elks Country Club

Public

9 Holes

Montpelier

802-223-7457

www.montpelierelkscc.com

Mt. Anthony Country Club

Public

18 Holes

Bennington

802-442-2617

www.mtanthonycc.com

North eld Counrty Club

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9 Holes

North eld

802-485-4515

www.north eldcountryclub.com

Ralph Myhre Golf Course

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18 Holes

Middlebury

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www.ralphmyhregolfcourse.com

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18 Holes

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www.golfstjcc.com

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9 Holes

Stamford

802-694-9144

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Stowe Country Club

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18 Holes

Stowe

802-253-4849

www.stowe.com

Sugarbush Golf Club

Public

18 Holes

Warren

800-53-sugar

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The Links at Lang Farm

Public

18 Holes

Essex Junction

802-878-0298

www.linksatlangfarm.com

On the shores of Lake Champlain, the Basin Harbor Club Golf Course is a hidden gem. With well-manicured fairways and challenging greens, we pride ourselves on our exceptional condition. Our layout includes several shorter par 3’s and longer par 4’s, it's a great golf experience for people of all ages and skill levels. A multi-tier grass tee driving range and short game practice facility round out our prime golf offerings.

The Stowe Country Club is open daily to the public and is one of Stowe Mountain Resort's two 18 hole championship golf courses. The resort's second facility, the exclusive Stowe Mountain Club Course, is available to overnight guests of Stowe Mountain Lodge. Stay & Play packages are available for both golf experiences.

Golfing at its best in the Green Mountains. Daily & Season-Long rates available.

You Belong Here.

Manchester Country Club is located on some of the most beautiful countryside in Southern Vermont.

Founded in 1967, the course was originally designed by Geoffrey Cornish of Amherst, Ma. Our challenging yet rewarding design can be enjoyed by golfers of all skill levels. Currently offering Full Access, Non-Resident, Under 40, Limited Access, and Tennis Memberships.

Out of town guests also have course access by staying with one of our local Inn Partners.

www.basinharbor.com | 800-622-4000

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KINGDOM TRAILS Banking on buffed singletrack, a rider carves through a forest of ferns at one

Photo by Ryan Thibault

of the more than 100 miles of trails in the Kingdom Trails network.

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A soft loamy trail that rips down a ski mountain under a canopy of pines. A technical stretch carved through granite and hardwood roots.

Wide open pastures with blazingly fast doubletrack. Berms, drops, ladder bridges and table tops. Mountain bikers dream of riding trails like these. For those of us lucky enough to call Vermont our home, a second home, weekend getaway or family retreat, this is our backyard.

It may be one of the smallest states in the Union, but Vermont deserves its reputation as the premier mountain bike destination in the northeast. From Kingdom Trails’ 100-mile network that traverses high, open fields and snakes through forests near Burke Mountain, to the downhill courses Mount Snow has been developing for over 20 years, no Eastern state can lay claim to as much terrain or as much variety as Vermont.

And this year, much of that terrain is growing.

“It’s an exciting time for the sport here,” says Tom Stuessy, president of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association. Over the past two years, VMBA has worked with chapters around the state to grow the trail network. Last year, statewide membership grew by over 1,000, nine new chapters came online and volunteers logged some 20,000 hours to develop over 25 miles of new trails.

“This year, more than ever, we’re seeing VMBA chapters collaborating to expand and connect their networks,” says Stuessy. This summer, 18 of VMBA’s 26 chapters will be developing new trails on private land. “They’re doing so in ways that stay true to the sport’s roots but can also build a gateway to mountain biking for those fortunate enough to visit Vermont,” says Stuessy.

With the addition of 2,000 new acres to Camel’s Hump State Park this spring, the dream of connecting trails around Waterbury, Stowe and the Mad River Valley is tantalizingly close to a reality.

It may not be long before there will be a virtual corridor of singleand doubletrack runs between the ski towns that dot Route 100. It may be possible, soon, to ride from Stowe to Sugarbush to Killington and perhaps even down to Mount Snow without riding pavement.

Already, plans are in the works to connect the Green Mountain Trails in Pittsfield with new trails around the town of Killington. Killington Resort recently announced its intent to become the “Mountain Bike Capital of the East,” and is adding nine more miles of downhill trails this summer.

Vermont also boasts one of the most jam-packed mountain bike calendars in the northeast with two fat tire festivals and two different race series making stops herethis summer.The weekend of June 17-19, the New England Mountain Bike Association returns to the Kingdom Trails in Burke.

Please help support Vermont’s trails by joining your local chapter of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association and contributing to trail fees, where they’re requested. For more information and where to find a state-wide trail map, visit vmba.org

Then, on July 22-24 VMBA will host its fourth annual Vermont Mountain Bike Fest at Sugarbush’s Mount Ellen area. It’s an opportunity to introduce riders to the Mad River Valley and the trails the Mad River Riders have been working hard on developing.

If you really want to push your pedals and test skills (or just watch some of the best riders in the East), check out the Eastern Cup Series or Root 66 Race Series, which are making stops at Mount Snow, Killington, Sugarbush and Burke. The Eastern States Cup is a downhill and enduro race series with prize purses. If gravity-fed racing isn’t your thing, Root 66 is a cross-country race series with stops at the Catamount Outdoor Family Center in Williston and the Coyote Hill Camp in Bradford.

You don’t need an event or an excuse to get out there. Stop by your local bike shop or check out vmba.org to find a group ride. And follow or guide to the best trail networks in the state, from north to south.

1. KINGDOM TRAILS Mountain bikers from all over the country now make pilgrimages to ride the expansive 100-mile network that is Kingdom Trails in East Burke. It’s easy to see why: local favorites like Heaven’s Bench flow through open fields with stunning views of Willoughby Gap, while the black diamond classic Sidewinder has slingshot turns and stomach-turning drops. Swing

by Kingdom Trails’ Darling Hill headquarters for a day pass ($15) and while you’re in the area, check out the 19 lift-accessed downhill trails at Burke Mountain Resort, built in cooperation with Kingdom Trails.

MORE INFO: kingdomtrails.com. Must ride: Sidewinder, Kitchel, Troll Stroll, Burn’em Down, Knight Slayer. Après-bike: Burritos from the Vermont Food Truck Company at Mike’s Tiki Hut. Local shops: East Burke Sports (East Burke), Village Sports (Lyndonville). Don’t miss: New England Mountain Biking Festival, June 17-19.

2. STOWE One of the early leaders in Vermont’s growing mountain bike movement, the Stowe Mountain Bike Club maintains a stellar network of 31 miles of fun, flowy trails at Adams Camp (near Stowe Mountain Resort’s Nordic trails), Cady Hill (in the center of town) and Sterling Forest (on the Morrisville border). You can connect all of these without hitting much pavement and then, for even more mileage, buy a $10 day pass and head out on nearly 20 miles (and growing) of trails at the Trapp Family Lodge. Trapp’s also has a fleet of more than 50 rental bikes and this spring TopNotch Resort has added trails that connect to the entire network.

MORE INFO: Stowemountainbike.com Must-ride: Zog’s, Snake, Pipeline.

Après-bike: Local brews and Pizza Margherita at Piecasso, pork tacos at Doc Ponds, a brew at von Trapp Brewing. Local shops: IRide, Mansfield Cycles. Don’t Miss: Bikes, Bevs & Beats (B3) Festival (June 10), or fall’s Leaf Blower Classic in mid-September.

3. WATERBURY Down the road from the Ben & Jerry’s headquarters in Waterbury is something just as sweet; nine miles of singletrack at Waterbury’s Perry Hill area. After a day riding the rocky switchbacks of Burning Spear and the loamy pine forests of Camp Fire, mountain bikers will soon be able

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to whip turns on a new pump track scheduled for completion this summer—or retire to Prohibition Pig, Cork or The Reservoir for the après ride scene, all within pedalling distance. The Waterbury Area Trails Alliance (WATA) has also finished the first phase of a plan to bring more mountain biking to neighboring Little River State Park, the first step toward connecting Waterbury with the Stowe Mountain Bike Club’s Cottonbrook trails to the north.

4. MILLSTONE TRAILS The Millstone Trail Network weaves through the historic marble and granite quarries of Barre and Websterville. You’ll ride past toppled derricks and stacks of cut granite and along deep, dark pools of water

MORE INFO: millstonetrails.org Must-ride: The Angry Gnome, TNT, Harrington Heights, and Fellowship Ring. Après-bike: The Quarry Grill and Tavern, Ladder 1 Grill. Local shop: Onion River Sports in Montpelier. Don’t miss: Millstone Relay, July 30.

Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

MORE INFO: Waterburytrail.com Must-ride: Burning Spear, Joe’s, Rastaman. Après-bike: Local brews and pork cracklin’s at Prohibition Pig. Local shop: Waterbury Sports.

(the site of many summer swim parties). Just off I-89 in north central Vermont, the trails are located in three areas: the Barre Town Forest, Gnome Man’s Land and Canyonlands. At 400 acres, the Barre Town Forest is the largest and includes multiple loops with appealing trails for novice mountain bikers. Gnome Man’s Land has more advanced terrain, with trails like Harrington Heights, Harrington Ridge and Vortex that feature bridgework, narrow ridges, exposed granite and enough slippery roots to keep you focused. If you still have energy to burn, play a round on the Millstone Disc Golf course. While in the area, you can also check out Montpelier’s trails—North Branch Park in Montpelier and the East Montpelier trails—and Irish Hill in Berlin.

MILLSTONE

More fun than a game of Chutes & Ladders are the drops and bridges that weave among the ancient granite quarries at the Millstone Trails.

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MOUNT SNOW

You no longer have to be a pro to go

lightning fast on Mount Snow’s downhill trails: New intermediate trails

5. CHITTENDEN COUNTY/FOTW TRAILS In the towns surrounding Burlington, Hinesburg and Winooski, the Fellowship Of The Wheel (FOW) maintains seven pods of trails each with their own unique style and difficulty. Novices head to the 20 miles of the Catamount Outdoor Family Center (a day pass costs $8) for both rolling pasture and woodland terrain, or to the Richmond River Trail along the banks of the Winooski River. For the advanced, there is Essex’s Saxon Hill with its smooth and flowy singletrack and jump trails. The 30 miles of trails at Huntington’s Sleepy Hollow climb to views of the Green Mountains before descending to Hinesburg Town Forest. Or, take a spin on the Carse Hills trails with freeride elements including rock faces, jumps and wooden features.

Options abound and it’s all good.

MORE INFO: FOTWheel.org. Must-ride: Henry’s Highlands, Preacher.

Après-bike: Skinny Pancake (Burlington), Hinesburg Publick House.

Local shops: Earl’s Cyclery, Outdoor Gear Exchange, Ski Rack.

6. MAD RIVER VALLEY Over the past four years, riders in the Mad River Valley have been building out what might be the near-perfect beginner and intermediate trails

around Blueberry Lake. Trails like Tootsie Roll, Suki’s Alley, Lenord’s and Flying Squirrel follow gentle doubletrack near and around the pristine lake (also a good spot for a paddle or a swim). More advanced riders can start from American Flatbread and challenge themselves on local favorites such as Revolution, GS and Cyclone.

New this summer, a 1.4-mile connector trail called Evolution will continue across from the classic Revolution trail for a flowy, intermediate ride on banked turns.

This spring, the state of Vermont and the Trust For Public Land announced the addition of some 2,000 acres to the Camel’s Hump State Forest.The area, known as the Dowsville Headwaters, lies on the northeast shoulder of Camel’s Hump. This addition was welcome news for mountain bikers: you can now access seven miles of dirt roads and singletrack trails in the easement. The area also creates the opportunity to link trails in the Mad River Valley and Waterbury.

MORE INFO: Madriverriders.com Must-ride: Revolution, Cyclone, Chain Gang. Après-bike: American Flatbread at Lareau Farm. Local shop: Stark Mountain Bike Works in Waitsfield. Don’t miss: VMBA Fest at Sugarbush’s Mount Ellen, July 22-24.

Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

don’t require full body armor.

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GOING DOWNHILL, FAST The upside of a short winter? By Memorial Day many of Vermont’s resorts were ready for downhill riding and trails were dry and fun. At the following resorts, you can rent all the gear you need (full-suspension bikes, protective equipment and more), buy a lift pass and spend the day on some hair-raising descents.

A. Burke

Built in cooperation with neighboring Kingdom Trails, Burke Mountain’s legendary downhill network features man-made and natural features best tasted at high speed. Whip around bermed turns and ride up walls on favorites like Knightslayer, Dead Moose Alley and the J-Bar trail. Novice downhillers can develop their skills on Shire and Roly Grail—with views to Willoughby Gap and Jay Peak. It’s no surprise that Burke has been named one of the top five mountain bike parks in the Northeast.

MORE INFO: burke.com. Must ride: Knightslayer, Jester, J Bar. Après-bike: Sandwiches at Tamarack Sports Bar and Grille. Local shops: East Burke Sports, Village Sports. Don’t miss: New England Mountain Biking Festival, June 17-19.

B. Smugglers’ Notch

One of Vermont’s most family-friendly ski areas offers a two-acre downhill skills park with 350 feet of vertical drop. Ride a magic carpet up, then test your skills on two flow trails, a rock garden and a jump line. For those looking to learn, the mountain offers clinics for kids, families and a parkskills clinic. The resort has a fleet of full-suspension, hardtails, cruisers and even strider bikes for the littlest riders. In addition to the existing 10 miles of beginner and intermediate doubletrack, trail builders are restoring overgrown downhill trails and plan to connect the resort’s doubletrack and singletrack trails to the Brewster River Mountain Bike Club trails.

D. Killington

There’s no such thing as a summer off at Killington, not while there’s 40 miles of downhill riding across five peaks to be had. The higher you go on the mountain, the more advanced the trails, with beginner and intermediate terrain located near the Snowshed area. The lines are steep and the trails slash in and out of woods on trails designed by British Columbia trail builders Gravity Logic. This summer, Killington plans to bring downhill riding to the Ramshead area with an additional nine miles of trails. The first three trails at the Ramshead area include a 1.13 mile-long trail, which will be used for pro races, a 2.29 mile-long intermediate flow trail and a 2.15 mile-long trail with large jump features for advanced riders. A pump track and a strider bike course for small children are also planned.

MORE INFO: killington.com. Must ride: Scarecrow, Gambler, Kon Tiki.

Après-bike: The Foundry, Lookout Tavern. Local shops: Alpine Bike Works, The Basin. Don’t miss: Vittoria Eastern States Cup Series, July 3.

E. Okemo

Okemo made its first foray into lift-accessed riding last summer with four miles of downhill trails within easy reach of the main base area.

These trails cater to beginner and intermediate riders as they weave in and out of pockets of forests from the top of Quad A to the bottom.

These trails are suited for a variety of mountain bikes (no full suspension downhill rig needed here), making them perfect for any rider looking to start easy, or to develop skills before moving on to harder terrain.

MORE INFO: smuggs.com. Must ride: Dale’s Trail, West Woodrun, Watson’s Wanderer. Après-bike: Barbeque at Brewster River Pub & Brewery.

Local shop: Smugglers’ Notch’s MTB Park & Bike Shop.

MORE INFO: okemo.com. Must ride: The Spur, Black Eyed Katy. Aprèsbike: Mojo Café in Ludlow, and burgers at the Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners. Local shop: Mountain Cycology in Ludlow.

C. Sugarbush

F. Mount Snow

sugarbush.com. Must ride: Domino Chute, Burly Maple.

Après-bike: The Timbers and Castlerock Pub Local shop: Stark Mountain Bike Works. Don’t miss: VMBA Fest at Mount Ellen, July 22-24.

MORE INFO: mountsnow.com. Must ride: Trails 3, 9, 10. Après-bike: Pizzas and small-batch brews at Pizzapalooza & Beer Naked Brewery in Wilmington. Local shop: Mount Snow Sports. Don’t miss: Eastern States Cup Downhill Race, July 9-10.

Accessed by the Super Bravo Express Quad, Sugarbush’s 37 mountain biking trails weave in and out of the woods on narrow singletrack. With sweeping views of the Mad River Valley, the 18 miles of trails include long, technical descents and freeride features. You can challenge yourself on the trails at Lincoln Peak or sign up for a learn-to-ride clinic for youth and adult riders.

With Sugarbush’s First-Timer to Life-Timer Mountain Bike Program, if you complete three lessons, you’ll earn a free season’s pass to the resort’s bike trails. Don’t miss the Vermont Mountain Bike Association’s annual festival at Mount Ellen (July 22-24) or the pros in action at Sugarbush during the Eastern States Cup enduro and downhill races on August 21.

MORE INFO:

Vermont’s southernmost ski area was among the first to welcome mountain biking. After years of hosting elite-level NORBA races, the resort’s 12-mile trail system continues to challenge all types of riders. For cross country riders, Trail 3 is a technical race loop with a work road climb that leads to an advanced singletrack descent through the forest. Downhill riders use the Canyon Express to access popular trails like Trail 7. At 2.5 miles long, it’s among the longest novice downhill trails in the East.

For the daring, Trail 9, with its large jumps and steep berms gives you a chance to let off the brakes and fly.

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STOWE

Right in the heart of Stowe is one of the best-maintained trail networks in the state, Cady Hill’s Town Loops.

7.ROCHESTER/RANDOLPH/MIDDLEBURY When they’re not building and maintaining a stash of backcountry skiing glades in the forests around Rochester and Braintree, the men and women of the Rochester Area Sports Trail Alliance are out on their bikes. This summer, RASTA will be working on the Wellness Trails, a network of three loops totaling approximately three miles behind the Rochester Ranger Station on Route 100 near the village. The Wellness Trails will comprise a fun, flowy beginner/intermediate trail network that climbs and loops up to a ridge overlooking the White River valley. Over the Greens to the east, RASTA is contributing funds and volunteer hours to help build a pump track near the new playground in Randolph village this summer. And to the west (a 30-minute drive), 14-mile Chandler Ridge trail in the Moosalamoo area provides views to the Adirondacks, Lake Dunmore and Silver Lake. RASTA has also been working on new singletrack trails to be located close to the Randolph town center as well as adjacent private landowner parcels.

MORE INFO: Rastavt.org. Must-ride: Come back and ride the Wellness trails when they’re finished later this summer. Après-bike: Freshmade breads and soups at Sandy’s Books & Bakery (until 3 p.m.). Local shop: Green Mountain Bikes in Rochester.

B. Smuggler’s Notch A. Burke 3. Stowe 4. Waterbury 5. FOTW 6. Millstone 7. Mad River Valley C. Sugarbush 7. Rochester 8. Pine Hill 9. Pittsfield/Killington D. Killington E. Okemo 10. Ascutney F. Mount Snow CROSS COUNTRY NETWORKS RESORT DOWNHILL* * See Sidebar on previous page

MORE INFO: gmtrails.org Must-ride: Warman, Fuster’s Trail, Summit Loop. Après-bike: House-smoked meats and BBQ Pittsfield General Store; Jax, Moguls and Lookout Tavern in Killington. Local shops: Alpine Bike Works, The Basin, both in Killington. Don’t miss: Peak Races at Amee Farm, Pittsfield; and Killington resort’s races and biking events.

9. PINE HILL, RUTLAND Located within pedaling distance of downtown Rutland, Pine Hill Park has something for riders of all abilities with 16 miles of winding, forested trails spread over 325 acres. For a mellow and historic ride, follow the Carriage Trail, a former road that connected Rutland and Proctor in the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s 5.1 miles long and has views of ponds, beaver dams and forests. This is a terrific area and one of the first developed bike parks in the state.

Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

1. Kingdom Trails

8. PITTSFIELD /KILLINGTON For the past few years, trail networks have been growing in the Pittsfield/Stockbridge area like mushrooms, thanks in large part to the folks behind Green Mountain Trails. On Thursday nights, group rides leave from behind the white barn at Riverside Farm and explore what has become a well-maintained network of 25 miles of trails. There are more than 100 bermed switchbacks, gentle climbs and some high-speed downhills. For an incredible view, stop at Shrek’s Cabin—an old stone cabin at the top with 100-mile views out over the mountains. And if you are lucky, the pizza oven at trailmaster Matt Baatz’s Muddy Hut (a rustic trailside campground he’s carefully built in the forest), will be firing after the Thursday ride. Just 8 miles down the road, the town of Killington received a $50,000 grant to start work on a planned 15-mile network of trails around Kent’s Pond. And there’s a long-term goal to connect the town trails, the resort and Pittsfield’s network.

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MORE INFO: pinehillpark.org Must ride: Voldemort, Sisyphus, Birches. Après-bike: Buffalo chicken sandwich and local brews at Hop’n Moose Brewery in Rutland. Local shop: Green Mountain Cyclery Don’t miss: Droopy Pedal Mountain Bike Race, June 20.

Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

10. ASCUTNEY Last year, thanks to the work of the Trust for Public Land, the town of West Windsor succeeded in adding the 469-acre former Ascutney Ski Area to the town forest. A new organization, Mount Ascutney Outdoors, is now tasked with maintaining recreation options in the area including 30 miles of trails on the former resort prop-

erty and a ski rope tow it opened this past winter. This year, Sport Trails of the Ascutney Basin will start work on a connector trail to the nearby Mount Ascutney State Park, which means you can camp at the park and then ride over to the trails on the mountain and the neighboring STAB network.

MORE INFO: stabvt.org Must ride: Boulder Dash, Cloud Nine, The Grassy Knoll. Après-bike: Flatbreads at the Riverbend Taps, Beer Garden at the Harpoon Brewery in nearby Windsor. Local shop: Paradise Sports in Windsor. Don’t miss: The Vermont 50, 50-mile trail ride/ run, September 25.

SUGARBUSH

If you take three two-hour intro clinics at Sugarbush, you earn a free season’s pass to ride up the lifts and down the trails all summer.

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Farm GET A TASTE OF THE OLD WAY OF LIFE ON FARMS

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T

Stays

BY LISA LYNN

The magnificent barns at Shelburne Farms have been preserved and now house many of the non-profit’s educational programs.

THAT RANGE FROM THE SIMPLE TO THE SUBLIME. Photo by Sebastian Ventrone

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Liberty Hill Farm

It’s been raining in the quiet valley near Rochester and wisps of fog rise over the White River as it winds through the pastures and cloaks the velvety green mountainsides. A fisherman wades in the river shallows.

Mountain bike trails (part of the RASTA network, see p. 32) snake up behind the white farmhouse and red barn. On Route 100, just down the road, it seems like more bicycles pass than cars.

This is the postcard Vermont scene that’s been wooing guests to Liberty Hill Farm for more than three decades. “We were a farm-stay B&B long before the farm-to-table movement started,” says Beth Kennett. Both she and her husband Bob come from old farming families: their ancestors have been working the New England soil since 1641 on Beth’s side and 1742 on Bob’s.

“Pretty much everything we eat here we grow ourselves or our neighbors grow,” says Beth as she ticks off the names of neighbors up and down the valley who deliver eggs, berries, apples, vegetables and meats to her door.

For the guests who come to stay at the 1825 farmhouse’s seven guest rooms (or in the newly acquired home just down the road), this is a chance to see a working Vermont dairy farm in action. “Guests can do as much or as little as they want,” says Beth. Most everyone who wants to gets a chance to feed bottles to the calves, others can help out with the chores or just kick back on the porch.

“We had a Boy Scout troop here once that wanted to work, so Bob set them out to the field to pick stones.

They never had thought about the fact that this was how the land was cleared, so that fields could be planted, so that cows could be raised, so that they could drink milk. ” Beth recalls. “Later, I got a note from one saying he’d never drink a glass of milk or eat ice cream again without thinking about the work that went into producing that milk. “ At night, Bob and Beth, their son

David, his wife Asia and their young daughter all gather around the farm table for dinner with the guests, which, along with breakfast, is included in the room rate. “It’s something you don’t get to do often at inns or restaurants or even B&Bs. It’s a way for people to learn more about the farm and Vermont,” Beth says. “Ultimately, what I hope people take away is a real connection to where our food comes from.

That’s something that’s been missing in so many people’s lives.”

Rooms are $132 per person ($62 for kids or $75 for teenagers) and include breakfast and dinner. www.libertyhillfarm.com

Shelburne Farms

If you were a Vanderbilt in the late 1800s, had more money than you could spend and a hankering to own a farm in Vermont, what would you do?

In 1886, Dr. William Seward Webb and his wife, Lila Vanderbilt Webb, began thousands of acres in Shelburne on the shores of Lake Champlain with the idea of creating a model farm. They had Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect behind New York’s Central Park, design the estate. Architect Robert Robertson masterminded three barns, including the Breeding Barn, which was, at the time, the largest open-span wooden structure in America. Their own home, comparatively modest, was set on the cliffs looking west over the lake to the Adirondacks, with covered porches to the north and south.

Today, that home has been restored as an inn, open only in the summer. The 24 guest rooms still hold much of the original furniture Beth and Bob Kennet (below) come from a long line of dairy farmers, a tradition they maintain at Liberty Hill Farm (bottom right) where they raise more than 100 Robeth Holsteins as part of the Cabot dairy cooperative. Home-grown heirloom tomatoes (top right), a cozy bedroom (far right) and cooking lessons are some of the treats awaiting guests at Green Mountain Girls Farm. At Shelburne Farms the south wing of the massive Farm Barn (previous spread, and immediate right)) has a Children’s Farmyard where kids can milk a cow, collect eggs, or brush a sheep.

Photos below and bottom left, courtesy Liberty Hill Farm

A

A century ago, when Rudyard Kipling wanted a retreat where he could write The Jungle Book and other stories, he built a home next to what has become one of the foremost heirloom apple orchards in the country. When New York heiress Lila Vanderbilt Webb had a vision for a model farm, she and her husband purchased thousands of acres of pasture and forestland on Lake Champlain. Both of these properties remain working farms. But on top of that, they also offer lodging and classes in sustainable farming, gardening and preparing food.

Around the state, these and more modest farms are both taking in guests and giving them hands-on experiences in how food is produced.

At Vermont’s farm stays/B&Bs you can help with the chores, learn to cook, bake, brew, felt, build a stone wall or make cheese. Or, you can just settle back and enjoy another way of life.

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Photos top left and far right, courtesy Green Mountain Girls Farm; cow, courtesy Shelburne Farms.

and décor, including gilt curtains, four-poster beds and a library of leather-bound books. You can play the piano, wander the formal gardens, recline in an Adirondack chair on the lawn (with a stunning view of the lake and the Adirondacks) or head out for a kayak.

In the afternoon, a cheese board magically appears, featuring Shelburne Farms’ Farmstead Cheddar, produced from the farm’s herd of Brown Swiss cows. Warm loaves of organic bread from the farm’s O Bakery grace the dinner table. On the evening menu you might find pasture-raised lamb or beef, whey-fed pork, organic vegetables and desserts made with the farm’s maple syrup—all produced on the working landscape that surrounds the inn.

The farm itself was turned into a non-profit by the family’s descendants in 1972 and since then Alec Webb and his partner Megan Camp have worked hard to not only keep it as a working landscape but to make it a center for education and a showcase of sustainability. There is not a week that goes by in the summer without some activity or event going on. For adults there are barn tours, bird walks, medicinal plant walks and cheese-making lessons. At the Farm barn, kids can chase the chickens, pet the lambs and cows or sign up for various educational programs.

Yes, the Vanderbilt-Webbs knew how to do things right. And we thank them for that. Rooms are $160 to $525 a night. You can also visit the farm for $8 for adults, $6 for children. www.shelburnefarms.com.

Green Mountain Girls Farm

Scott Farm

From 1892 to 1896 Rudyard Kipling holed himself up in his home “Naulakha” in southern Vermont to write. Naulakha, Hindi for “jewel beyond a price” was designed to vaguely resemble a ship, a long thin structure with Kipling’s study at the prow. There, in the four-bedroom house, he wrote The Jungle Book, Captain Courageous and the Just So Stories. Today the house is owned by The Landmark Trust. It still holds many of the original furnishings including the tub where, Kipling wrote, he “luxuriously parboiled myself in a hot bath knowing I was beholden to no man.”

Today, you can you rent Naulakha, Kipling’s carriage house or any of the three other houses on Landmark Trust’s adjacent 571-acre Scott Farm. With orchards that date back to the early 1800s, the farm is famous for its heirloom apple collection.Resident orchardist Ezekiel Goodband can tell you the history of the more than 110 varieties that are currently cultivated there as he strokes a beard that falls midway down his chest. Goodband has searched abandoned orchards throughout New England and as far as Kazakhstan, the birthplace of apples, for old varieties to cultivate.

Every fall, the farm hosts Heirloom Apple Day (October 11th) where you can taste the varietes, pick your own or sample cider. Plenty of other fruits and berries grow on the farm and throughout the year you can take clinics on topics such as how to make cider, pies, galettes or beer. Scott Farm is also home to The Stone Trust, which holds workshops on restoring and building old dry stone walls (walls with no mortar.)

Naulakha rentals start at $390 a night for the home or $275 for the adjacent carriage house (with three night minimums). There are also three other buildings available. www.scottfarmvermont.com

Photos courtesy Scott Farmns/Landmark Trust

“Are you sure you can’t come down this afternoon? We can put 13 goat kids in your lap,” Mari Omland wheedles over the phone. Omland is a Vermonter, a Williams College graduate, a former Junior National Champion skier and World Cup ski racer. For nearly a decade she worked on Conservation International’s management team and for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

When she adds that I could also milk the goats, learn how to make chèvre, wander the farm to pick my own organic vegetables, or take a class with master butcher Cole Ward (author of Thee Gourmet Butcher’s Guide to Meat) it’s nearly impossible not to book a stay at Green Mountain Girls Farm immediately.

In 2007, Omland and her partner, Laura Olsen, a University of Vermont grad, moved to back to from D.C. to a farm in Northfield just two miles off I-89, about halfway between White River Junction and Burlington. There, they began to raise goats, pigs, chickens and turkeys, organic vegetables, herbs and flowers and run what they call and “omnivore” CSA and a farmstand.

The couple turned the barn into the “Guest House” with an apartment that sleeps up to five. From October through May the Farmhouse Inn, a full house with three bedrooms and a beautiful cook’s kitchen, is also available to rent.

“We often have multi-generational families come stay and we can tailor the farm experience to whatever you want,” says Omland—be that learning to milk a goat or to pick and pickle beets.

Recently, Green Mountain Girls Farm had a family show up with their grandmother’s recipe for sausage. “It worked out beautifully,” says Omland, “We have a meat processing area in the barn and pork in the freezer and were able to collect all the other ingredients from what we grow on the farm.” Rooms are $300 a night for up to five people in the Guest House and $475 a night for up to six in the Farmhouse Inn. www.greenmountaingirlsfarm.com

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At Scott Farm, orchardist Ezekial Goodband (top left) has helped grow and preserve more than 100 varieties of heirloom apples, some grown from seeds he collected around the world. Each fall you can taste them on Heirloom Apple day. The farm is also home to a variety of other fruit trees and berries, which you can enjoy if you rent out Naulakha, the house where Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book. The house still holds much of the original furnishings (below left).

Trevin Farms

Photos courtesy Scott Farmns/Landmark Trust

In three days at Sudbury’s Trevin Farms, Troy Peabody (a trained chefturned-farmer,) can teach you to milk a goat, make chèvre, bake bread, create appetizers, soups and entrees, hitch and drive a draft horse and feed the pigs. In short, you get a taste what farm life in the Champlain Valley is all about.

Or, you can take a short drive over to play the Neshobe golf course, drive or ride a bike to Lake Dunmore, go antiquing in Brandon or see a play in Middlebury. But for most of Trevin Farms’ guests, the farm, the food and, especially, the goats are the main attraction.

Peabody and his partner moved from Cambridge, Massachusetts to the little red farmhouse and began amassing animals nearly a decade ago. Trevin Farms’s 40 acres are now home to more than 50 goats as well as chickens, pigs and draft horses.

The farms’ two-night/three-day cooking class package ($475 per room, double occupancy) includes all instruction and lodging, plus breakfasts and one dinner prepared by Peabody. The three bedrooms are beautifully appointed, one with a crystal chandelier and another has a four-poster bed.

Yes, this is a working farm but it’s a lovely one. Room rates start at $110 a night and include breakfast. www.trevinfarms.com

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It was sheep that led Kim and Chuck Goodling to buy Grand View Farm in Washington, just south of Montpelier. “We’d been living in a smaller place and had a few sheep but wanted to expand the herd,” Kim recalls. In 2004 they became the fourth family in 220 years to move onto the farm. The Goodlings not only brought in sheep, but also a border collie and a llama to protect them, pigs and chickens.

But the Gotland sheep are the farm’s pride. Not only do the Goodling’s breed, raise, sheer and sell them, they also use the wool in kniting and felting classes and sell the soft gray yarn via their side business, the Gotland Wool Company.

For those interested, Kim will teach spinning, rug hooking, knitting and weaving. Her guests have ranged from knitwear and fashion designers from New York who wanted to understand where wool comes from, to families who just want to get a taste of farm life.

Guests stay in the Farmhouse Suite’s two bedrooms, with fourposter beds and a small kitchenette. Farm stays are $170-$180 a night for 2 or $240-$250 a night for 4 and include a country breakfast on weekends. www.grandviewfarmvt.com.

Set on a hillside in central Vermont, Grand View Farm is more than 220 years old.

Today the Farmhouse Suite has been restored with beautiful antiques and guests sleep in four-poster beds. The Goodling’s prized flock of Gotland sheep are an endless source of amusement that Kim documents in her blog livingwithgotlands.com.

The sheep also provide the wool Kim spins into yarn and sell.

Photo courtesy Grand View Farm.

Grand View Farm

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FRENDLY G

Thanks to a group of pro snowboarders, southern

Snowboard pros Danny Davis (above in black) and Jack Mitrani (in blue) lead the band Twiddle down the hill.

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Y GATHERINGS Vermont now has the grooviest music festival since Woodstock.

BY LISA LYNN

PHOTOS BY ALI KAUKAS

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come on in,” Jack Mitrani says from his doorstep in Burlington.

He grins and gives me a hug.

Jack Mitrani is a hugger. He is also a professional snowboarder, an hilarious filmmaker and videographer, an extreme sports host for ESPN and NBC, a musician sponsored by Martin Guitar and, with Danny Davis, the ringleader behind what may be the grooviest Northeast music festival since Woodstock, the Frendly Gathering.

“I just moved back from California and it feels good to be here in Vermont again,” Jack says as he shows me around his new house. It is stylish and immaculate, set high on the hill with views to Lake Champlain.

In a few weeks Jack will be back near where he grew up in Southern Vermont, camping out on a mountainside with 3,000 of his best Frends. Yes, “Frends,” because as Jack will tell you, “There is no “I” in Frends.”

There ain’t no “I” in Frends And we ride until we die Riding breathing shredding freely brothers blood for life There’s no denying when we roll up on the spot The music’s hot, the drinks are bought, the fun it never stops.

—From “Frends,” by Twiddle and Jack Mitrani Flashback to late June, 2015: A sizable crowd has made the trek to the top of Timber Ridge, the defunct Windham County ski area Mitrani’s friend Tim Walker bought in 2000 and has been reviving.

Twiddle, the Vermont jam-band is playing an acoustic set at the summit. As the band bursts into the “Frends” song, Mitrani and Burton pro Danny Davis grab their instruments and join in, leading a procession back down the mountain.

At the base, there are stages set up, a pond where people are splashing around, an improvised skate park with a ramps and a pipe. Yoga is everywhere. So is tie-dye and twirling. And tents and hammocks, teepees, treehouses and bonfires. In the center of it, Mitrani’s wood-paneled Airstream trailer/ studio “The Frendship” is recording and broadcasting via Skype. And there’s love,

Peace, love and music are the vibe for the weekend. Kids under 12 get in free, it’s BYO alcohol and the event tries to go as green as possible with a ban on plastic bottles.

everywhere there’s a whole lotta love.

“There’s just a really good, mellow vibe here that brings people back each year,” says Mitrani. “That’s kind of the point of the Frendly Gathering.”

Mitrani means that. “In 2010, things were not so good,” he recalls. On Dec. 31, 2009 snowboarder Kevin Pearce was training for the Olympics when he crashed in the halfpipe and suffered a debilitating traumatic brain injury.

Pearce, the son of the Quechee, Vt., glass artist Simon Pearce, had been Mitrani’s best friend and roommate. Mitrani rushed to Pearce’s side after the fall.

“He was my role model. He taught me to work hard, to train hard and to eat healthy. Seeing him crushed was really mind-blowing.“ A few weeks later fellow Olympic team member Danny Davis, another of Mitrani’s closest Frends, fractured his spine in an ATV accident.

Mitrani, Davis and Pearce—along with pro riders Scotty Lago, Keir Dillon and Jack’s brother Luke—had called started calling themselves the “Frends” group. “Even though we rode for different brands and copeted

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WINTER STARTS ON OCTOBER 1 BARGAINS ON 2017 GEAR

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Part of the Frendly manifesto is to “create a ‘we’ generation that is selfless enough to overcome the ‘me’ mentality,” says Mitrani.

The Frendly Gathering strives to do that.

THE 802 SUMMER LINE UP JUNE 11: Sugarbush Brew Grass Festival is the place to taste more than 20 Vermont brews while you listen to bluegrass acts such as Dojo, Pizza Tapes and Mad Mountain Scramblers. Stick around for a 9-hole golf scramble, Sunday. www.sugarbush.com JUNE 16-19: Wanderlust at Stratton is yes, a yoga festival but it also brings in Michael Franti, Daft Punk and a slew of other bands.

Later in the season Stratton will host Strangefolk, Donovan Frankenreiter and The Wailers. www.stratton.com JUNE 23-25: Frendly Gathering at Timber Ridge with Twiddle, Turkuaz, Trevor Hill, Madalia and more. www.frendlygathering.com JULY 22-23 Jay Peak Jeezum Crow Festival. For its third annual festival Jay Peak hosts nine bands in three days, including Dark Star Orchestra, Alejandro Escavedo, Sleepy Man and Aquaeous at its Stateside Amphitheater. On Aug. 12-13 Strangefolk plays and on Sept. 10 Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers come to Jay. www.jaypeak.com SEPT. 17-18 Grand Point North. Grammy-nominated rocker (and Vermonter) Grace Potter headlines both nights of the music fest she started on the Burlington waterfront. The weekend includes performances by more than a dozen other bands including, Guster, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band and Blind Pilot. www.grandpointnorth.com

against each other we were always out there cheering and supporting each other,” Mitrani says. The group drew up a manifesto and 10 “anchors” of friendship they try to live by: Passion, collaboration, mutual accountability, humility, honesty, integrity, inclusivity, selflessness, respect and, of course, revelry.

“The first Frendly Gathering was really a way for all of us just to rally after Kevin’s and Danny’s accidents,” Mitrani explains. The Frends set up a campsite near Mammoth Lakes, Calif., brought their instruments and put out the word. Close to 200 people showed up. The following year, Mitrani improvised a stage, invited the Led Zeppelin cover band Led Zepplica to play and the numbers nearly doubled.

Then Mitrani had an idea.

“Growing up, my brother Luke and I used to go party at Timber Ridge,” he says, referring the defunct ski resort down the road from Mitrani’s home.

“My buddy Chris Walker’s dad had bought the place and he was into having the Gathering there.” Mitrani booked Twiddle and 11 other bands, brought in a mechanical bull, a slip-and-slide and face painting. In 2012, Vermont’s Frendly Gathering was born.

“The guys at Timber Ridge are amazing and they’ve helped us build all sorts of things for the event,” Mitrani says. Ryan Dempsey, the Stowe-based keyboardist for Twiddle confirms this: “We were at this restaurant together in January 2015 and either Jack or Danny said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if you guys played from the trees.’ I thought he was kidding and didn’t really think more about it. Sure enough, six months later, we show up and there are platforms in the trees for us to play from.”

Twiddle has been at every Gathering since 2012 and will be back for 2016, along with national acts such as Boulder’s Big Gigantic, Brooklyn funk band Turkuaz, and Trevor Hall, who now spends part of the year in Vermont and first came to a Gathering as part of the audience.

“You know what’s cool about Frendly Gatherings? There’s no velvet rope.

Performers mingle with the audience like everyone else,” says Dempsey. “The most fun I’ve had there is when I’m out floating in the pond in an inflatable unicorn inner tube or dancing to other acts like everyone else.”

And around him, Jack, Danny, Kevin, Luke, Scotty and Keir—and 3,000 of their Frends—are dancing too.

The 2016 Frendly Gathering is June 23-25 at Timber Ridge inWindham,Vt.Tickets range from $50 for a day pass, to $100 for a day pass with camping, to $250 for a two-day pass with RV parking. www.frendlygathering.com

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EIGHT OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL INNS IN THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE

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Romantic, luxurious and affordable bed & breakfast catering to couples getaways. Restaurant offers outstanding farm to table cuisine and cozy Irish-style pub. Great value — FULL gourmet breakfast, afternoon sweets, gratuities and free WI-FI included. Enjoy zipline adventures, ATV tours, kayaking, bike & hike trails, inroom massage, and more. It’s all here.

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Situated on 2,500 acres in beautiful Stowe, Vermont, Trapp Family Lodge is a unique mountain resort featuring Austrian-inspired architecture and Europeanstyle accommodations. Our Lodge offers stunning mountain views, old-world comforts, and impeccable service, along with activities for every season.

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Mendon, VT 802-775-2290 redcloverinn.com

Quiet location with beautiful gardens in central Vermont, beside Sugarbush golf & ski resort, close to hiking on the Long Trail, mountain biking trails and more, with many excellent restaurants and attractions nearby.

Craft beer | Single malt Scotch | Complimentary EV charging

The Red Clover Inn offers intimate, stylish lodging conveniently located between Killington & Pico mountains. A haven for foodies, the acclaimed on-site restaurant and bar feature fresh farm-to-table Vermont ingredients, a well stocked wine cellar, and local spirits and brews. Complete your getaway with fine dining and relaxing in your jacuzzi suite. sponsored content

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INNS OF VERMONT

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The Grey Fox Inn is in a prime location in Stowe. On ountain Road the Grey Fox Inn is within walking distance to Stowe Village and five miles from the t ansfield ski resort. The Little River runs through the far end of our acre property as does the popular Stowe Recreation Path — a 5 mile paved trail that winds along the Little River from Stowe Village.

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Serving hard to find Vermont craft brews with our evening snack, join us for a luxurious stay at ed& reakfast.com’s est Inn for eer Lovers. Featuring local and sustainable ingredients, enjoy a leisurely three-course breakfast or let us pack a creative boxed meal so you can hit the trails early. Free high speed WiFi, safe indoor storage, ample parking for a gear trailer or two, and free local trail info.

The Inn at Round arn welcomes you year-round.

Waitsfield 802-496-6002 canteencreemee.com

Canteen Creemee Co., is a modern Vermont snack bar. Executive Chef Charlie enard drives the menu at this fast food spot with locally sourced fried chicken, burgers, hand-cut fries and creemees, as well as vertical sundaes with a modern twist. e sure to try a little oney oo oo — honey soft serve in a salted wa e cone filled with housemade strawberry rhubarb preserves, topped with strawberry dust. Opening ay 20 6 Village Square Shopping Center.

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(802) 496-7162 www.westhillbb.com

Nine unique guest rooms, really comfortable beds, delicious breakfasts, large common areas, and a wine cellar, great selection of local beers and single malt scotch bar. Next door to Sugarbush Golf Course. Ask about our Play & Stay packages.

#1 on Trip Advisor in Mad River Valley

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The

Red Clover Inn & RESTAURANT

“A feast for the senses in an idyllic setting” - Boston Globe

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Restaurant open for dinner Thursday through Monday 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Stylish, secluded lodging.

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Whether a romantic get-away, a destination wedding or an outdoor adventure the Grey Fox Inn & Resort has the facilities and staff to help make your stay a memorable one. Plan your trip today!

7 Woodward Road, Mendon, Vermont 1/4 mile off Route 4 between Killington & Rutland innkeepers@redcloverinn.com • 802.775.2290 • www.redcloverinn.com

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Inn at Round Barn Farm

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THE PATIO IS NOW OPEN!

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Brewery opens at 11:30AM everyday for lunch + supper.

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Stand Up Paddleboarding in the Champlain Valley

tours ❂ instruction ❂ rentals Located on the beach in Burlington!

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Mountain Biking & Hiking on 2,500 acres Swimming Yoga Disc Golf Comfortable beds, fun bar, & local food in our new Ludlow boutique hostel.

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Massage Services Tennis von Trapp Brewing Tastings & Tours

Upcoming Events: Catamount Ultra

June 25th 25km/50km Trail run

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Kids Adventure Games

July 29-31 Ages 6-14, all property adventure race

Stowe, VT | 800-826-7000 | www.trappfamily.com

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Summer

Photo courtesy Orvis.

W

Schools

AT THESE WORLD-CLASS SCHOOLS, YOU CAN LEARN TO BE A BETTER BAKER, FISHERMAN, CHEESEMAKER, BREWER OR RUNNER.

By Evan Johnson

hen was the last time you tried something new? During the summer,Vermont’s ski resorts transition into places where you can take elitelevel clinics, taught by pros, in golf, tennis, rock climbing, mountain biking and more. These are great places to hone your skills in a variety of sports.

But Vermont is also home to some world class schools that teach more unusual skills—from sculling and fly fishing to baking or brewing beer.You can even join the circus.

wide, there are still few better places to learn than the ponds in Manchester and the waters in southern Vermont.

The class sizes are small (students are taught in groups of four with one guide) and use state-of-the-art equipment and video analysis. In a day or a weekend, Orvis can have anglers landing fish or improving their technique. “We’ve realized that people may not have several days to dedicate to a clinic, so we do our best to fit as much as we can into however long the student is with us,” McEnaney says.

Classes cost $279 for one day, $489 for two days. www.orvis.com

CAST AWAY One of the world’s foremost fly-fishing schools got its start 50 years ago at a quiet pond in Manchester. In 1965, two Orvis employees— one an experienced angler and the other a local ski instructor—taught the company’s first fly-fishing class. It attracted some 150 anglers and was so successful and it threatened to shut down production at the Orvis fly-rod factory, since workers were recruited to teach. In the first four years, Orvis’s school put 10,000 students in waders for the first time.

What started as a weekend of fly-tying instruction, casting lessons and lectures on choosing flies, continues to attract both novice anglers and veterans looking to brush up on their skills. “The sport of fly-fishing is seeing some tremendous growth,” says Scott McEnaney, Orvis’s Manager of Schools and Endorsed Services. “We’re getting a whole new generation out on the water.”

And though the Orvis fly-fishing schools are now located world-

TRAIN WITH OLYMPIANS For more than 30 years, athletes of all levels (including Olympic runners, rowers and Nordic skiers) have made the trek to northern Vermont for the expert coaching at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.

Running camps are held on the Center’s trails and local dirt roads, with tempo workouts on tracks and hills. Indoor sessions on injury management, and nutrition teach you to run smarter. At night, there’s farm-fresh fare and a chance to kick back in one of the classic cabins.

At the Craftsbury Sculling Camp, you’ll glide through crystal waters of Hosmer Lake beneath the Lowell Mountains. Ashore, you’ll work on the Concept2 rowing machines (the company, located nearby, is a supporter of the camp) and develop core strength.

Running camp is held in two sessions, June 5-11 and July 24-30 ($1,135). Sculling camp is held in six-day ($1,237), four-day ($847) and three-day ($659) sessions from May until October. www.craftsbury.com

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An intensive class at King Arthur Flour teaches the principles of bread baking. At Circus Smirkus camp, kids learn a variety of circus skills, from juggling to acrobatics.

BREW YOUR OWN Middlebury may be home to one of the best colleges in the country, but there’s something else you can learn here: how to brew great beer.

One reason why Vermont may be home to more top-rated beers than other states is the American Brewing Guild. The Guild’s 5,600-square-foot Middlebury campus and lab is the nation’s only fullscale brewing facility dedicated to teaching the craft.

Professional brewers from around the world sign up for monthlong distance-learning programs. But if you’re more the home-brew hobbyist you can take the two-day or single day classes. The two-day course, “Brewing Science for the Advanced Homebrewer,” offered Sept. 10-11, is aimed at home brewers and costs $575. There’s also a day-long beer appreciation course ($75 offered on June 18 or Nov. 26) that covers the brewing process, how to pair beer with various dishes, proper serving and presentation. www.abgbrew.com LEARN TO MAKE CHEESE If Vermont can boast about its beer, it has also earned the right to brag about its cheeses. Thanks to Jasper Hill Farms, Vermont Creamery and

other award-winning cheesemakers, there’s a cheese culture (sic) here.

Few people know how to teach the craft of cheesemaking like Warren’s Dr. Larry Faillace and his wife Linda. For the past 20 years the couple have have been teaching cheesemaking classes around the world. But home is Three Shepherds Farm, a sheep farm in the Mad River Valley where they teach a variety of classes over the summer months. There, you can learn how to make everything from artisinal cheeses to specialty cheeses, such as Burrata, a Queso Blanco or a French Camembert.

During a three-day Artisanal Cheesemaking Class students learn to make at least seven different cheeses. The class covers everything from milk quality to microbial cultures and rennet, to cheese aging, salting and brining and costs $595. One-day classes are $195 and include lunch, recipes and a cheesemaking manual. www.threeshepherdscheese.com JOIN THE CIRCUS The next time your kids talk about running away to join the circus, let them. Tucked into the hills of Greensboro, the award-winning Circus Smirkus summer camps teach aspiring acrobats, clowns and performers, age 5 on up to adults. Most camps are one or two weeks, with longer camps for those who are interested in performing.

Kids stay in separate girls and boys dormitories on the rural northern Vermont campus. In a special three-day camp, Aug. 22-24, those age 21 and up can learn the circus arts as well, under the tutelage of professional performers.

Smirkus Camp teaches skills such as trapeze, walking on stilts, rolling globes, tightwires, juggling and more. The more clown-minded will learn improv, pantomime, musical theater and how to throw a pie in the face with style and grace—and right on cue.

Registration is usually months in advance for the five youth camps.

Camps range from one to two weeks long and cost between $1,315 and $2,410, food and lodging included. www.smirkus.org

Photos courtesy King Arthur Flour, Circus Smirkus

BECOME A BETTER BAKER If you want to really learn how to create the lightest, flakiest crusts, airy bread or perfect pastries, head to Norwich, Vt. That’s where King Arthur Flour, one of the oldest flour companies in the U.S., operates its Baking Education Center.

The school offers a variety of classes in everything from baking to pizza making to preparing desserts. Classes are held at various levels appropriate for kids, home bakers and even professionals.

You can sign up for anything from a four-hour class on crafting croissants to a four-day class on the principles and practice of bread making. During that comprehensive course (Aug. 1-4, 1-5 pm daily), you’ll cover every aspect of baking with plenty of hands-on work with yeast breads including whole grains, sweetened breads, French bâtards and more. Tuition: $445. www.kingarthurflour.com

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LyndonState.edu

Live, work, and learn in the outdoors.

WITH DEGREES IN

Mountain Recreation Management Sport Management AND NATIONALLY ACCREDITED

Exercise Science Nationally acclaimed professional programs; a strong liberal arts core; hands-on experiential education.

It’s all right here.

Learn more at: LyndonState.edu | 1-800-225-1998 Lyndonville, Vermont 05851

52 Bridge Street • White River Junction • Vermont www.watershedstudio.us 802.291.7080

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`

GEAR

WEEKEND ESSENTIALS Here’s all you need for a weekend away.

The original “staycation” must have originated in Vermont. For many locals, a weekend “away” means heading 50 miles to a camp on Lake Champlain or a cabin in the woods. It might also be a get-away to a classic inn or a mountain resort. After all, why leave the Greens? In honor of the summer weekend, here are our picks of what to pack from some of our local Vermont brands.

URSA MAJOR HOPPIN’ FRESH DEODORANT We love Ursa Major’s all-natural shaving products and face wipes but were a little jealous that the guys got to have all the fun. The latest from this Waterbury-based business is a genderneutral all-natural deodorant that is as strong as granite yet smells as subtly fresh as mountain rain. $18, www.ursamajor.com

SIO EYE IRIS4G LIVE ACTION CAMERA This camera is a tiny gem (just 2.5 inches wide) that you are going to lust after. Sio Eye is an acronym for “Streaming Internet Of Everything You Experience,” and that’s just what this is. Connect directly to the Internet and the 4G LTE action Android device can stream video instantaneously: friends who have downloaded the Sio Eye Social Apps can watch up to 1.5 hours of action (think of a bike race) stream live. The camera comes with a case and a mount and also shoots video, slow-motion, still photos, burst photos and has time lapse options. Ok, this one’s not made in Vermont but it’s still pretty cool. $499, www.sioeye.com

LYB X VEW-DO BALANCE BOARD Top skiers and snowboarders have a training secret to improve their balance and stamina over the summer: they use a balance board. “I have been using Vew-Do balance boards ever since I started snowboarding” says one-time Olympic hopeful Kevin Pearce. After Pearce sustained a traumatic brain injury, he found the balance board even more helpful in his recovery. Pearce partnered with Manchesterbased Balance Designs to produce the LYB X Vew-Do Balance Board. It launched this winter and 22.5% of the sale of each board will go directly to support the LoveYourBrain Foundation, which works to improve the lives of people affected by brain injuries. $149, www.loveyourbrain.com

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BURTON BACKHILL DUFFEL Here’s what we love about Burton’s new Backhill Duffel: it’s small—the brushed canvas one shown here holds just 40 liters— perfect for an overnight.

It’s subtly stylish enough to be at home at a classic Vermont inn but equally functional for hiking to a lakeside campsite (thanks to stashable backpack straps). And it’s rugged, thanks to the heavy cotton canvas fabric and waterresistant zippers. $99.95, www.burton.com IBEX VT HOODY “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute,” the saying goes in Vermont. That’s why the folks at Ibex created these new men’s and women’s lightweight Merino wool hoodies. Wool insulates, wicks, doesn’t hold odors and stays warm when wet. Which makes the hoody perfect for a hike on the Long Trail or a paddle on the Connecticut. $135, www.ibex.com

ORVIS RIPSTOP SHORTS Sure, these lightweight, fast-drying cotton rip stop shorts from the legendary Manchester, Vt outfitter are made for fishing.

But the fact that they have 14 (yep, 14!) pockets makes us love them for hiking, paddling and just about any sport. Men’s only, $98. www.orvis.com.

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Benefitting cancer research and patient supportive services at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center

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THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR MAY

5/21 Green Mountain Brewfest, Pownal Beer lovers line up for this festival at the Green Mountain Race Track in southern Vermont. After sampling from 11 breweries, swing by the food trucks for snacks. www.greenmountainbrewfest.com 5/21 Dandelion Run, Morgan Kingdom Games hosts its annual half marathon and 10K on dirt roads through the dandelion fields of Morgan, Holland and Derby. Enjoy live bluegrass and folk music along the run. www.dandelionrun.org 5/19 - 28 Infinitus, Goshen The Endurance Society hosts a series of cross-country races with 8K, 88K, 888K, 48-hour and 72-hour distances and times. www.endurancesociety.org 5/28 – 30 Killington Stage Race Cyclists tackle road-bike courses that are 11-, 110-, 128-, 146- and 160-miles long through the hills and roads around Vermont in this USA Cycling certified event that starts and ends in Killington. www.killingtonstagerace.com 5/28 Peace Pipe Rail Jam, Mount Snow Mount Snow scrapes together the last snow for a rail jam with a barbeque and live music. Entry is free and you can hike up all day. www.mountsnow.com 5/29 People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon, Burlington The annual Vermont City Marathon (with relay options) winds through the city streets of Burlington with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and lake. www.runvermont.com

JUNE

6/3 – 5 The Strolling Of The Heifers, Brattleboro The celebration of cows, local agriculture and biking returns to southern Vermont with street festival, parade, expo, and gravel grinder ride. www.strollingoftheheifers.com 6/4 The Vermont Gran Fondo, Middlebury Though it’s not a race, this ride will test your fitness with its challenging climbs across Appalachian Gap, Moretown Mountain, Roxbury Gap and Lincoln Gap. Distances include the Gran Fondo: 105 miles, 10,000 feet of climbing; Medio Fondo: 64 miles, 6,800 feet of climbing; and Piccolo Fondo: 43 miles. Music, beverages and food follow at the new start-finish venue in Middlebury. Showers are available afterward at nearby Vermont Sun Fitness Center. www.vermontgranfondo.com 6/8-12 Tour De Kingdom, Newport Kingdom Games hosts four days of long-distance rides through the Northeast Kingdom and northern New Hampshire, totaling 440 miles and 25,000 feet of climbing. www.tourdekingdom.co 6/10-12 Bikes, Bevs and Beats Festival, Stowe The Stowe Mountain Bike Club hosts a celebration of mountain biking with three days of Vermont-made libations, food and guided rides of varying difficulty. www.gostowe.com 6/11 Sugarbush Brew-Grass Festival Beer lovers head to Sugarbush for this brew festival in the courtyard of the Lincoln Peak Village with live folk music and over 20 Vermont breweries. www.sugarbush.com 6/11 The Vermont Epic, Ludlow Three rides make up this Vermont Epic: The Battlefield to Vermont ride is 134.3 miles long and has 8,101 feet of climbing as it travels from Bedford, Mass. to

Okemo Resort. The 70-mile Vermont Monster is a gravel grinder with 9,000 feet of climbing, starting at Okemo Resort’s Jackson Gore Lodge. Recreational rides are also available in 20- and 40-mile distances. www.vtepic.com 6/11 Vermont Craft Beer Relay, Jay Peak Runners and beer drinkers create teams of four for a 5K race with beer stations along the course. www.jaypeakresort.com 6/16-18 Killington Downhill Throwdown Skateboarders fly down the mountain access road at Killington Resort, reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour or more. With hay bales lined at crucial spots, watch out for crashes! www.killington.com 6/17 – 19 37th Annual Quechee Hot Air Balloon Craft and Music Festival The skies over Quechee and the surrounding area fill with colorful hot air balloons as part of this annual festival. The festival features up to 20 balloons offering five flights per day and tethered rides, plus live music, craft vendors and food. www.quecheeballoonfestival.com 6/16 – 19 Stratton Wanderlust Wanderlust attracts the world’s leading yoga teachers, top music acts and DJs, speakers, chefs, winemakers and more for four days of yoga, enlightening talks, music and local food. www.stratton.com 6/17-19 NEMBAFest at Kingdom Trails The 100-plus miles of trails in East Burke host the annual festival hosted by the New England Mountain Biking Association. Weekend includes demos, live music, competitions and exhibitions, based at Darling Hill. www.nembafest.com 6/18 Tough Mudder New England, Mount Snow Obstacle course racers tackle a hardcore 10- to 12-mile race at Mount Snow with a variety of obstacles, including mud pits, rope-climbs and electrical cables. www.mountsnow.com 6/18 Burlington Wine and Food Festival Foodies flock to Burlington for a day of tasting local foods paired with worldclass wines. www.burlingtonwineandfoodfestival.com 6/23-25 Frendly Gathering, Windham The former Timber Ridge ski area in Windham hosts a weekend of live music.

Bands include Twiddle, Trevor Hall and more. www.frendlygathering.com 6/24 Sine Nomine The Endurance Society hosts a secretive race of unspecified length. The race will be held in rural Vermont at a location disclosed only to the racers. www.endurancesociety.org 6/24-26 Coyote Scramble Trail Runs, East Burke Kingdom Trails hosts three days of trail running with suggested distances for each day. Runners rack up miles before joining in the post-run activities, including bowling and live music. www.coyotemoonultras.com 6/25 Long Trail Century Ride, Bridgewater Corners The Long Trail Century Ride to Benefit Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports returns with on 100-, 60- and 20-mile bike rides, plus family friendly/adaptive 5K routes and a festival with a barbeque, live music, farmers’ market, kids activities and more at the Long Trail Brewery. www.longtrailcenturyride.com 6/25 Okemo Bicycle Hill Climb Okemo hosts a 5.8-mile uphill road bike race to the top of Okemo Mountain along Rt. 103 and the Mountain Road. Based at Jackson Gore, this event is affiliated with the Bike Up Mountain Points Series (BUMPS), 11 uphill races held throughout New England. www.okemobikeclimb.com

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THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR JULY

7/2 Okemo’s Great American Party Okemo’s Jackson Gore Courtyard is transformed into a backyard barbeque with live music, games, hot-dog eating contest, beer, live music and more. www.okemo.com 7/2-4 Mountain Friends and Freedom, Stratton Stratton Resort celebrates Fourth Of July Weekend with gondola rides, live entertainment, carnival games and fireworks. www.stratton.com 7/4 Warren Fourth of July Parade Warren’s Fourth of July is one not to be missed with floats, music and many more surprises. A classic Vermont affair and a must-see on your bucket list of things to do in Vermont. You’ll want to get there early to get a spot along the route. www.madrivervalley.com 7/8 Vermont Symphony Orchestra at Okemo Okemo Resort serves as the mountain backdrop for an evening of classical music performed by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. The evening takes the theme “Picnics, Pops and Fireworks.” www.okemo.com 7/8-10 Stoweflake Hot Air Balloon Festival Dozens of beautiful hot air balloons take to the skies above Stowe in the annual festival. Rides are available by reservation. www.gostowe.com 7/9 Tour De Grace, Stratton Stratton Resort serves as the starting point for a scenic, 17.5-mile ride to benefit Grace Cottage Hospital. www.stratton.com 7/9 Raid Lamoille, Stowe Cyclists ride approximately 100K on mostly gravel roads through the stunning northern Vermont countryside. The 100K will include nearly 6,000 feet of climbing. A 50K option will also be available. www.raidlamoille.com 7/9 Dirty Girl Mud Run, Killington The Dirty Girl is a 5K obstacle course run through muddy conditions for women of all ages and athletic abilities at Killington Resort. www.killington.com 7/9-10 Eastern States Cup Downhill Race, Mount Snow Mount Snow hosts the seventh running of the Eastern States Cup. There will be categories covering all ability and age levels with amateurs racing for gear and pros duking it out for a cash purse. www.mountsnow.com 7/10 Stowe 8-Miler Runners from all over New England and Canada return year after year to Stowe for this classic 8-mile race now in its 35th year. A two-person relay is also available. www.gostowe.com 7/10 2016 Trail Race Series at Smugglers’ Notch Resort Smugglers’ Notch Resort hosts 4K, 8K and fun run races on trails around the resort. Event repeats August 19. www.smuggs.com 7/10 Mad Marathon, Mad Half And Relays The Mad River Valley is the site of a weekend of races on dirt roads with tough climbs. Considered one of the most scenic marathons in the state. www. madmarathon.com 7/15 Killington Wine Festival The 15th annual wine tasting at Killington Resort now features more than 500 wines from more than 40 vineyards around the world. This year’s festival is held at the Killington Peak Lodge, accessed by gondola. www.killington.com

7/15-16 Vermont Brewers Festival The Vermont Brewers Association holds its annual beer tasting festival at Burlington’s Waterfront Park with 50 breweries on tap. www.vtbrewfest.com 7/16 Goshen Gallop The Blueberry Hill Inn in Goshen hosts a 5K and 10K trail race in the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, billed as the “toughest 10K in the East.” Starting pistol goes off at 4 p.m. www.blueberryhillinn.com 7/16 Cooler In The Mountains Concert Series, Killington Killington kicks off a free weekly live music series at the Snowshed base area with top names from the national music scene taking the stage for eight shows. www.killington.com 7/16-18 Vermont 100 Endurance Race, West Windsor The Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run is an ultra-marathon held at Silver Hill Meadow in West Windsor. It is one of the four 100-mile races that comprise the Grand Slam of ultra-running. www.vermont100endurancerun.blogspot.com 7/17 Farm To Fork Fondo, Pittsfield Cyclists ride one of four fondos with stops at local farms. Pick between a 103mile gran fondo, a 74-mile medio fondo and a 40-mile piccolo fondo. www.farmtoforkfondo.com 7/22-23 Third Annual Jeezum Crow Festival, Jay Peak Jay Peak’s Stateside Amphitheater hosts two days of live music from bands like Dark Star Orchestra, Alejandro Escovedo, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Sleepy Man, Aqueous and more. www.jaypeakresort.com 7/22-24 Vermont Mountain Bike Festival, Sugarbush’s Mount Ellen area VMBA’s annual festival is headquartered at Sugarbush’s Mount Ellen area but includes riding all over the Mad River Valley. You’ll find live music, bonfires, equipment demos, races and plenty of camaraderie to keep you pedaling all weekend long. www.vmba.org 7/24 Blueberryfest at Okemo Okemo celebrates all things blueberry with a pancake brunch in the Jackson Gore courtyard with live music, games, vendors, a pie eating contest and more. www.okemo.com 7/28-31 Beast Of The East Pro GRT The USA Cycling Pro Gravity Tour stops at Killington for a downhill competition on some of the mountain’s most challenging terrain. www.killington.com 7/29-30 Stowe Brewers Festival Beer lovers flock to this two-day festival in Stowe to sample more than 120 beers, ciders and meads from 40 local producers around the state. www.gostowe.com

AUGUST

8/5-7 Hops in the Hills, Okemo Okemo hosts a three-day beer and cider festival with over 50 regional craft beers and ciders. The festival will showcase a great lineup of live music, craft vendors and tasty food in the Jackson Gore courtyard. www.okemo.com 8/6 Uh-lympics, Mount Snow Mount Snow’s newest event salutes the weekend warrior with teams of two competing in backyard games with live music, barbeque and beer. Event will be held all afternoon in the main base area. www.mountsnow.com 8/7 Vermont Fresh Network Annual Forum and Tasting Picnic, Shelburne Sample the best of Vermont’s farms produce and meat in signature dishes prepared by Vermont’s top chefs at the lakeside Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms.

Warning: this event sells out so reserve ahead: www.vermontfreshnet.org

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THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR 8/11 – 14 The Vermont Challenge, Manchester Manchester and Stratton Resort serve as the home base for four days of longdistance rides between 26.5 and 105 miles. The challenge also includes a gran fondo option for Saturday. www.vtchallenge.com 8/13 8th Annual Bike N’ Brew Festival, East Burke Burke Mountain welcomes anyone who loves bikes and craft brews to an event that combines both. The event features tastings, lift rides, mountain biking on local trails, contests and awards for the best beer. www.burke.com 8/13 12th Annual August West Festival, Jay Peak Jay Peak’s annual festival celebrates the Grateful Dead. You’ll find tie-dying, free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and food and craft vendors. Event is held on the town green in Jay, Vt. www.jaypeakresort.com 8/13 100 on 100 Relay, Stowe Teams of runners complete a 100-mile relay on Vermont Route 100 from the Trapp Family Lodge to Okemo Resort. www.100on100.org 8/20 Hop Jam, Bolton Valley Hop Jam at Bolton Valley enters its third year with another day-long party filled with great music, food and some of the finest beer from Vermont. www.boltonvalley.com “It’s all about people”

If the climbs don’t take your breath away, the views will.

8/20 KBC Race To The Summit, Killington Hike or run in this challenging and scenic 5K course from the Ramshead Base Lodge to the Peak Lodge at the summit. All racers receive a one-way gondola ticket for a scenic descent back to the bottom. www.killington.com 8/20-21 Eastern States Cup Showdown, Sugarbush The Eastern States Cup East Coast Showdown returns to Sugarbush featuring enduro and downhill mountain bike races with a combined cash purse of $3,200. It’s a great race for spectators as these guys and girls fly down the course. www.sugarbush.com 8/23 Race To The Top Of Vermont, Stowe The Catamount Trail Association challenges runners and mountain bikers to a race up Stowe’s historic Toll Road, gaining 2,564 vertical feet over 4.3 miles.

Food and music afterwards at Midway above the gondola. www.catamounttrail.org 8/26-28 Stowe Wine & Food Classic Stowe Mountain Lodge hosts a weekend of tastings of the best food and wine from Vermont and beyond, talks and live music. www.stowewine.com

SEPTEMBER

Vermont Gran Fondo

h

9/10 Vittoria Eastern States Cup, Killington Top downhill bikers head to Killington for the Regional Enduro Championship Series Finals, held on some of the most technical terrain on the mountain. www.killington.com 9/17 Spartan Race, Killington The famous Spartan Race returns to Killington with mud pits to cross, ropes to climb, plenty of hills and more daunting challenges. Start training now. www.killington.com

VT

June 4th

Middlebury, VT

9/17-18 Grand Point North Festival, Burlington Vermont rocker Grace Potter presents a full lineup of live music on the Burlington waterfront, including Old Crow Medicine Show, Guster, Blind Pilot, Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band and more. www.grandpointnorth.com

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DRINK

VERMONT

The Green Mountain State is home to some of the world’s best breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries. Many of them use the finest Vermont products including local apples, grapes and pure Vermont maple syrup to create their unique libations. For more information on each location check out www.vtskiandride.com.

This working farm is the northernmost brewery in Vermont. It has a greenhouse for food production, a Black Angus beef heard for spent grain and trub recycling, a geothermal cooling system and wood-fired hot water... we are Vermont Green.

610 US Route 7, Middlebury, VT 802-989-7414 www.dropinbrewing.com Steve Parkes and Christine McKeever, owners of Drop-In Brewing and the American Brewers Guild pride themselves on educating brewers and creating worldly beers with Vermont character. In a small but fun atmosphere tasting-room customers can try our 7 beers on tap and take home any of three different sized growlers.

WhistlePig showcases the tremendous flavor potential of rye while maintaining a smooth and balanced profile, identifying it with the most acclaimed whiskeys in the world.

46 Log Yard Drive, Hardwick, VT (802) 472-8000 www.caledoniaspirits.com Warren, VT 802-272-8436 www.lawsonsfinest.com Lawson’s Finest is a small artisanal brewery located in Warren, VT, producing an array of hop-forward ales, specialty maple beers, and unique creations of the highest quality and freshness. Find our beer at lawsonsfinest.com.

Caledonia Spirits is a craft distillery in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Raw honey distinguishes our Barr Hill vodka, Barr Hill gin, and Tom Cat barrel aged gin by imparting a pure and soft botanical essence into each bottle. All of our spirits reflect our deep connection to the land and Vermont’s agricultural heritage.

Open daily 12-5 for free tours and tastings at the distillery.

150 Main Street, Newport, VT 802-334-1808 www.edenicecider.com Founded in 2007 on an abandoned farm in the Northeast Kingdom, Eden produces high quality ice ciders, aperitif ciders and naturally sparkling hard ciders from heirloom and true cider variety apples grown at our own and 5 other local orchards.

Slow Food Snail of Approval, Good Food Award Gold Seal, Great Lakes International Cider Competition Best in Show 2015.

1333 Luce Hill Rd. Stowe, VT 802-253-0900 www.vontrappbrewing.com von Trapp Brewing is dedicated to brewing the highest quality Austrian-inspired lagers with a Vermont twist. Experience “a little of Austria, a lot of Vermont,” in every glass.

VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS

353 Coburn Hill Road Newport, VT 802-334-7096 kingdombrewingvt.com

52 Seymour Street Middlebury, VT 802-897-7700 whistlepigwhiskey.com

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632 Laporte Road, Route 100 Morrisville, VT 802-888-9400 www.rockartbrewery.com

VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS

n oy sam les of our beers durin your visit and have a rowler lled to take home to en oy later. e have the best selection of our bottled beers. ou’ll also nd reat ock rt swa , ermont foods and wonderful items from local artisans.

4445 Main St, Isle La Motte, VT 802-928-3091 www.hallhomeplace.com e make the most distinctive ard Cider, ce Cider and le ine in the world. n oy them around your meals or as weddin favors toasts or sittin on your front orch watchin a sunset.

3 Artisans Way, Windsor, VT 802-674-4220 www.silodistillery.com S

istillery, located in indsor, ermont, is a sustainable craft distillery that distills all of their small batch s irits com letely in house from local rains and in redients.

They offer tours, free tastin s, a full bar for craft cocktails, retail and free local music times a month. www.silodistillery.com

201 Vt Route 112 Jacksonville, VT 802-368-2226

3597 VT-74, Shoreham, VT 802-897-2777 www.champlainorchards.com e offer uided tastin s of our locally made hard cider includin our ri inal ard Cider, Mac Ma le, imited dition Gin er S ice as well as our Pruner’s Pride and oneycris ce Cider. ll our ciders are made on site with our ecolo ically rown a les. of our electricity is enerated from our solar orchards. 2015 Winner of Vermont Cider Classic.

Open daily 9-5. July-Nov. Please call ahead.

276 Main Street, Jeffersonville, VT Barrel House Tasting Room 2657 Waterbury Stowe Rd. Waterbury Center, VT 802-309-3077 www.smugglersnotchdistillery.com

new artisan craft brewery in the heart of the . e have revolvin brews on ta to taste alon with sellin Growlers and Crowlers. e also have onora inery wines and tastin s available.

rawin on the alchemy of a father son dream, Smu lers’ otch istillery creates ermont ins ired, small batch, and remarkably distinctive vodka, bourbon barrel a ed rum, ho ed in, lend in, bourbon and wheat whiskey.

Open Wednesday -Sunday 11-7.

Open daily for tastings at both locations 11 to 5.

Did you miss the

622 Keyser Hill, St. Johnsbury, VT 802-745-9486 www.duncsmill.com t unc’s Mill, we know that true craft s irits take time, care and effort. That’s why we try to do everythin the ri ht way. e have one oal to create from scratch the hi hest uality s irits that can be roduced. e do every ste of the rocess by hand, and it’s all done in house. ind our rums at over locations around ermont, or call and arran e a time to come visit.

716 Pine Street, Burlington, VT 802-497-0054 www.zerogravitybeer.com ero Gravity Craft rewery recently o ened a barrel brew house, full cannin line, tastin room, retail sho and a sun drenched beer arden on Pine Street in urlin ton, in addition to the ori inal location in merican latbread urlin ton earth. eers brewed for food are our main focus German and C ech style la ers and a variety of el ian styles are usually well re resented. ur T P is a crowd favorite as is our medieval style Gruit ale, released twice a year on the summer and winter solstices.

LAST CALL? Call us today.

802-388-4944

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Next issue

Email us today. ads@vtskiandride.com sponsored content

Prohibition Pig 4PVUI .BJO 4USFFU t 8BUFSCVSZ t 75 802-244-4120 www.prohibitionpig.com Two restaurants, one location. usiness in the front. Party in the back.

Brewery opens at 11:30 a.m. everyday for lunch + supper.

316 Pine Street, Suite 114 Burlington, VT 802-497-1987 www.citizencider.com

#BSUMFUU #BZ 3E South Burlington, VT #3&8 MagicHat.Net here ancient alchemy meets modern day science to create the best tastin beer on the lanet. Come watch our s ores dance and play Visit the Artifactory for FREE samples, FREE tours and the most unusual shopping experience

e are cider makers who love to take fresh local a les and ferment them into delicious, refreshing, dynamic, clean and fulfilling cider e use locally sourced a les and cider for of our roducts, of the time. Never made from concentrate, ever ur oal is bold, yet sim le Make cider for the eo le, by the eo le. isit us on Pine Street in urlin ton for tastin s and a reat meal.

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Caledonia Spirits, ardwick Dunc’s Mill, St. ohnsbury Elm Brook Farm, East Fairfield Eden Specialty Ciders, ew ort Kingdom Brewing, ew ort Rock Art Brewing, Morrisville von Trapp Brewery, Stowe

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Champlain Orchards, Shoreham

4373 VT Route 12 Berlin, VT 802-233-1151 freshtracksfarm.com Sam le estate rown wines from our sustainable winery, ust outside the ca ital city of Mont elier.

Drop-In Brewing, Middlebury Fresh Tracks Farm, erlin Kingdom Brewing, urlin ton Lawson’s Finest Liquids,

arren

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aterbury

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aterbury

Zero Gravity, urlin ton

SOUTHERN VER

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Silo Distillery,

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J’Ville Craft Brewery, acksonville

DRINK

VERMONT

FIND MAPS AND MORE INFO AT www.vtskiandride.com drink vermont

East Fairfield, VT 802-782-5999 www.elmbrookfarm.com Premium Sipping Vodka and Barrel Aged Ma le S irits made from ure Vermont maple. ur products are entirely fermented, distilled and bottled by hand on our Vermont farm

VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS

Hall Home Place, sle a Motte

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The Chairlift Q+A

BY LISA LYNN

THE TREEHOUSE GUY B’Fer Roth has gone from living in a treehouse in Warren to traveling the country building treehouses for the DIY Network show, The Treehouse Guys

Roth’s Vermont treehouses include this one at Lincoln’s Zeno Mountain Farm as well as one at Burlington’s Oak Ledge Park.

When did you get your first treehouse? Were you a kid?

It wasn’t until I was in my ‘20s. I built one on some friends’ land in Warren and lived there for five summers until I got married. My first date with my wife was in that treehouse. More than 20 years later we’re thinking of building one on my daughter Jordan’s Bliss Farm in Warren and living there in the summer.

When did you start to build them for others?

I was building furniture using tree limbs and teaching at the Yestermorrow school in 2000 when Bill Allen, a board member at Make-A-Wish Foundation called to see if the school could build a wheelchair-accessible treehouse. We got the materials donated and Yestermorrow let us use the trees on their campus.

How did Paul Newman hear about you?

My friend Sparky Potter [Grace Potter’s father] introduced me to Paul Newman and we built a treehosue for his Hole in the Wall Gang camp in Connecticut.

Paul was just a salt-of-the-earth guy and wanted to watch and see how we did everything and Joanne was your image of the perfect grandmother. We were written up in The Wall Street Journal and People and things started to take off.

How elaborate are your treehouses and how long do the treehouses last?

We are now up to about 60 or 70 treehouses in 28 states so we’ve learned a lot about how to build them. We use a collar system that doesn’t hurt the tree and allows it to grow. The treehouse literally floats on that system so it can last for decades. Some of these are really elaborate with electricity and plumbing and can cost $20,000 to $150,000 so they have to last.

Which treehouse are you most proud of?

We did a big one in the Charles Wilson Park in Torrance, Calif., for the Annenberg Foundation with wheel chair ramps up to a trellis platform. The ramps led to a treehouse with an inverted gable roof shaped like a leaf. That roof collects rainwater which then runs down a rain chain. But the ones I’m most proud of?

The two we built for the Zeno Mountain Farm in Lincoln, which runs camps for people with developmental disabilities. There’s nothing like seeing someone in a wheelchair up in the trees and grinning ear-to-ear. It just makes the joy meter go whannnnngggg. Plus, being in a treehouse, you can always be a kid. —L. Lynn To see a gallery of treehouses visit vtskiandride.com/treehouses/

Photos by Dana Jenkins

C

all James “B’Fer” Burton Roth’s cell phone and he answers “Treehouse Guy, branch office here.” The former furniture builder from Warren has made building treehouses his profession. He’s now shooting Season 3 of “The Treehouse Guys,” a DIY Network show where he, partner Chris “Ka-V” Haake, and a merry band of “tree musketeers” travel the country building treehouses.

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sugarbush.com

800.53.SUGAR

#SBDISCOVER

SHIFTING GEARS IS BETTER AT SUGARBUSH Sugarbush’s lift-served mountain biking with après beers at Castlerock Pub isn’t the only summer hot spot at Sugarbush.

From hitting the links at Sugarbush Resort Golf Club to disc golf and kids summer camps, the Mad River Valley boasts tons of summer fun. Join us for stay and play packages, cheese and beer festivals, farm-to-table meals and more.

Upcoming EvEnts BREW-GRASS FESTIVAL, June 11 JULY 4TH PARADE, FIREWORKS & MOUNTAIN ACTIVITIES MAD MARATHON, July 10 VERMONT MOUNTAIN BIKE FESTIVAL, July 22 – 24 EASTERN STATES CUP DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKE RACES, August 20 – 21 VERMONT CHEESE & WINE FESTIVAL, September 30 – October 2 COMMUNITY WEEKEND & OKTOBERFEST, October 8 – 9 For more information on restaurants, activities and events call 800.53.SUGAR or visit sugarbush.com.

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