THE VINTAGE 1799 TOWN HOUSE, STRAFFORD
ESTIMATED LENGTH: 94 miles
ESTIMATED TIME: 1 to 3 days
HIGHLIGHTS: I-89 sweeps in a grand arc northwest from the Connecticut River, following the White River and its tributaries into the mountains, in the process backroading the rural heart of Vermont with its classic old villages of South Royalton, Tunbridge, Strafford, Chelsea, Brookfield, Randolph, and Rochester. Roads run north-south through lush valley farmland and by multiple covered bridges. East-west roads connect the valleys, climbing over steep hills with long views at their crests. Attractions consist mainly of river swimming holes and tubing stretches, and of farms to visit and stay.
GETTING THERE: I-89 from points north and south to Exit 2.
Coming from the south, the Sharon Welcome Center and Vermont Vietnam Veterans Memorial (open 7 AM–11 PM) between Exits 1 and 2 is worth a stop. Vietnam War exhibits include a timeline and film clips, and the building features a walk-in “living greenhouse” filled with plants that recycle waste. The coffee is free, the desk is manned, and the bathrooms are outstanding.
ON THE ROAD
Turn left off the exit ramp and then right on VT 14 into the village of Sharon, a crossroads cluster around the white-columned Sharon Trading Post (802-763-7404; open 9 AM–9 PM), good for gas, staples, and rental inner tubes. This stretch of White River is especially popular for tubing. The road west follows the river’s twists and curves, passing a number of likely put-in spots.
Soon after crossing the Royalton town line, a sign for the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial (open daily year-round; 802-763-7742) points up Dairy Hill Road. It’s a steep, 2-mile drive up to the hilltop complex that marks the 1805 birthplace of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The property includes picnic grounds and a visitor center (open daily until 7 PM May–Oct., otherwise until 5 PM) with paintings, sculpture, and films. A memorial shaft measures 38.5 feet high, each foot marking a year in the life of the Mormon prophet.
South Royalton is another mile down VT 14 and a left across the bridge. Since the 1970s this village (population 600) has been home to the Vermont Law School. Widely known for environmental law, the school fills many of the nineteenth-century buildings around the outsized common and supports a range of places to eat. Along one side of the common, a block of Victorian brick shops and restaurants evokes the village’s past status as a major rail stop; the depot is now a bank. Hidden away across the tracks—accessed through an underpass—a former railroad freight house is now Worthy Burger (802-763-2575; open Fri.–Sat. 11:30 AM–10 PM, Sun. 11:30 AM–9 PM, Mon., Wed., Thurs. 4–9 PM), a gathering place specializing in local beers on tap and pub food. Five Olde Tavern & Grill (802-763-8685; 192 Chelsea Street; open Sun. 11:30 AM–10 PM, Mon.–Thurs. 11 AM–10 PM, Fri. 11 AM–11 PM, Sat. 11:30 AM–11 PM), a sleek coffeehouse/pub, is another one.
We usually settle in for lunch on one of the six counter stools or slide into a deep booth at the Chelsea Station Restaurant (802-763-8685; 108 Chelsea Street; open Mon.–Sat. 6 AM–3 PM, Sun. 8 AM–12 PM). Sandwiches come on house-baked bread, soups are from scratch, and in-season veggies are local. Everyone knows each other but visitors feel welcome (no credit cards accepted).
ALONG THE FIRST BRANCH
Back over the bridge, we follow Chelsea Street (VT 110) north along the first branch of the White River. At a pullout a short way up, a historic marker tells of a 1720 “Indian raid” that all but wiped out Royalton’s first settlers. It’s clear why others soon replaced them, drawn by rich farmland along the river’s curves, cradled between gentle hills.
THE MILL COVERED BRIDGE, TUNBRIDGE
North of South Tunbridge, the photogenic Howe Covered Bridge (1897) on the east side of VT 110 leads to a handsome farmstead; another 1.3 miles north, the Cilley Covered Bridge is off to the west of the road 0.2 miles up Ward Hill Road, just before the cemetery.
Tunbridge is known far and wide for its annual mid-September World’s Fair (tunbridgefair.com), held every year since 1867, except in 1918 due to a flu epidemic and during World War II. The fairgrounds fill a grassy, natural riverside bowl in the center of Tunbridge Village. The fair was once known for its girly tent shows and dubbed the “Old Drunks Convention,” but the four-day event now draws families from throughout New England. It features a children’s barnyard and entertainment as well as a midway, livestock displays and oxen pulls, swine, sheep, goat and cattle contests, as well as plenty of live music. Otherwise, this tiny village is quiet. You might want to stop by the 1830 Tunbridge General Store (802-889-5525) and walk a few hundred feet north to take in the view of the picturesque Mill Covered Bridge (1883) set in the hollow below.
Back in Turnbridge, VT 110 continues to snake north along the river to Chelsea. These 7 miles cover farms and three more covered bridges walled by more lush, rounded hills. The Larkin Bridge (1902) is a mile north of the village of North Tunbridge, and then comes the Flint Bridge (1845) east of the road, and in another 0.7 miles, there’s the Moxley Bridge (1883), also on the east side.
DETOUR
This 12-mile detour begins at the concrete bridge beyond the general store. Turn off VT 110 onto Strafford Road and follow it uphill through woods and fields. It crests and then dips through farms tidy enough to suggest that their owners make a living elsewhere. Within an easy commute of Dartmouth College, Strafford has always been an upscale town, judging from its elegant, much-photographed Town House, built in 1799 on a rise above the sloping village green. The Justin Smith Morrill Homestead (802-828-3051; open Memorial Day to Columbus Day, Wed.–Sun. 11 AM–5 PM) is a short way down the road. Morrill, son of a Strafford blacksmith, became one of the country’s most effective lawmakers. He built this fanciful, pink Gothic Revival mansion as his retirement home, but he never managed to spend much time here. He kept getting reelected, serving first as Vermont’s congressman and then senator from 1855 until 1898. He is best remembered as the sponsor of the Land-Grant Colleges Acts, the first passed in 1862 and another in 1890, creating a total of 76 current state colleges and universities across the country. The 17-room mansion is fascinating in its own right and for the man and era it evokes. We suggest this side trip as a way to either shorten this route—it’s 8 miles back to I-89, Exit 2 in Sharon via VT 132 in South Strafford—or, alternatively, continue the few miles east on VT 132 to Thetford Hill and link with our The Upper Connecticut River Valley route (here).
BETWEEN TUNBRIDGE AND CHELSEA, VT 110 SNAKES THROUGH LUSH HILLS AND FARMLAND, ALONG THE FIRST BRANCH OF THE WHITE RIVER
Chelsea Village, the county seat of Orange County, has not one but two handsome commons, both framed by mostly Federal-era buildings.
Across from North Common, check out Will’s Store (802-685-33368), a genuine backcountry store with its own house-made ice cream (it’s not the soft serve up front). A mile north of the village, Rhoda and Bill Ackerman, both rooted six generations deep in Chelsea, welcome guests to their rambling farmhouse is Devil’s Den Homestay Bed & Breakfast (802-685-4582), named for a cave on their surrounding 65 acres. The couple have built themselves an annex, leaving the farmstead entirely to guests, but they still serve breakfast.
While Chelsea feels far off the beaten track, it loomed large in the past as a major rural crossroads. From the village, VT 113 runs east to the Connecticut River Valley, connecting in a scenic 15 miles through the hills to Post Mills (see our The Upper Connecticut River Valley route on here). VT 110 runs north through farm country toward Barre and Montpelier.
Our route backtracks 2 miles to the East Randolph Road and 7 scenic and twisty miles up and over Chelsea Mountain, then down and down to another narrow valley, this one carved by the Second Branch of the White River. Beer lovers might want to turn onto Dickerman Hill Road and Brocklebank Craft Brewing (802-685-4838) about halfway down. Brewer Ben Linehan specializes in American pale ales and German and Czech styles; four beers are generally on draft in the taproom (open Fri. 3–7 PM, Sat. noon–6 PM) at this former dairy farm.
Down in East Randolph, turn north (right) into the village center and immediately west on VT 66 for another scenic 3 miles up to a top-of-the-world view, then another 3 miles on into Randolph Center. This village—composed mainly of brick and clapboard Federal-era homes—lines a Main Street that was cut unusually wide with the idea that it might be the state capital. Instead it is now a quiet village, home to the Vermont Technical College. According to a historical marker, musician and schoolmaster Justin Morgan brought a young stallion from Massachusetts to his home here in 1789; Morgan the man lies buried in the nearby cemetery.
Randolph remains a horsey community, but with the arrival of the railroad in the mid-nineteenth century, population shifted from the center down to the valley, 3 miles west (now the other side of I-89). Our route heads north instead, up aptly named 7-mile Ridge Road with views across a wide valley to the Braintree Range. At VT 65, beyond Brookfield Center, turn west (left) to Pond Village, about as picturesque as a four corners can be, clustered beside Sunset Lake and its Floating Bridge.
IN CHELSEA TWIN BRICK STORES SURVIVE FROM THE FEDERAL ERA
THE BARN AT DEVIL’S DEN HOMESTAY, CHELSEA
Too deep to support the usual pillars, the 330-foot Floating Bridge on Sunset Lake was initially floated on logs in 1820s; then barrels, first wooden and eventually oil drums; then plastic barrels, always with limited success. The current bridge—the eighth, completed in 2015—rests on 10 pontoons and remains the only floating bridge east of the Mississippi. There’s almost always someone fishing here, and the phone wires above it are festooned with fishing lines and sinkers from too-high castings. Kids jump off the bridge rails, but you can swim from the small grassy park by the bridge entrance, a tempting place to linger. Spread a blanket and picnic under the willow, beside the sinuous statue of a hippo with its chin resting on a smaller hippo, worn shiny by the stroking of many hands. Sunset Lake has long been known for its crystal-clear water, and in the late nineteenth century its ice was highly valued; harvesting ice was big business, and ice blocks were stored in sawdust in the big (long-gone) icehouse by the bridge, kept through summer. The Brookfield Ice Harvest Festival (802-276-3959), staged here the last Saturday in January, demonstrates the process with antique ice-harvesting tools and snow sculptures.
THE FLOATING BRIDGE ON SUNSET LAKE, POND VILLAGE, BROOKFIELD
At Green Trails Inn (802-276-3412) across the road from the lake, Jane Doerfer offers a genuine welcome. Check the website for Floating Bridge Food and Farms (floatingbridgefoodandfarms.com) for descriptions of local farms welcoming visitors, an excuse to follow backroads through high pastures to places like Brookfield Bees (802-276-3808), selling raw honey from their apiary and turning it into candles and soap; Fat Toad Farm (802-279-0098), crafting caramel sauces from their goat’s milk; Green Mountain Girls Farm (802-505-1767), offering lodging as well as organic meat from the animals they raise; Plant Spirit Farm & Fibers (802-276-3839), growing a wide selection of medicinal and culinary herbs, dye plants, flowers, and vegetables; and Pagoda Pond Gardens (802-728-6652), with display gardens showcasing hundreds of varieties of daylilies. Off Ridge Road, Neighborly Farms of Vermont (802-728-4700; open Mon.–Thurs. 8 AM–2 PM), a family-owned dairy farm, features varieties of their own cheese and also sells products from other local farms. Needless to say, everything around here is organic.
From Pond Village this route turns back down Ridge Road, but after about a mile, we like to veer off onto parallel Hebard Hill Road, commanding awesome vistas as the valley view and mountains end at VT 66 on its downward slope to Randolph.
At the confluence of two branches of the White River, two old highways, and I-91 (Exit 4), Randolph’s ornate Victorian railroad station is an Amtrak stop and its downtown is the commercial hub of the region. Still, with a population of fewer than 4,800, the feel is small town. The junction of VT 66 and VT 12 is a stop sign, no longer a traffic light, and parking is usually not a problem.
Turn left over the bridge on VT 12 for downtown. Shops along North Main Street are anchored by Belmains (802-728-3781), a cross between a five-and-ten and an old-style, small-town department store—worth a stop even if you don’t need anything. Its stock of 38,000 items ranges from cards to home furnishings and soft-serve ice cream. A few doors up, One Main Tap & Grill (802-431-3772; open for lunch and dinner in summer, otherwise varying hours) is an appealing, casual space specializing in local brews.
Chandler Center for the Arts (802-728-6464; chandler-arts.org) marks the center of town, with a music hall (1907) with a 575-seat theater known for its acoustics and frequent live performances, and a gallery (802-431-0204) with changing exhibits, open Fri.–Sat. 12–6 PM and during performances. Down the street, the Playhouse Theater (802-728-4012), showing current films, is one of Vermont’s oldest movie houses (1919).
Worth finding on Pleasant Street (left off North Main Street), Three Bean Café (802-728-3533; open Mon.–Fri. 6:30 AM–5 PM, Sat. until 2 PM) is a welcoming space with from-scratch croissants, house-made veggie and meat soups, pizzas and quiche, as well as wraps, coffees, and teas. The next left, Randolph Street, leads to hilltop Kimball House, home to Saap (802-565-8292; open Mon.–Sat. 12–9 PM; $), not your ordinary Thai restaurant.
OVER ROCHESTER GAP AND DOWN THE WHITE RIVER
Follow VT 12 and the river south from Randolph, and in about 6 miles turn west (right) onto Camp Brook Road. On a beautiful day, this is a glorious 10-mile drive up, up, and over the Braintree Range and Rochester Gap, then down with views of the Green Mountains ahead. It ends in the middle of Rochester Village at a large, classic green bordering VT 100. Turn right for the lineup of mismatched nineteenth-century clapboard buildings that form the center of Rochester Village, which is full of surprises.
Sandy’s Bakery & Bookery (802-767-4258; open 7:30 AM–6 PM) is just north of the gas pumps. Good in the morning for espresso, fresh-made whole-grain breads, and muffins, and at lunch for soups, salads, sandwiches, and vegetarian choices. Cookies all day, beer and wine. The neighboring Bookery is a serious, full-service book store.
The Rochester Café & Country Store (802-767-4302; open 7 AM–5 PM) is across the road. Featuring the 1940s soda fountain, installed when this was a pharmacy, the space has housed various enterprises, from a pool hall to a funeral parlor. This is a popular VT 100 stop for breakfast and lunch with espresso, freshly made soups and juice, and daily specials among its varied menu. Try the maple cream pie. Stroll down to the BigTown Gallery (802-767-9670; open Wed.–Sat. 10 AM–5 PM, Sun. 11 AM–4 PM). Anni Mackay designs and makes wearable art, but her studio showcases an eclectic mix of paintings and sculpture, many by local artists. It’s also a setting for piano rehearsals and plays performed in the backyard amphitheater. Neighboring Green Mountain Bikes (802-767-4464) is a destination for serious bicyclists. Aside from selling, renting, and repairing mountain bikes and bicycles of all kinds, owner Doon Hinderyckx is a font of information about local trails in and beyond the national forest. For detailed information about camping, hiking, and swimming as well as biking in the Green Mountain National Forest, drive several miles north of Rochester Village to the Green Mountain National Forest Ranger District Office and Visitor Center (802-767-4261; open 8 AM–4:30 PM daily except Sun. Memorial Day–Columbus Day, weekdays only off-season).
BACK DOWN THE WHITE RIVER
South of the village, note the turnoff for VT 73, a high, 14-mile drive over the Brandon Gap and down into the Champlain Valley. A little way south on VT 100, keep an eye out for Liberty Hill Farm (802-767-3926; see Best Places to Sleep), with its iconic red barn set off by meadowland. We follow the main stem of the White River on VT 100 for another half-dozen miles to Stockbridge and then turn east with the river on VT 107. In summer the 20-mile stretch of the river from Rochester to Stockbridge and on to Bethel is particularly popular with tubers. Just south of the VT 100/107 junction, Vermont River Tubing (802-746-8106) offers rentals and shuttle service upriver to a Rochester put-in (call for river conditions). In 2011 this area was hit hard by Tropical Storm Irene; much of the road along here has been substantially rebuilt since and now offers pullouts and river access.
A bit over the Bethel town line, riverside Tozier’s Restaurant (802-234-9400; open May–Oct.; $–$$) seems little changed since the 1930s. Seafood is the specialty—lobster or fried clams and sweet potato fries seem to taste best outside (there’s a take-out window), but there’s also a pine-paneled inside dining room. In Bethel Village, both Cockadoodle Pizza Café (802-234-9666) and the Bethel Village Sandwich Shop (802-234-9910) come as a pleasant surprise. This drive ends at the I-89 access (Exit 3). Before you hit the interstate, however, you might want to check out Eaton’s Sugarhouse Restaurant and Country Store (802-763-8809; open daily 7 AM–3 PM) at the junction of VT 107 and 14. The exterior is undeniably funky, but the restaurant is about as good as it gets for puffy pancakes with the house maple syrup, or fresh-carved turkey sandwiches with house-made bread. This is also a good place to pick up maple syrup.
BARNS AT LIBERTY HILL FARM IN ROCHESTER, WHICH IS AN OUTSTANDING, FAMILY-GEARED FARMSTAY LIBERTY HILL FARMS
Best Places to Sleep
GREEN TRAILS INN AND FORK SHOP (802-276-3412), 24 Stone Road, Brookfield. Open May–Jan. Sited across from Sunset Lake at the heart of Pond Village, this genuinely hospitable country inn offers eight attractive rooms, including three that work as a family suite with its own entrance. Beds have quality mattresses and linens, and rooms all have well-chosen antiques and books. Innkeeper Jane Doerfer is an accomplished cook and cookbook author; her buffet-style breakfast might include smoked salmon, local cheeses, fresh fruit, and a hot dish such as sausage apple cobbler. By the Floating Bridge on the lake itself, her three-story Fork Shop, built in the eighteenth century as a pitchfork factory, has been nicely renovated as a fully equipped rental (two-night minimum), sleeping 18. Inn rooms $.
HUNTINGTON HOUSE INN (802-767-9140), 19 Huntington Place, Rochester. Sited on Rochester’s large, leafy park and dating from 1806, this is an inviting inn. There are six comfortable guest rooms (private baths) in the inn itself, and a former general store next door houses three luxurious two-bedroom condo-style units, each with a full kitchen, dining area, and living room. Doc’s Tavern in the renovated barn (open from 4 PM, except Tues.) is an informal sports bar with a pub menu and a dozen local beers on tap, while the 1806 Cocoa Pub (open for dinner Fri.–Sun.) has a more formal feel and a seriously sweet menu, from cocoa-rubbed tenderloin to chocolate fondue. $–$$ for inn rooms, $$ for condos.
GREEN TRAILS INN OFFERS BEDS AND BREAKFAST IN POND VILLAGE, BROOKFIELD
LIBERTY HILL FARM (802-767-3926), 511 Liberty Hill, Rochester. This is the real thing: a working dairy farm with more than 100 Holsteins, set in a broad meadow, backed by mountains. Its much-photographed 1890s red barn, one of the most photographed in Vermont, was built by Dr. Charles Wesley Emerson, founder of Boston’s Emerson College. There’s a capacious white-clapboard 1825 farmhouse and, best of all, there is hostess par excellence Beth Kennett. Since 1984 Beth and her husband Bob have been welcoming guests of all ages. Kids quickly get to know the cows, each with a name tag in her ear. They can help milk, bottle-feed the calves, and collect eggs. Meals are served family-style, and dinner is as delicious as it is prodigious, much of it sourced from the garden and/or baked from scratch; ice cream is homemade. There are seven guest rooms (five with queen beds, one with two single beds, and a room with four single beds) and four shared baths; families can spread into two rooms, sharing a sitting room and bath. In summer you can hear the gurgle of the White River, good for trout fishing as well as swimming and tubing. Added to these options is Harvest House, a walk across the meadow. Built in 1782, it retains its eighteenth-century feel and four hearths but offers three comfortable bedrooms, a new kitchen, and gracious common space. It accommodates overflow from the farm and can be rented as a whole. $$.
Best Places to Eat
SAAP (802-565-8292), 50 Randolph Avenue, Randolph. Open Mon.–Sat., 12–9 PM. Vermont chef Steve Morgan has a long-standing interest in wild, fresh, and fiery flavors of northeastern Thailand, and his wife Rung, also an experienced chef, is a native of this Issan region. Both are sticklers for using local as well as authentic Thai ingredients, and the results are exceptional. Try an Issan salad of fire-charred pork with toasted rice powder, fish sauce, lime juice, and shallot finished with mint and cilantro, served on sticky rice. $–$$.
SCHOOL STREET BISTRO (802-767-3126), 13 School Street, corner of Main Street (VT 100), Rochester. Open Tues.–Sat. 5–9 PM. This small bistro is a winner with a constantly changing, imaginative, and reasonably priced menu. It includes burgers served with root veggies and a variety of vegetarian and meat dishes. $–$$.
WILD ROOTS RESTAURANT (802-763-0440), 5615 VT 14, South Royalton. Reservations suggested. The dining room in this 1818 brick tavern seats just 20 for farm-to-table dining that includes starters “to share,” tantalizing fish, meat, and vegetarian entrée choices, and sides, local beers and spirits. $$–$$$.
