Another nearby restaurant is Skunk Hollow Tavern in Hartland 4 Corners which has an upstairs($$$) restaurant (good food and can be crowded so make a reservation) and a downstairs Pub which is more casual and the same menu.

Leaving the cabin by turning left out of the driveway takes you to Rt. 106 at the stop sign (2 miles). If you turn left you go to S. Woodstock – about 2 miles. You will pass the Kedron Valley Inn (802 457-1480) where there is a nice restaurant. Kedron Valley Inn sells passes to its swimming pond with sand beach for $5/day/person or $3 after 3pm. They have a single season pass for about $100/person and family for $142/2 and $42 for each additional member.

The only other thing in S. Woodstock (besides lovely homes and vistas on the back roads) is a small but nice general store and the Green Mountain Horse Assn. Horse grounds (which may be having a competition) and the horse tack store next door.

If you turn right on Rt. 106 you go to Woodstock. It’s almost as close to go to Woodstock proper as it is to go to Hartland and Woodstock offers a variety of small stores, restaurants and gas stations (diesel). In Woodstock you will find a lot of interesting stores: Aubergine’s (kitchen store), clothing, books, pharmacy, unique toy store (Unicorn), yarns, sports store, pottery, antiques, BIG general store called Gillinghams which has everything, butcher shop (on same side of street as Gillingham’s). There is also an upscale grocery store called Mac’s on the east side of town across from the Shire Motel. There is also the Billings Farm Museum in Woodstock, covered bridges and the VINS Raptor Center (on the road to Quechee) and the Marsh-Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park with lots of hiking trails and an interesting Farm Museum. For eating there is the Mountain Creamery (good for breakfast and lunch $), Woodstock Inn ($$$$), Prince & Pauper (French $$$),and Bentley’s ($$). Going out Rt. 4 towards Bridgewater there is the Lincoln Inn Restaurant with the Mangowood Restaurant which has an Asian influence and is very good. There are lots of other restaurants further afar if you want to venture into some of the other smaller towns like Windsor (restaurant-Windsor Station), Bridgewater Corners – Corners Inn, Jackson House Inn ($$$$$), and Stratford (restaurant w/ fresh grown veggies – Stone Soup – big house at the green – doesn’t have a sign)

Another spot of interest are some of the Maple Syrup Farms – Sugarbush Farm is set up for tourists – see* below.

You should definitely visit the Quechee Gorge – about ½ hour from the cabin – Rt. 4 East out of Woodstock. You pass by Taftsville General Store and Covered Bridge over the Ottaquechee River (*to get to Sugarbush Farm take a left over the covered bridge and follow the signs) and then you will come to the bridge over the Gorge – very scenic and you can hike to the bottom of the gorge on a footpath and there is some still water where you can wade in and cool off. Quechee also offers gift shops and numerous antiques in the area – a very large one – with wooden moose out front is a short distance after the Gorge. It is also the home of the Simon Pearce Glass Factory which is interesting with some pricey gifts and a delicious restaurant – although a bit pricey it is worth it for a lunch with a seat overlooking the waterfall and the covered bridge where in the summer kids use a rope swing to get a cool dip in the Ottaquechee River. This place is crowded in the summer so plan an early lunch to beat the crowd. They are also open for dinner – a little more expensive menu. To get to Simon Pearce you will turn off Rt. 4 to the left at one of the only stoplights – there will be a sign and at this intersection there are several other highlights – Antique Mall on left next to Firestones – good basic menu restaurant ($) with some of the best flatbread pizza. Sometimes in the summer they have Lobster specials on Thursday nights.

As you head over the Taftsville Bridge toward Simon Pearce if you turn right instead of left to Simon Pearce, you will come to Marshland Farm which has lot of activities. It has a relaxing bar in a great room, a nice restaurant and for the winter there is cross-country skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing and snow tubing. In the summer there is fly fishing.

For ice hockey lovers there is open hockey at an indoor rink in Woodstock.

There also a small outdoor rink in Hartland near the City Hall.

Ascutney mountain in Brownsville, which is currently no longer offering skiing, has developed a trail system for biking and hiking which is worth checking out as they continue to expand more trails for the future.

If you go in the direction to Windsor – which is only 5 miles from BG’s market (see top) you have another set of stores and restaurants from which to choose. Just before Windsor there is a supermarket and hardware store. In the town there is a well-stocked liquor and wine store and a good restaurant (Windsor Station) near the railroad tracks. Also there is a good Pizza shop.

For major shopping go to New Hampshire (W. Lebanon/Lebanon or Claremont) where there is NO Sales Tax. Claremont is exit 8 off Rt. 91 – follow the signs – downtown proper is full of antique/junk stores and as you head out of town you find Wal-Mart with grocery store, Radio Shack, and a great small furniture store called Love’s Bedding. Lebanon is off of Rt. 89 off Rt. 91 – you’ll see the signs. In Lebanon is a delightful Italian restaurant - Three Tomatoes - and nearby is a good Chinese restaurant. W. Lebanon has all the stores of a big city – Pier 1, Sears, etc. Dartmouth College is in Hanover, NH nearby.

For skiing there is Suicide Six in Woodstock – Okemo in Ludlow and Killington/Pico – all close but in the order listed from 6 miles to about 45 miles. Cross-country skiing(and rentals) in Woodstock at the Ski Touring Center, Marshland Farm in Quechee and also in Okemo. There is also a lovely old “Castle” restaurant on the way to Okemo. There is snow shoeing on Mt. Tom in Woodstock (check at the Ski Touring Center for info) and there is a sledding hill in Woodstock just after the Billings Farm across from the Farmer’s Market (which is open in the summer/fall) and sledding at Marshland Farm as well.