Maple syrup season is here and the Holiday Inn Express in Springfield, Vermont is offering special package deals.

Come out to the land where the finest Maple Syrup and candy is made this weekend, March 27th-29th and enjoy a $10/night discount off the best available rate. This weekend is the Maple Open House, the biggest event for maple syrup makers in the area.

This year is the 8th annual invocation of the event. Get a list of participating farms and producers at the official website: www.vermontmaple.org/open-house.html

It’s that time of year! With the snow melting and running off the trees so too is the maple syrup!

The Wood’s Cider Mill has been making delicious maple syrup products for over 100 years. It all started out low tech, washing out the syrup buckets and lines on the front porch after the season, and not too much has changed. With over 600 buckets used in a given season the Wood’s Cider Mill sticks with tradition.

For over 7 generations they’ve been making high quality syrup, and even invented the Maple Syrup Jelly!

Get more information and make a stop by their farm to pick up the highest quality maple syrup Vermont has to offer.

Guests of the Holiday Inn Express in Springfield Vermont will have a wide range of attractions and activities to take part in. From some of the best skiing in the North East to scenic train rides through the country side, Southern Vermont attractions have something that everyone will enjoy.

Things to do in Southern Vermont:

Skiing/Snowboarding at Okemo Mountain: Just 20 minutes away, the Okemo Mountain Resort offers much more than skiing, with regular events and activities for guests to take part in.

Green Mountain Rail Road: Ride the Green Mountain Flyer round trip from Bellows Falls to Chester, VT! A scenic ride in the fully restored 1930′s coaches pulled by a real, vintage diesel locomotive. A great trip for the whole family.

The Fort at No. 4: A museum that’s very much alive! Go back to the 1740′s when the fort was constructed to protect its original inhabitants. Costumed staff will guide you through the fort and take the whole family back in time to learn and have some fun!

Read more

The Harpoon Brewery has been bottling great beer since 1986 in Vermont.

Twenty-years later and the brewery has become a unique trademark of Southern Vermont and a top destination for visitors passing through. You can swing by their bottling factory and have a hot meal and some good beer with a view out over their bottling factory or go on a tour through the facilities.

The Harpoon Brewery also offers seasonal brewery festivals that have grown immensely popular in the region since their beginnings in 1990.

Learn more about the brewery at www.HarpoonBrewery.com.

Located on top of a mountain with views of the Connecticut River and the town of Walpole, New Hampshire, at Alyson’s Orchard it’s “always gathering time”.

With the changing of seasons there are a variety of fruits grown and ready to be picked including apples, pears, plums, peaches, grapes and berries of all kinds. Pick fruit, take leisurely wagon rides through the orchards and sample the variety of pies and cider in their Orchard room.

Get more information at their official website.

Not too far from the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in South Vermont you’ll find a variety of quirky regional attractions. One of the more popular destinations is the historic Cornish-Windsor bridge.

The bridge was built in 1886 and is over 460-feet long. It spans the breadth of the Connecticut and Williams Rivers. You can take in fully restored 1930s coaches pulled by vintage diesel locomotives. The tour takes you through two classic bridges, past a cascading waterfall and gorge and scenic Vermont farmland.

Get more information here.

On March 27th to the 29th sugarhouses throughout the state are hosting open houses.

Take the whole family out and see firsthand how that delicious Vermont maple syrup is made. You’ll be able to see a wide variety of sugary maple delights made and get some free samples, too!

There’s a forthcoming Maple Madness package from Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Springfield Vermont that will give you everything you need for a fun and uniquely Vermont vacation!

Get more info

Southern Vermont has a reputation for its arts and crafts and the expert artisans who create them.

The Holiday Inn Express is just 20 minutes from the Vermont State Craft Center where the whole family can take part in activities and shop for the finest in goods. The center is housed in the historic Windsor House Building on Main Street and has retail sales galleries, educational programs for adults and children and regular ongoing arts and crafts exhibits.

Get more information

The Simon Pearce Windsor workshop is just 20 minutes away from the Holiday Inn Express in Springfield Vermont and offers a unique experience for the whole family.

You’re invited inside to see the expert artisans and glassblowers create clear glass objects and pieces as well as pottery. You’ll see it come to life and take shape beneath the talents of these professionals and experience the process from start to finish.

Simon Pearce is a famous artist who is originally from County Cork Ireland with training from the Royal College of Art in London. He has created a veritable empire of custom-glass objects and eathernware pottery with workshops all around the country, including in Quechee, Vermont, Maryland, Pennsylvania and others.

Visit his official website.

The Grafton Nature Museum is just 30 minutes from the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Springfield, Vermont and on March 7th, 2009 they’ll be hosting a very fun tour for the whole family.

Get out doors and see nature with a Naturalist on the “Snowshoe with a Naturalist Tour”. It will take place from 10am – 12pm.

Depending on the weather those on the tour will either hike or snowshoe through scenic Vermont woods to explore the signs of late-winter wildlife. It’s a great opportunity for the whole family to get out doors and break a bit of a sweat while exploring, learning and enjoying the great outdoors.

Get more information here