Nearby Attractions
Below you'll find many of the exciting and intriguing attractions that bring visitors to our neck of the woods. Please note we have been sure to provide driving time and distance from our property. We know you'll find something to pique your curiosity!
In Our Hometown - Springfield, VT
Miller Art Center
This 19th-century mansion overlooking downtown Springfield also boasts views of the Black River's rapids, and the locations of early industries. The museum is home to primitive portraits by 19th-century artists, as well as work by a variety of local artists. There are changing exhibits and educational programs for adults and children; admission is free.
Website: http://www.vmga.org/windsor/springfieldart.html
Location: 9 Elm Street, Springfield, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
April - November 1st, Tuesday through Friday, 10am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 1pm
Days Closed: Balance of the year, Sundays and Mondays throughout the year
Phone: 802-885-2451
Gallery at the VAULT
(Visual Art Using Local Talent)
The Gallery is a nonprofit organization. It serves the community as an educational resource with a schedule of workshops and lectures, and serves the artist community by providing a venue for their work. Both the gallery and the gift shop carry only original, juried, handcrafted local and regional artwork.
Website: http://www.galleryatthevault.com
Location: 68 Main Street, Springfield, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 5pm year round
Days Closed: Sundays and Mondays
Phone: 802-885-7111
Springfield Town Library
As the largest public library in the immediate area, Springfield Town Library provides a broad and diverse collection (nearly 40,000 items), including current, classic and noteworthy materials in a variety of print and non-print formats and reading levels. The library is located in the heart of downtown Springfield in a beautiful, historic building.
Website: http://www.youseemore.com/Springfield/default.asp
Location: 43 Main Street, Springfield, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Monday through Thursday, 9am - 8pm, Friday 9am - 5pm, Saturday 10am - 3pm
Days Closed: Sundays
Phone: 802-885-3108
Hartness Airport
Hartness State Airport (VSF), established in 1920, was the first airport in the State of Vermont and is the second largest airport in Vermont. It has an elevation of 577 feet and is served by two paved and lighted runways. Hartness State Airport is a great facility for private and corporate planes, with close proximity to ten area ski resorts, and is also home to an active glider club, The New England Soaring Association. Charter service, flight instruction and scenic airplane rides can be arranged with the Fixed Base Operation, Crown Point Aviation.
Website: http://www.springfieldvt.com/hartness-airport.htm
Location: 3 miles Northwest of Springfield, VT
Hours of Operation: Summer - 8am to 6pm, Winter - 8am to 5pm
Phone: 802-886-8594
Quick trips (under 25 minutes drive from our property)...
Vermont Country Store
The Vermont Country Store (with locations in Weston and Rockingham, VT) bills itself as "Purveyors of the Practical and Hard-to-Find," offering all sorts of intriguing merchandise for the home and body, from long-johns to aged cheddar off the wheel - there's even an old-time candy counter. While onsite at the Rockingham store, visitors can explore the Stone Grist Mill and Water Wheel (built 1810), the Covered Bridge (built 1872) and the nature trails.
Website: http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/ - click on "Visit our Stores"
Location: Route 103, Rockingham, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
9am - 5:30pm, daily
Days Closed: Thanksgiving and Christmas
Phone: (802) 463-2224 Rockingham Store
Distance from HI Express: 11 minutes (9.5 miles)
The Fort at No. 4
This living history museum takes visitors back to the 1740's, when the Fort was constructed to preserve the safety of the original inhabitants of No. 4, the most northern of the 26 land grants along the Connecticut River allotted by the Massachusetts General Court in 1735. Within the log stockade are province houses, lean-tos, the Great Hall and a watchtower. Outside the fort walls are a working blacksmith shop and two 18th century barns. The costumed staff (dressed as members of the original families to settle No. 4) leads visitors through demonstrations of trading and bartering, hearth cooking, musket firings and military drills.
Website: http://www.fortat4.com/
Location: 267 Springfield Road, Rte. 11, Charlestown, NH
Dates and Hours of Operation:
June through October, 10am - 4:30pm Wednesday - Sunday
Days Closed: Balance of the year
Phone: (603) 826-5700
Distance from HI Express: 3 minutes (1.3 miles)
Click to see a short clip on the Fort at No. 4: Fort at No. 4 Informational Video
Windsor Museums - Windsor, VT
The town of Windsor (located at the base of Mt. Ascutney) dates back to 1777, when it
became the "Birthplace of Vermont." It boasts a variety of museums and offers a walking
tour featuring examples of 18th, 19th and 20th century architecture that also highlights
two national engineering landmarks, the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge and the Ascutney
Mill Dam. Windsor is also home to the Vermont State Craft Center, and the workshop of Simon
Pearce, the renowned artisans of earthenware and hand-blown glass.
Distance from the Holiday Inn Express: 21 minutes (15.6 miles)
The American Precision Museum
"A National Historic Landmark celebrating the birthplace of America's Industrial Revolution." The museum is home to the largest collection of historically significant machine tools in the nation.
Website: http://www.americanprecision.org
Location: 196 Main Street, Windsor, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Memorial Day to October 31st, 10am - 5pm daily (including Sundays and Holidays)
Days Closed: Balance of the year
Phone: (802) 674-5781
The Cornish Colony Museum
This museum is dedicated to preserving the artistic accomplishments of the Cornish Colony artists, the most well known of whom being Maxfield Parrish, who lived in the twin communities settled on both sides of the Connecticut River at the turn-of-the-century era.
Website: http://www.cornishcolonymuseum.org
Location: 147 Main Street, Windsor, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Memorial Day to the end of October, Wednesday - Sunday, 11am - 5pm
Days Closed: Balance of the year, all Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the year
Phone: (802) 674-6008
Old Constitution House Museum
This museum celebrates the early years of the state's history, and is located in the tavern in which the first Constitution of the "Free and Independent State of Vermont" was adopted on July 8, 1777.
Informational Website: http://www.historicvermont.org/constitution
Location: North Main St., Windsor, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Late May through mid-October, Saturday and Sunday 11am - 5pm
Days Closed: Balance of the year, all other days of the week throughout the year
Phone: (802) 672-3773
Simon Pearce
Visitors to Simon Pearce's Windsor workshop can observe teams of glassblowers creating clear glass pieces, watch pottery being shaped and browse through all sorts of glass and earthenware creations by the renowned artist and his team. Simon Pearce, who originates from County Cork Ireland and trained at the Royal College of Art in London, has created an empire of custom-made glass and pottery, with workshop facilities also located in Quechee, VT, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and retail stores scattered around the nation. The Quechee store also boasts his first restaurant, located in the Mill overlooking the Ottauqhechee River.
Website: http://www.simonpearce.com/
Location: 109 Park Road, Windsor, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Glassblowing: 9am - 5pm, daily except for Sunday, 12pm - 5pm
Pottery: 9am - 3pm, Monday through Friday
Phone: (802) 674-6280
Distance from HI Express: 20 minutes (19 miles)
Vermont State Craft Center
Housed in the historic Windsor House building on Main Street, the retail sales gallery features the work of 250-juried Vermont crafts makers. The center hosts craft education programs for adults and children and is home to ongoing arts and crafts exhibits.
Website: http://www.vmga.org/windsor/vsscwindsor.html
Location: 54 Main Street, Windsor, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
January through May: 10am - 6pm Thursday - Saturday, 11am - 5pm on Sunday
June through December: 10am - 6pm Monday - Saturday, 11am - 5pm on Sunday
Phone: (802) 674-6729
Distance from HI Express: 23 minutes (16.2 miles)
Harpoon Brewery
Website: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com
Location: 336 Ruth Carney Drive, Windsor, VT
Dining Accommodations: Indoor dining area in the brewery (overlooking the bottling line), or outdoors in the Beer Garden
Hours of Operation for Beer Garden and Store:
Lunch is served from 11am - 4:30pm, though the Garden and Store are open as follows:
May through October, 10am - 6pm Sunday - Wednesday, 10am - 9pm Thursday - Saturday
November through April, 10am - 6pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, 10am - 9pm - Thursday, Friday, Saturday (Closed Sunday/Monday)*
*Open during three-day Holiday weekends (Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Martin Luther King Day)
Phone: (802) 674-5491 ext. 221
Tours: Tours of the brewery are available at 3pm on Fridays and Saturdays, throughout the year. If not in production, tours may be available on weekdays. The tour (open only to those 21 years and older) includes a walk-through of the brewery and complimentary samples of Harpoon Beer, and lasts about 45 minutes.
Distance from HI Express: 22 minutes (20.7 miles)
Cornish-Windsor Bridge
Built in 1866, this 460-foot long bridge spans the Connecticut River joining the towns of Cornish, NH and Windsor, VT. The bridge is located at the end of Bridge Street in Windsor, VT (0.3 miles south of the junction of VT44 at Windsor on US5 then 0.2 miles left). More parking is available on the NH side.
Informational Websites:
http://www.coveredbridgesite.com/vt/windsor_cornish.html
http://www.crjc.org/heritage/N08-5.htm
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 22 minutes (16.1 miles)
TWIN STATE SPEEDWAY
Experience all the action just fifteen minutes away at this exciting racetrack. The unique setup of the 1/3 mile, semi-banked asphalt oval track has garnered a reputation for high-action, frequent passing and thrilling finishes. Weekly racing begins at 7pm on Fridays, regular season ends September 4th, and the 2009 Fall Challenge will take place the weekend of October 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Informational Websites:
http://www.twinstatespeedway.net/
http://www.racewaymedia.com/tracks.php?track=24
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 16 minutes (13.8 miles)
Green Mountain Railroad
Ride the Green Mountain Flyer round trip from Bellows Falls to Chester, VT. On the trip along the Connecticut and Williams Rivers, taken in fully restored 1930's coaches pulled by a vintage diesel locomotive, the sights will include two covered bridges, a cascading waterfall and gorge at Brockways Mills, and plenty of Vermont farmland. At the Chester Depot (built in 1872, restored in the 1980's), one can visit the 1941 bay window caboose and picnic in the adjacent grounds. See our Events Calendar page for details on 2009 Special Excursion Trains.
Website: http://www.rails-vt.com/ - click on "Green Mountain Flyer"
Location: 54 Depot Street, Bellows Falls, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
See dates for Special Excursion Trains in Events Calendar.
Days Closed: Balance of year
Phone: (802) 463-3069
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 15 minutes (10.6 miles)
Alyson's Orchard
Alyson's Orchard is unique in that it is a working orchard sitting high atop a mountain with views of the Connecticut River and the town of Walpole, NH. At Alyson's, it's "always gathering time," and with the changing of the seasons comes a variety of fruits to be picked: apples, pears, peaches, plums, grapes and berries of all kinds. Alyson's is able to provide such activities as a comfortable wagon ride throughout the orchards, or a sampling of pies and cider in the Orchard Room.
Website: http://www.alysonsorchard.com/
Location: 57 Alyson's Lane, Walpole, NH
Dates and Hours of Operation:
August through October (Harvesting Season) - 8am - 6pm, daily
May through July - 9am - 5pm, daily
Days Closed: Thanksgiving through mid-May
Phone: (800) 856-0549
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 25 minutes (19.4 miles)
A little bit more of a "hike" (within 50 minutes drive of our property)...
Please note: Most of the longer drives (to the sites below) will take you on scenic backroads, along rivers and streams, and through some of Vermont and New Hampshire's most picturesque towns... in our part of the world, getting there is half the fun!
A little bit more of a "hike" (within 50 minutes drive of our property)...
Please note: Most of the longer drives (to the sites below) will take you on scenic backroads, along rivers and streams, and through some of Vermont and New Hampshire's most picturesque towns... in our part of the world, getting there is half the fun!
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
This site features the beautifully preserved home, gardens and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), one of the country's most talented sculptors. His home (called "Aspet" after the French town that was his father's birthplace), was built around 1800 as an inn, and remains intact with its original furnishings and effects. The Little Studio (a hay barn converted to Saint-Gaudens' studio in 1885) houses many of his works, while his larger monuments and memorials are scattered about the grounds and gardens. The site also encompasses two galleries that host various contemporary and historical exhibits, the family's stable and icehouse, the "Temple" (which holds the remains of the Saint-Gaudens family), and two walking trails. A summer concert series and a variety of sculpture workshops are offered on the premises.
Website: http://www.sgnhs.org/ and http://www.nhstateparks.com/saint.html
Location: 139 Saint-Gaudens Rd, Cornish, NH (20 miles from hotel)
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Memorial Day through October 31st, 9am - 4:30pm, daily
Days Closed: Balance of the year
Phone: (603) 675-2175
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 28 minutes (19.6 miles)
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
The Park is home to the 19th-century Queen Anne mansion that was a residence to members of all three of the Park's founding families. Tours of the mansion explore these families' histories of conservation through the original furnishings and personal effects preserved in the house, along with many notable works of art, from landscape paintings to photography. The Park welcomes guests at a Visitor's Center housed in a rehabilitated carriage house originally constructed in 1895, and encompasses 20 miles of trails and carriage roads on Mount Tom, one of the oldest sustainably managed woodlands in the nation.
Website: http://www.nps.gov/mabi/
Location: Route 12 and River Road, Woodstock, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Memorial Day weekend to October 31st, 10am - 5pm daily. Ranger guided tours of the mansion and grounds are offered daily, on the hour from 10am until 4pm.
Days Closed: Balance of the year
Phone: (802) 457-3368 ext. 18
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 43 minutes (32.6 miles)
Billings Farm and Museum
Billings is a working dairy farm and a living museum of Vermont's rural heritage. The farm dates back to 1871 and is the oldest operating Jersey farm in the nation. The Museum exhibits The Vermont Farm Year in 1890, using artifacts, photographs and oral histories to portray the life and culture of Vermont farmers of that era.
Website: http://www.billingsfarm.org/
Location: Route 12 and River Road, Woodstock, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
May 1st - October 31st, 10am - 5pm daily. Weekends in November and December, 10am - 4pm.
Days Closed: Balance of the year
Phone: (802) 457-2355
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 43 minutes (32.6 miles)
Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) Nature Center
The VINS Nature Center is an environmental learning center and living museum, with a raptor exhibit featuring over 20 species of owls and other birds of prey, educational programs (including flight demonstrations), the VINS nature shop and walking trails on over 40 acres of otherwise untouched land.
Website: http://www.vinsweb.org/nature-center/index.html
Location: 6565 Woodstock Road, Route 4, Quechee, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
May 1st through October 31st, 10am - 5pm daily
November 1st through April 30th: 10am - 4pm, Wednesday through Sunday
Days Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day (check website for added dates)
Phone: (802) 359-5000 ext. 221
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 37 minutes (35.8 miles)
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site
This site is one of the best-preserved Presidential sites in the nation, as most of the village of Plymouth Notch has stayed virtually unchanged since the early 20th century. The Coolidge homestead, where our 30th President was sworn in by his father upon hearing of the death of President Warren Harding in Washington, remains exactly as it was the night he took office on August 3, 1923. Along with the Coolidge home, one can visit the Plymouth Cheese Factory (established by the President's father), the Cilley General Store, the Post Office, the Wilder Restaurant, several barns, the church and the dance hall that served as the Summer White House.
Informational Website: http://www.historicvermont.org/coolidge/
Location: 3780 Route 100A, Plymouth, VT
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Late May to mid-October, 9:30am - 5pm, daily
Days Closed: Balance of the year, though the Aldrich House is open weekdays year-round, with exhibits designed for winter visitors
Phone: (802) 672-3773
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 48 minutes (31.5 miles)
Enfield Shaker Museum
The Enfield Shaker Village was founded in 1793 as the 9th of 18 Shaker communities to be established in this country. The Enfield Shakers built over 200 buildings, farmed more than 3,000 acres of fertile farmland and lived life following the "Shaker Way" of worship. The site now encompasses 13 Shaker buildings and a museum, and features the work of the Dana Robes Wood Craftsmen in the Shaker furniture store and gift shop.
Website: http://www.shakermuseum.org/
Location: 447 NH Route 4A, Enfield, NH (45 miles from hotel)
Dates and Hours of Operation:
Year round: 10am - 4pm, Monday through Saturday, 12pm - 4pm on Sundays
The last tour starts at 3pm.
Phone: (603) 632-4346
Distance from Holiday Inn Express: 46 minutes (41 miles) |
