If you want to visit Woodstock, Vermont, here’s a suggested itinerary.
Note: Check websites to confirm business hours for the day you visit.
Local ingredients are at the heart of the menu at Mon Vert Café (28 Central St.). The downtown breakfast and brunch spot offers a range of pastries and coffees, plus hit sandwiches such as the Coffeehouse Brisket and the Maplebrook Mozzarella. On a cold winter’s day when the front patio is snowed in, find a spot in the cozy upstairs seating area. Just up the street with similarly glowing reviews is Soulfully Good Café (67 Central St.), which serves classic breakfasts, as well as paninis and southern-style options.
Billings Farm is a time portal into Vermont’s agricultural history. Lawyer and railroad builder Frederick Billings established the farm in 1871 as a model for sustainable practices. Now a nonprofit, it’s still home to cows, sheep, chickens and horses. Watch the operations of the farm, which sells the milk from its Jersey cows to local cheesemakers, or explore the museum exhibits. Learn about the historical practices such as maple sugaring, ice harvesting and sewing that kept farmsteads running before modern technology took over. After walking through the 1890s farmhouse, barns, orchards and gardens, be sure to taste the handmade cheese and ice cream.
69 Old River Rd., Woodstock
Sugar maples, evergreens and covered bridges surround the birthplace of George Perkins Marsh, a founding father of the conservationist movement. Since 1998, when Laurance and Mary French Rockefeller donated the land, it has been Vermont’s only national park. See the gardens or hike to the top of Mount Tom to take in a view of the town and neighboring hills from above. Bikers, horses and pets are welcome, as are Nordic skiers and snowshoers in winter.
69 Old River Rd., Woodstock
Park by the town green, then wander historic Central Street’s art galleries and gift shops. Stop to browse books at the Yankee Bookshop (12 Central St.) and handcrafted local art at Collective - The Art of Craft (46 Central St.). Find durable fashion at Elevation Clothing (15 Central St.), or see what’s trending at 37 Central Clothiers (37 Central St.). Nearby, F.H. Gillingham and Sons (16 Elm St.) has been the town’s general store since 1886 and is still owned by the Gillingham family. Make sure to visit in December, when Central Street lights up for an award-winning Wassail Weekend full of holiday festivities.
Have you ever picked up something at an art shop and wondered, How did someone make that? Find the answer at Farmhouse Pottery, where you can schedule a private pottery-making date or group workshop. Spend an hour learning from a master potter and end the session with a piece to be shipped home. If you’re short on time, explore the store and watch a master potter at work on-site. Simple yet elegant, this shop has a variety of beautiful kitchenware and home décor.
1837 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock
This year-round market is hard to miss for anyone driving by on West Woodstock Road. The front display overflows with flowers in the summer and pumpkins in the fall. Inside is a cornucopia of produce, cheese, and fresh-baked goods and dishes. After surviving a fire and two major floods, this store is more than a grocery staple for the surrounding community — it’s a symbol of Vermont resilience.
979 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock
Ready for dinner? With a colorful, rustic interior and a bar full of craft beer, Worthy Kitchen (442 Woodstock Rd.) lives up to its name. Its partner restaurant in South Royalton has won awards for its burgers, and you can find these alongside sandwiches and salads on the pub-style menu. For something fancier, dine in an upscale mill perched on the Ottauquechee River — with close-up views of a waterfall — at Simon Pearce Restaurant (1760 Quechee Main St.). The menu is creative American, and the bar offers wine, beer and cocktails in the signature glassware made on-site. Browse artisan glass and pottery in the adjoining rooms after dinner.