Woodstock Weekends

WOODSTOCK MAKES A GREAT BASECAMP FOR LONG RUNS, FLY-FISHING AND HIKES.

There are a lot of things we don’t like about spring and mud season. It’s a time to keep off most trails – on foot or by bike. The weather is unpredictable. It’s too cool to swim.

Then there are the things we love about it, too. Rivers are running fast for paddling. Fly-fishing is in prime season, and May is a month when the Vermont towns that are typically crowded with visitors are empty.

In short, it’s a great time to spend a weekend in Woodstock. Whether you check into the elegant Woodstock Inn (once home to Laurance Rockefeller) and indulge in a spa treatments, use Woodstock as a base to ride or run the trails at Ascutney or Killington, or gear up for fly-fishing, there’s more to do in this area than a weekend has time for. Plus, the village has dozens of great little shops and restaurants as well as small inns.

Run With The Pros

On most weekends, there’s an informal run, the Tour De Woodstock where you can pace yourself against some of the top runners in the country on the area’s most beautiful routes.

Organized by Ben True, who holds the American record for the 5K and placed 7th overall at the New York Marathon in 2021, it’s an informal run put on by his Northwoods Athletics team (which also includes star runners Eric LaPuma and Dan Curts). It’s open to anyone and all abilities.

The weekly runs are posted on Strava and northwoodsathletics.com has updates. Post-race many of the runners gather for a strong brew at the single-origin specialty roaster, Abracacabra Coffee Co.

On May 6, though, bet that most local runners will be headed to Ascutney Trails for the second annual Overland Trail Run, a 15- or 6-mile trail run with $5,000 in prize money.

Woodstock’s most famous running race, the Covered Bridges Half Marathon, starts out of the Saskadena 6 base area on June 4 and sends runners through some of the region’s scenic covered bridges. The 2023 race is capped at 2,300 entrants and already sold out but you can sometimes sign up to run with one of the event’s fundraising partners.

Cast A Line

Some of the biggest, hungriest trout in the state can be found in the pools of the White River, Black River and Ottauquechee River in May. But to catch them, you need to know where to go and have the right equipment. The Woodstock Inn & Resort Fly Fishing Shop is the state’s only Orvis-authorized dealer and a good place to start.

In addition to flies, rods, waders and other gear, it’s a place where you can sign up for a fly-fishing lesson. Or, book a half or full day session, with a guide such as Shay Berry, the lead flyfishing guide, who has also coached the men’s basketball teams at St. Michael’s College and Dartmouth. One of the prime guided trips he leads is a sevenhour float trip down the White River.

The fishing is dependent on the river flow so May and early summer are your best chances. A full-day guided fishing excursion is $449 for two and $99 for an additional person.

Paddle The Whitewater

If you are comfortable in whitewater and have all the right gear, May is the time to paddle the rivers around Woodstock. Join in the Peavine Whitewater Race which starts out of Stockbridge on May 7, or paddle or float at your leisure there or on the Ottauquechee.

Ski Or Mtb Killington

Don’t put away the skis just yet. Killington often stays open through June for skiing and the parking lot scene is a giant party on weekends. If the snow is gone from Superstar, that usually means the downhill mountain bike trails are open.

Plan A Mtb Trip

The VMBA chapter, the Woodstock Area Mountain Bike Association usually asks that folks don’t ride the extensive network of mountain bike trails until June 1, when they are fully dry and that you check Trailforks.com to make sure they are. But come June, the trails of Mt. Peg, the Aqueduct Trails and those at Saskadena Six and the Knox Meadow skills park make for some of the most varied terrain in the state. And they are a short ride from the town center. You can also rent bikes or book a guide through the Woodstock Inn and Saskadena 6.

TRY A SKILLS PARK, HIT A JUMP JAM

Where can you ride dirt in May? The new skills park at Ascutney Trails, in nearby West Windsor which will host a Jump Jam on May 14 with group rides and prize categories for men, women, kids, open and “Big Shot.”

Search For Orchids

In spring, the Eshqua Bog Area in nearby Hartland is one of the best places to see Vermont’s orchids. Spring is a consecutive show of yellow lady’s slippers, showy lady’s slippers, northern bog orchids and green orchids and depending on the weather, the orchids can bloom through June. The bog area, a fen that’s a holdover from when glaciers retreated some 10,000 years ago, is co-owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy of Vermont which put in a 460-foot accessible boardwalk as well as benches.

Learn About Falconry

Falconry has been called the sport of kings, in part because in the 1600s “laws of ownership” governed which social rank and dictated who would be allowed to fly which types of birds. While it’s no longer an exclusive activity focused on putting food on princes’ banquet tables, it is rare to find places where you can learn about falconry. Chris Davis became the first Master Falconer in the U.S. who is allowed to offer hands on falconry education. He and others offer introductory sessions handling and training trained Harris hawks through the Woodstock Inn.

HIKE/RUN VERMONT’S NATIONAL PARK

Vermont has just two National Parks, small ones but good ones. In Woodstock, the Marsh-BillingsRockefeller National Historical Park spans about 550 acres and comprises 20 miles of trails. While some of these can be closed due to mud, the carriage trails (open to horses but closed to bikes and motorized vehicles) are often a great place to run. Run or hike to the small pond known as The Pogue. The Carriage Barn Visitors’ center doesn’t open until Memorial Day but you can download maps online.

Bring The Kids

Sheep shearing, visits with draft animals, cheese making and quilting are just some of the activities at the Billings Farm and Museum. The historic farm and estate showcase the traditional agriculture and innovations made by Frederick Billings in the 19th century.

Dine Out

There are dozens of classic Woodstock favorites such as The Worthy Burger, the award-winning gourmet dinners served at The Lincoln Inn and Cloudland Farm’s prix-fixe dinners (Friday and Saturday nights, only) that feature ingredients grown on the farm (and on other nearby organic farms.

Starting in June, the farm-to-table Red Barn Dinner series at the Woodstock Inn’s Kelly Way Gardens starts up on Wednesday nights with family-style seating.

Farmhouse Pottery founder Zoe Zillian opened Au Comptoir in 2022. The stylish eatery and features craft cocktails and small bites.

Last, you can’t go wrong picking up a picnic or dinner to go at the Woodstock Farmer’s Market, just outside of town om Route 4, or making the trip to Quechee for a meal at Simon Pearce’s restaurant, located in its store and mill, overlooking the Ottauquechee.

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