Have you ever been to Vermont? If you’ve never been to Vermont hop in a car/plane/train and get your butt up there! Summer and Fall are by far the best times to visit, if you’re a skier or enjoy the snow Winter is great time as well. I grew up in a small college town in central Vermont and went to college in Burlington. I LOVE it up there, although something holds me back from moving my family there now.
One of my favorite places to visit in summer and fall is Shelburne Farms. It’s a working farm, forest and National Historic Landmark located on Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont. More specifically it was created by Dr. William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb as a model agriculture estate. Oh and Olmstead created the designs for the landscape. You get the picture.
There’s something for everyone here – the children’s farmyard, touring the grounds, hiking trails, education programs (for children and adults), dinner at the Inn, the list goes on.
Our last trip to the Green Mountain State included a trip with my kids to the Children’s Farmyard. We did the usual drill, chicken parade, milked a gorgeous Brown Swiss Cow, picked up chickens, worked with wool, but the best was the most unexpected. We happened upon the hike with two goats and a sheep up to Lone Tree Hill. Oddly, the goats were more like dogs (except for how they just poop everywhere with little warning.)
The hike was short and sweet, with spectacular views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in the distance. At this point the goats were ‘off-leash’ to the amusement of all of us.
