Deerfield Valley in the Summer
Top Picks in Deerfield Valley
Summer is your gateway to the sense of wonder and well-being that comes with slowing down and taking in your surroundings in Vermont. Plunge into a swimming hole, stroll a local festival, or simply find togetherness on the lakeshore or around the campfire. Hand-picked by the editors of Yankee Magazine, these 5 highlights are just some of what the Deerfield Valley offers in the summer.
West Dover, Vermont
Mount Snow Golf Club
Golf is both a mental and physical exercise, as the late New England golf course architect Geoffrey Cornish well knew. That’s why he loved the game and designed courses with a goal of helping others love it, too. But he wasn’t without his tricks. No fewer than 41 sand traps and nearly a dozen water hazards are sprinkled throughout Mount Snow’s par-72, 18-hole championship course. An open green expanse on the front nine gives way to a back nine that’s more wooded than most, with stands of oaks, birches, sugar maples, and tamaracks. The club offers lessons for an extra fee, while the amazing Green Mountain views are free for all to enjoy.
Deerfield Valley, Vermont
Vermont Blueberry Festival
For 10 days spanning late July and August, the Deerfield Valley transforms into a tribute to one of summer’s most popular fruits, and certainly its most versatile one. No blueberry opportunity is left unturned during this festival: There are pies and pancakes, jams and syrups, blueberry sausages, and blueberry tamales. Visitors might see a flotilla of blueberry-themed boats on Lake Whitingham, or kids slipping and sliding in a 200-gallon pool of blueberry jelly. The parade, the street fairs, the contests—they’re all about the blueberry. And be sure to visit Wilmington’s Boyd Family Farm to get a feel for how blueberry cultivation fits into Vermont’s agricultural scene and pick your own berries in the farm’s fields.
Stratton, Vermont
Stratton Bike Park
Mountain bikers of all skill and ambition levels will feel right at home at Stratton Mountain’s bike park, tucked into some of the most scenic folds of the Green Mountains. The park has steadily expanded since its 2019 debut, now offering 16 purpose-built and meticulously maintained trails ranked for different skill levels (like ski trails—as green, blue, or black). The Kick Start skills park is filled with freestyle features on which newer bikers can test themselves before heading up to the trails on Stratton’s high-speed American Express six-passenger lift. Bike and gear rentals and lessons round out the offerings.
Marlboro, Vermont
Marlboro Music Festival
Once described by The New Yorker as “the classical world’s most coveted retreat,” Marlboro Music hosts some 75 talented classical singers and instrumentalists over the course of several weeks each summer. Newcomers join master artists (alumni include Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax) on the former campus of Marlboro College to learn from one another and create music together. The public gets a chance to hear what this collaboration sounds like during Marlboro Music’s five-week festival in July and August, when the musicians perform concerts in rotating classical ensembles. Lineups aren’t set in advance, so audiences don’t know until a week before each performance exactly what—or who—they’ll hear.
Whitingham, Vermont
Harriman Reservoir
The largest manmade body of water in Vermont, Harriman Reservoir (also known as Lake Whitingham) offers miles of pristine shoreline for picnicking and hiking and more than 2,000 acres of water for boating, swimming, and fishing. The property is managed by Great River Hydro, which makes it available for day use by the public, for free, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Hikers can stretch their legs on a shoreline path that’s part of Vermont’s famed cross-country ski trail, the Catamount Trail. Bald eagles and loons are among the wildlife here, drawn in part by the excellent fishing: Harriman is stocked each spring with more brook trout than any other Vermont lake, and its waters teem with bass, perch, and salmon as well.
More to See and Do
Places to Visit In summer
Yankee Magazine’s editors hand-picked 5 places to visit in each Vermont region. Explore things to do in summer statewide.
