Lower Connecticut River Valley in the Fall
Top Picks in the Lower Connecticut River Valley
Vermont is world-renowned for its bright, colorful fall foliage, making the season a celebration. Hand-picked by the editors of Yankee Magazine, these 5 highlights are just some of what the Lower Connecticut River Valley offers in autumn.
Windsor, Vermont
American Precision Museum
Long before there was a Silicon Valley, another valley was known as the cradle of a groundbreaking technology: the Connecticut River. Located in an 1846 armory and machine shop, the American Precision Museum shows how this region helped lay the groundwork for precision manufacturing and the machine tool industry in America. Visitors can marvel at an extensive collection of vintage machinery and tools, and learn how Windsor and nearby Springfield became “Precision Valley” and a workshop for the world.
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro Literary Festival
When fall foliage season reaches its peak in southern Vermont, leaf peepers mix with book lovers at this three-day festival that’s become a Brattleboro signature event. The festival made a splashy debut in 2002, with the legendary Saul Bellow as the headliner (in his last public appearance). It’s built on that success in the years since, attracting winners of Pulitzer Prizes, Caldecott Medals, and virtually every other prestigious literary award. Among the 900-plus authors who have appeared at the festival are plenty of big names—John Irving, Julia Alvarez, Isabel Wilkerson—alongside an exciting collection of rising stars.
Windsor, Vermont
Mount Ascutney State Park
Rising in splendid isolation from the Connecticut Valley lowlands, 3,144-foot Mount Ascutney offers unforgettable 360-degree vistas from its summit. You can hike to the top or drive up the 3.7-mile toll road to a parking area at 2,800 feet, which has great views of its own as well as the option to make a short trek to the summit. In early October, Ascutney’s position along an important flyway for migrating raptors makes it an ideal place for hawk watching. On a selected day each fall, summit visitors can join raptor experts from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in spotting the soaring birds of prey.
SCOTT FARM
– Dummerston, Vermont
Centuries of New England apple growing can be tasted at this literal “living history” museum, operated since 1995 by The Landmark Trust USA. Scott Farm’s orchards were first planted in the early 20th century, but some of the 130 heirloom varieties it grows today are actually older than the 1791 farm itself. The property includes more than 20 historic buildings on 571 acres, and it may look familiar to movie fans (The Cider House Rules was partly filmed here). Among the many crops grown at Scott Farm are gooseberries, pawpaws, persimmons, and medlars. Apples, however, are the undisputed stars when their harvest season gets under way, typically in August. Things reach a high point in October, as the farm invites visitors to join in Heirloom Apple Day for tastings, tours, and educational talks.
PUTNEY MOUNTAIN WINERY & SPIRITS
– Putney, Vermont
Charles Dodge was still a music professor at Dartmouth College when he discovered his passion for winemaking. Today, the winery that he and his wife, Kate, founded in 1998 is still transforming ingredients from local farms into nationally acclaimed wines and liqueurs. The 100-percent-solar-powered winery uses classic New England flavors—apples, cranberries, maple, and so on—to reimagine old favorite beverages and create entirely new ones. Sample and learn all about them at the winery and tasting room in Putney; there’s also a second tasting room in Quechee. (And if you pick up a bottle or two and are wondering what to serve alongside it, make time to visit the Vermont Shepherd Farm Store in Putney for award-winning artisanal cheeses.)
More to See and Do
Places to Visit In Fall
Yankee Magazine’s editors hand-picked 5 places to visit in each Vermont region. Explore things to do in autumn statewide.
