The Shires in the Summer
Top Picks in the Shires
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 the Shires offers in the summer.
Dorset, Vermont
Dorset Quarry
First mined in 1785, the Dorset Quarry supplied marble for the New York Public Library and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, among other notable structures. But since being abandoned and filled in with water around World War I, it’s had a second life as a locally beloved swimming hole. As long as a football field and as much as 60 or 70 feet deep in places, the quarry is surrounded by smooth ledges on which to picnic and sunbathe. Those ledges are also the launching pad for an exhilarating leap into the quarry’s cool, blue-green waters. The land’s private owners simply request that visitors register online at DorsetQuarry.com before coming (and, of course, to remove all their trash and belongings when they leave).
Bennington, Vermont
Bennington Battle Monument
Sitting majestically by itself on a hilltop, this 306-foot-tall stone obelisk is an enduring tribute to the Aug. 16, 1777 clash between colonial and British forces that marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War. Visitors can choose from stairs or an elevator to climb two-thirds of the way up the circa-1891 structure to the observation deck, where a view of three states awaits . There’s more to explore on ground level, including a diorama of the Battle of Bennington, an immense iron kettle taken from a British camp, and monuments to heroic figures such as Green Mountain Boys commander Seth Warner. The monument also plays a starring role in Bennington’s anniversary celebration of the battle, with costumed reenactors gathering during that August weekend for rifle musters, fife-and-drum music, and more. Hours, Admissions, Directions
North Bennington, Vermont
Park-McCullough House
Fresh from business success in California, Vermont-born lawyer Trenor Park came home in 1863 and spent two years building a lavish country villa in North Bennington in the popular French Empire style. For the next 100 years, the home would remain in Park’s family, which included his son-in-law and eventual Vermont governor John McCullough. The 35-room mansion is preserved today as a rare look into Vermont’s Gilded Age, with its 15-foot ceilings, exquisite woodwork, and elaborate Victorian furnishings. It’s grand enough to have served as a governor’s mansion from 1902-1904 and to have hosted a head of state—namely, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, who stayed here in 1891 during his visit to dedicate the Bennington Battle Monument.
Dorset, Vermont
Dorset Playhouse
When local culture fans cobbled together a playhouse out of three 18th-century barns back in 1929, they were beginning a tradition of live theater in Dorset that is still going strong into the 21st century. In summer, the playhouse hosts the Main Stage season of the Dorset Theatre Festival, which presents professional actors in Broadway shows, timeless favorites, and world premieres. (Among the big names the festival has brought to Dorset: Alfre Woodard and Treat Williams.) Throughout the rest of the year, the Dorset Players—a community theater group as old as the playhouse itself—keeps audiences coming back with top-notch amateur productions.
Peru, Vermont
Bromley Mountain Adventure Park
Too good a mountain to save just for winter, Bromley has long welcomed summer adventure seekers to its slopes. Take its Alpine Slide, which opened at the resort in 1976 as one of the longest of its kind in the world: Riders shriek with glee for a full two-thirds of a mile as they twist and turn their way downhill in wheeled sleds. The slide has since been joined in the Mountain Adventure Park by thrills both mild (bumper boats, mini golf) and wild (giant swing, water slide). If you still have adrenaline to burn, Bromley’s Treetop Adventure Course is waiting, too.
More to See and Do
Places to Visit In the Summer
Yankee Magazine’s editors hand-picked 5 places to visit in each Vermont region. Explore things to do in summer statewide.
