Tourists have found enough to do in Manchester since since the late 1800s, when it was a well-liked summer vacation spot for affluent city families. Many of them constructed opulent summer residences with views of the stunning Battenkill Valley, some of which have subsequently developed into attractive inns or tourist destinations.
Manchester Village, a charming and historic neighborhood, welcomes visitors to meander along its marble sidewalks or take a leisurely trek around Equinox Pond. One of Vermont's most well-known tourist destinations is Manchester Center, a mile to the north, which is home to name-brand outlet stores.
With their ski runs, hiking trails, and even a skyline drive with 360-degree views, the nearby mountains provide even more activities in Manchester. One of these, Mount Equinox, climbs straight from quaint Manchester Village, and trails leading to its summit start just a few steps from the opulent hotels.
With this list of the top things to do in Manchester, you'll discover a wide variety of attractions and destinations.
1. Go to Hildene.
Manchester was a well-liked summer getaway for affluent urban families seeking relief from the heat in the middle of the nineteenth century. They constructed opulent summer houses of their own or remained at the Equinox.
When Robert Todd Lincoln, the president of Pullman Company and the son of Abraham Lincoln, was at the summer residence of his business partner, he noticed a location with a view of the Battenkill Valley and the mountains and made the decision to construct a country estate there. The Georgian Revival Hildene was the end outcome.
Although the property stayed in the family until the 1970s, Mary Todd Lincoln's family provided much of the furniture for the rebuilt mansion, which also features a collection of personal objects belonging to the president, including his stovepipe hat. You can take a tour of the family's living quarters, the kitchen, the pantry, and the staff's quarters.
Robert Todd Lincoln spent more time in Hildene than just during the summer. With a dairy herd, hens, and vegetable plots, he built a working farm. Together with the formal gardens that his daughter Jesse built, the latter have also been restored. The formal garden is stunning year-round, but in June, when more than 1,000 peonies are in full bloom, it is most impressive. Even in the winter, the pattern created by the lines of the privet hedge are evident through the snow.
A goat dairy and farm (the cheeses are available for purchase in the gift shop) and a gorgeously restored Pullman Car, resembling those used by affluent summer families coming in Manchester, are more recent additions to the estate. The informational panels along the platform, which explore the Black porters' labor on these opulent trains and their quest for decent pay and working conditions, are particularly fascinating.
2. Take a leisurely stroll around Manchester Village Historic District
The group of structures at the center of the hamlet, known as the Equinox House Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, is dominated on one side by the grand white columns of the legendary The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa.
The First Congregational Church, built in 1871, the Courthouse, built in 1822, and the Gothic Revival St. John's Episcopal Chapel, located further south along "The Street," are just a few of the prominent 19th-century structures.
This moniker alludes to the row of opulent residences along Route 7-A, a promenade built in the 1850s and the city's oldest district. Federal, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, shingle style, and mixtures of these architectural styles are combined together.
You can notice that the walkways along this promenade are made of slabs and asymmetrical bits of marble if you look down as you walk along it. This was a sensible paving material due to the quantity of cut and shattered marble from the quarries in nearby Dorset.
3. Southern Vermont Arts Center
When you travel along West Road, which runs parallel to Route 7-A between Manchester Center and Village, you can see the approach road to the Southern Vermont Arts Center with ease. The wide field is decorated with enormous modern sculptures, and when you rise to the Yester House, another summer residence built in 1917 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, you'll see others in the woods next to the road.
A dozen galleries house a changing collection of contemporary art exhibitions. They feature artists from the area. The galleries are overflowing with the vibrant and vivid drawings, paintings, and sculptures produced by kids in the neighborhood schools for the annual Art from the Schools exhibition.
Lunch is served creatively at the center's CurATE Café, and afterward you may meander across the grounds to see more sculptures or follow the Boswell Botany Trail. Native wildflowers fill this three-quarter-mile forest nature route, which connects to the Equinox Land Trust's trails.
4. Go through the books at Northshire Bookstore
The Northshire has been a Manchester landmark since 1976 and is frequently cited as one of the best booksellers in New England. The independent bookstore meanders through room after room with shelves stacked high with books on every subject, but is notably well-stocked with material on Vermont and New England.
There are hundreds of new and used books available, and browsing is encouraged. Comfy chairs also tempt visitors to read a few pages of a book. The wide selection of picture books and young adult novels on the second floor makes it just as enticing for kids.
If you plan to stay in Manchester for a longer period of time, look out the schedule of author events; the Northshire is home to many famous writers, and you never know who might be signing books while you're there. You can get a sense of the store's previous visitors by looking at the selection of autographed books at the front of the establishment.
A monument with 45 lines from Thomas Jefferson was commissioned to honor the bicentennial of 1976 and is located among the flowers in the small Reader's Park outside. The monument features a metal sculpture of a reader sitting on a bench in front of a colorful gelato shop. Dennis Sparling, a sculptor from Vermont, created the monument.
5. Travel along the Mount Equinox Skyline.
You can see Mount Equinox from almost anywhere in and around Manchester, which gives you an indication of how expansive the vista is from its summit. It is the tallest peak in the Taconic range, which Vermont and New York both share, rising 3,848 feet above sea level.
The Green Mountains of Vermont, the Adirondacks of New York, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the Taconic and Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts may all be seen from its summit. On particularly clear days, Mount Royal in Montreal can be seen.
While it is possible to reach the top by car on the fully paved Skyline Drive, climbing to take in this vista is much easier (see below). You pass through four different types of forests as you navigate the roughly 20 hairpin turns, and the St. Bruno Visitors Center at the top has exhibits on local flora and fauna.
Bring food for a picnic to eat on the top (there are tables), or get directions to Lookout Rock by following the 0.2-mile trail from the Toll House for more views.
6. The American Museum of Fly Fishing,
The large Orvis store adjacent to Highway 7-A and the nearby Orvis Outlet are easy to locate, but the American Museum of Fly Fishing is less obvious. Visit this location to witness artistically tied flies, vintage fishing gear, and the largest collection of angling-related objects in the world. There are also fishing-related publications, old photos, and artistic creations in this area.
At the Orvis Fly-Fishing School, located across Highway 7-A, you may brush up on your casting techniques or master the sport. There, you can learn everything from picking the best waters to tying a flawless knot.
7. Climb Equinox Mountain
One of southern Vermont's best vistas is rewarded for the relatively quick ascent from Manchester Town to Mount Equinox's summit with a 360-degree panorama that spans four states. Despite being brief and having a 2,800-foot vertical ascent, the climb is challenging. Long and continuous, the steep slopes are as difficult to descend as they are to ascend.
Nestled in the Green Mountains, Manchester, #Vermont, is a charming town full of cozy inns and eateries, historic sites, quaint shops, and plenty of outdoor activities. pic.twitter.com/ZRKWsj32sE
— Travelopick (@travelopick) August 18, 2020
The 3.1-mile (either way) trailhead is located behind Burr & Burton Academy and is variably known as the Blue Summit Trail, the Burr & Burton Trail, and the Red Gate Trail. Keep an eye out for a branching trail that leads to a mountain spring and a.2 mile trail that leads to Lookout Rock at the summit.
8. Circumambulate Equinox Pond
Equinox Pond is encircled by woodland and a system of pathways that travel through land controlled by the Equinox Preservation Trust between Mount Equinox and the Village. One of the most popular activities for kids too young to handle rougher terrain is the mile-long, level Equinox Pond Trail, which circles the lake.
The 914 acres of protected territory are traversed by a network of 11 miles of pathways, including the trail that climbs Equinox. The 1.25-mile Trillium Trail connects the Pond Loop to the Southern Vermont Art Center Botany Trail, and the half-mile Flatlander Trail, which starts at the Red Gate, is likewise wide and level.
9. Ride the Sun Mountain Flyer at Bromley
The famed ski resort's summer counterpart, Bromley Mountain Adventure Park, is just 15 minutes from Manchester. The Sun Mountain Flyer, which is half a mile long, five floors high, and has a top speed of 50 miles per hour, is the longest ZipRider in New England. Friends or family members can ride simultaneously on dual tracks.
At two thirds of a mile long, the triple-tracked Alpine Slide in Bromley is still among the longest slides in the world. It was the first one to open in North America. With a gigantic swing, bumper boats, mini golf, a climbing wall, and panoramic chairlift excursions for breathtaking mountain views, there are thrills and attractions for people of all ages.
10. Ascend Lye Brook Falls
Lye Brook Falls, one of New England's tallest waterfalls at 125 feet, are located deep into the Lye Brook Wilderness, which is located in the Green Mountain National Forest to the east of Route 7. Like other mountain waterfalls, the stream rushes down a lengthy series of ledges that resemble steps, and it is at its most roaring and foamy in the spring or right after a shower.
The two-mile track meanders through dense woodlands as it follows an old railroad bed. Along Lye Brook, it climbs slowly but not severely. The trailhead is located at Glen Road's conclusion.
11. Take Part in Winter Activities in Stratton Mountain
Less than 30 minutes away from Manchester is Stratton Mountain, where you don't have to be a skier to enjoy a winter day there. The highest peak in Southern Vermont is popular with skiers due to its over 100 groomed trails and its 100 acres of glades, while its five terrain parks are popular with snowboarders and freestylers. One of Vermont's top ski areas is this one.
Non-skiers can take a snow tube down the slope, skate on the ice, ride in a sleigh, or go on a dogsled trip. Both skiers and non-skiers will love the Alpine village at the foot of the mountain, where they will discover a spa, fitness center, and restaurants that pour out onto the pavements under heat lamps, after – or instead of – their skiing excursion.
12. Go to North Meadow Farm
You won't have to go far in Vermont to see farms, which are famous for their lovely barns and rolling fields. There is much more to farming than these picture-perfect settings, and Manchester offers the opportunity to see a real, operational family farm.
North Meadow is neither a show farm decked up for tourists nor a 19th-century "gentleman's farm" that was the plaything of a rich estate owner. A dedicated family runs a genuine, working farm where they raise grass-fed cows and other livestock, create a variety of cheeses, and sell their goods at a farm shop.
You may explore the barns, observe the making of cheese, and interact with a variety of animals and birds on a guided or self-directed tour. You'll witness a variety of animals, including goats, alpacas, pigs, cows, chickens, and ducks. You could even get the chance to pet a young calf. Children can interact with young goats and burn off energy on the playground.
Farmer David Johnson will tell you about the animals and how he saved this long-forgotten farm, if he's not out in the field cutting and baling hay. This is the real deal; it forms the foundation of rural Vermont's economy.