SEE & DO | Inn at Valley Farms

FOR FOOD ENTHUSIASTS

Right Here in Walpole: So much to explore, so little time… (be sure to plan plenty!)

Visit our very own Walpole Valley Farms’ Farm Store: to stock up on our own grass-fed and pasture-raised meats, maple syrup, homemade jam, and more before you head home. Frozen in portion-sized packages and can easily be packed for travel.

Alyson’s Orchard grows more than 200 varieties of already picked and pick-your-own fruit including blueberries, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, cherries, grapes, heirloom apples and features amazing views all within walking distance from our inn.

Don’t miss world-renown Burdick Chocolates not only for a taste of some of the most amazing chocolates you’ll ever have the pleasure of consuming, but a French-style bistro offering lunch and dinner featuring locally grown provisions. Or try the European pastries and drinks in their upbeat café – some of the best chocolate frappes and hot chocolate you’ll find anywhere!

Looking for a place to grab provisions for a picnic lunch or light dinner? The Walpole Grocery: A small specialty grocery store in downtown Walpole carrying a wide selection of local foods including a great local cheese selection, locally made artisan breads, prepared specialty sandwiches and some prepared dishes.

Walpole Creamery: Wonderful flavors of award-winning homemade natural ice cream made with our neighbors’ cow milk. Visit their scoop shop just north of town.

Boggy Meadow Farm Cheese: Makers of a variety of fine cheeses. Honor system retail store at the farm or cheeses available at the Walpole Grocery in downtown Walpole.

Love wine? Fine estate wines made exclusively from locally grown grapes at Walpole Mountain View Winery. Wine tastings Fridays 5-7pm, Saturdays 12-5pm and Sundays 11-4pm (Memorial Day through Christmas or by appointment). The view from the winery alone is worth the trip.

Or visit any number of local farmers’ markets (one nearly every day of the week), farm stands, in the surrounding area. We’ll provide you with an extensive list upon arrival. Add another dimension to your trip and learn how to cook with all the amazing ingredients you’ve gathered. Cooking classes are offered at Leslie’s – The Tavern at Rockingham and baking classes are available year round at King Arthur Flour’s Baking Education Center.

RESTAURANTS

Right in Walpole: Several options located right in town including our very own The Hungry Diner for a family friendly farm-to-table experience you won’t soon forget, Joanie Joan’s Baked Goods Company for breakfast, lunch or a sumptuous sweet snack, Diamond Pizza and The Walpole Village Tavern for family fare or The Restaurant at Burdick Chocolates and the Inn Pub and Restaurant for a more elegant dining experience.

A short drive: Bellows Falls, VT is about a 15-minute drive where you’ll find Popolo, Leslie’s Tavern, Shona Grill, and Cafe 7 on the Square. Cafe Loco at Harlow Farms is located on Route 5 between here and Bellows Falls and is an awesome place for a fresh local food breakfast or lunch.

Keene, NH Area: Keene, which is an easy 20-minute drive, has too many options to mention them all, but suffice it to say this college town of 22,000 has options to please every palate. Family dining options include: Stuart and John’s Pancake House, The Stage RestaurantPappagallos (has large seating if you’re trying to seat a crowd), Elm City Brewing Company, Fritz, The Stage, Thai Garden, Fireworks Restaurant, Ramunto’s Pizza, the food court at Monadnock Food Coop (great salad bar and homemade specialties by the pound using local ingredients) as well as the usual chain restaurants. Both Nicola’s Trattoria and Luca’s Mediterranean Cafe are more upscale if you’re looking for a special occasion meal.

Brattleboro, VT area: Being close to the border of VT, Brattleboro is not much further than Keene (25 minutes) and offers a whole other list of dining options. Family dining options include: Panda North, Fireworks, Three Stones, The Marina, Top of the Hill Grill, Whetstone Brewery, Hazel’s, or for more upscale dining try TJ Buckleys or Peter Havens.

FOR FAMILIES

Love farm animals and can’t get enough of them? Open Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Friendly Farm and the Retreat Petting Farm are two wonderful petting farms in the area that offer a great way to spend the day up close and personal with farm animals. Other area farm highlights include Stonewall Farm – a working farm and education center open 365 days a year, Crescendo Acres, an alpaca, miniature horse, and maple syrup farm welcoming guests year-round and a bit farther away, but worth the drive, the Billings Farm, one of the finest working dairy farms in America along with an agriculture museum with a variety of exhibits and presentations.The Cheshire Children’s Museum – where all children can explore at their own pace in a safe, clean, and welcoming space…where children begin to learn that anything is possible!

Area science museums that interest all ages include Montshire Science Museum, The Nature Museum at Grafton, and the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum. The Mariposa Museum has workshops and performances highlighting the world’s cultures and folklife. The Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory and Museum, although a bit farther away (45-minute drive), is located just off of I91 making it a convenient stop with little ones either on your way to our farm or on your way home.

ICONIC NEW ENGLAND

Covered Bridges: New Hampshire, and southern New Hampshire in particular, has one of the highest concentrations of covered bridges anywhere in the US. If you haven’t seen one in person, it is worth the time to seek out a “kissing bridge” – a true iconic symbol of New England.

Green Mountain Flier Railroad: Train rides through the picturesque Green Mountains are especially beautiful during foliage season.

Interested in fiber arts? Green Mountain Spinnery is a worker-owned cooperative woolen mill producing high-quality yarns with environmentally preferred practices. Tours available.

The Rockingham Meeting House is a fine example of Colonial architecture as well as a historic cemetery open to the public and hosting periodic music events.

Vermont Country Store: Step back in time in this family owned and operated gem where they proudly claim to be “purveyors of the practical and the hard to find” and seek out items for their store sold nowhere else. When was the last time you saw Bag Balm on a shelf? Or classic wooden toys? Penny candy sold by the piece? Fun for all ages.

HIKING AND OUTDOORS

Part of what makes our town of Walpole so picturesque is the fact that it has 18 conservation areas for hiking and exploring, many with views all within our town’s borders. Ask us for a list with directions when you arrive. Other favorite local hiking spots include, Madame Sherri Forest, complete with stone mansion ruins, an intriguing local legend and a nice 2 mile loop with views of the Connecticut River and surrounding mountains. Chesterfield Gorge State Park, or Pisgah State Park – this 13,668 acre woodland is the largest state park in New Hampshire or Pitcher Mountain – a fairly short hike with amazing 360-degree views and very little human traffic. Wild blueberry picking in early August. $1/quart PYO. If you’re looking for something more challenging look no further than Mount Monadnock. This 3,165 ft. peak is the most climbed mountain in North America and with it’s bald top offers views as far north as New Hampshire’s White Mountains and views as far south as Boston on a clear day. Or spend a picture-perfect day hiking Miller State Park, considered one of the best places in New Hampshire for viewing the fall hawk migration.

Unique swimming holes in local rivers and lakes are abundant in the area and are one of our family’s favorite summer activities! Ask us for a list with directions upon arrival. Walpole also has a town pool which is open to non-residents for a small fee. Spofford Lake, Surry Dam and Lake Sunapee are all larger bodies of water and a great way to spend the day.

Golf Courses: Walpole’s own Hooper Golf Course has been rated as one of the top 9-hole courses in the US. The Keene Country Club and Bretwood Golf Course are two 18-hole golf courses are located in nearby Keene, NH (20-minute drive).

For the More Adventurous Guests: Wanting to explore New Hampshire and Vermont’s numerous lakes and rivers? Vermont Canoe Touring Center and Great River Outfitters both offer kayak and canoe rentals. Or utilize the local expertise of licensed New Hampshire guide Mitch Harrison of Cold River Guide Services to learn to fly fish or hone your fresh water fishing skills. Mitch offers Custom packages to suit you and your group’s specific needs and also offers bird watching tours.

Is cycling your outdoor activity of choice? Our beautiful Monadnock Region offers many scenic rail-trail biking options. Some local favorites include: The Cheshire Rail Trail a 33-mile ride from Walpole south to the Massachusetts border which is accessible by bike a short distance from our Inn; The Ashuelot Rail Trail, 21 miles from Hinsdale, NH to Keene, NH; or ride in more populated areas in and around the City of Keene on Keene Paths.

Ever dream of flying? The NH School of Falconry offers an unforgettable and educational experience interacting with birds of prey. Or try Monadnock Aviation for a remarkable scenic flight during New England’s brilliantly colored foliage season. Or try your hand at hang gliding, paragliding, ultralights, ziplining, or outdoor laser tag at Morningside Flight Park.

MUSEUMS AND ART

There are a plethora of museums in the region appealing to all ages. History museums in the immediate area include Walpole Historical Society, Horatio Colony Museum, Cheshire County Historical Society, The Fort at No. 4 Living History Museum, and the Saint Gaudens National Historic Site.

Art, Music and Theater: The Walpole Artisans Cooperative and the Sharon Arts Center both house great collections of works created by local artisans. Watch amazing creations of glass made in front of your very own eyes at Sherwin Art Glass and Simon Pearce or try your hand at creating your own at Terrapin Studios.

With more than 65,000 objects in its collection which began in 1772, the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College is one of the oldest and largest collections of any college or university in the country. Admission to the museum is free and makes for a great day trip.

The renowned Apple Hill Center For Chamber Music and Yellow Barn, two of the finest chamber training and performance centers in the world offer weekly performances throughout the summer. The Colonial Theater is an historic performing arts center offering regular live and filmed events. And for live theater neither of these options disappoints; Peterborough Players Summer Theatre or the New England Youth Theatre.

WINTER

Winter is a lot quieter on the farm, but offers great outdoor activities only available for a short period each year. We have several great sledding hills here on the farm and a collection of snow tubes, and sleds available for your use or bring your favorite to whoosh down great hills with a view of Vermont.

Snowmobiling: If you have your own “sled” bring it along! We have plenty of off-street parking for your vehicle and trailer and you can ride right from our accommodations directly to NH Corridor 5 trail system (Corridor 5 runs from Massachusetts to the Canadian border) without crossing any roads. Plenty of local trails are in the area as well leading to the local pizza restaurant and the gas station to name a few. Local snowmobile clubs keep the trails maintained and groomed. Unfortunately, there are not any places to rent snowmobiles in our area.

Sleigh rides: Winter is the perfect time to get cozy under warm wool blankets as a team of Belgian horses pulls you through the snow-covered trees and fields of Stonewall Farm or how about being pulled through the snow by majestic black Friesian horses at Friesians of Majesty?

Indoor ice skating with heated viewing room and skate rentals available at Cheshire Ice Arena, or the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park. If you have your own skates there are a number of additional options for indoor and outdoor skating in the area.

Skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, snowshoeing and more at Granite Gorge in Keene, NH or try Grafton Ponds in picturesque Grafton, VT. There are numerous large ski mountains all within a 45-60 minute drive (Mount Snow, Stratton, Sunapee, Okemo, Killington, and more).