This is such a fun place to visit with so many activities that are family-(and friend)-friendly!…read more My friends and I went apple picking here! You can start off by taking brown bags or berry cartons at the entrance storefront. There are TONS of fields to explore: we explored fields of raspberries, elderberries, blueberries, and then you get to the apple orchards. There are SO many varieties of apples. I would make sure you have some good shoes because in some areas of the apple orchard, there are some steep inclines. If there is rain, it can also get slippery. There is also a HUGE pumpkin patch, flower fields that are available for picking, and a CORN MAZE - the latter is $6 entrance fee! Again, so much to do. Unfortunately I did not have time to experience the corn maze because it started raining by then. If I could make a suggestion, It would be nice for some of the trees to have a suspended net around the bottom of the tree (maybe this isn't optimal for weight purposes). But so many apples fall off the tree- or people drop them while picking. It seems a shame to go to waste, so would be cool if there were a way to catch them before hitting the ground and bruising/ resting in dirt. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. It was a ton of fun to visit the farm with so much to do, and delicious apples. PLUS Mac's Maple is also down the road so that was our next stop!

The friendliest staff and helpful to find whatever apple…read moretype you are looking for! pumpkins are fabulous, and the Maze has been great! The cider is delicious!

Spring Ledge Farm stand has been serving the New London community for generations. To walk into…read morethis place, it is like a general store with natural selections,, Local and organic produce, meats, cheeses, cage free eggs, maple items, and even novelty and tourist items made in New Hampshire. In addition to that, they have one of the largest tree selections for sale in the entire area. Seasonal, annual and perennial flowers, evergreens, fruit trees, you name it. Definitely an institution in the New London area. Family owned and local.

You probably do pay a bit more here for annuals and perennials packs, but they have the plants…read moreother places just don't have. Great selection and quality and a lot of the hard to find garden plants. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable. I love their pick your own flower garden as well. Priced by weight, and easy to do.

I'm a cheese head…read more So when my friend was making our itinerary for a trip to VT, I was really excited to try this place! Weather got a little hariy getting there with the slushy roads, but we made it! It's pretty remote location with no street lights, so if driving in the dark look for the signs to get there and trust your GPS. There's a large parking lot across from the entrance to the little store/shop. The shop is actually the owners old family home I belive. We arrived pretty much at closing time, but we were still welcomed warmly. We got a cheese & maple syrup tasting which was yum and informative, and the staff member that did it was really nice, I forgot her name, but see photo below. One of the cheeses has won a cheese competition, very cool. We also got to meet the owner, but she was busy getting Christmas orders together. I perused all of the cheeses I wanted and settled on 4. We got to try 2 out of the 4 from the cheese sampling. The nice lady that checked me out even gave me some nice to-go samples as well. The smoked cheese was my fav, and the sage. But I enjoyed them all. I was able to easily fly home to TX with them due to the cold weather of the season. After the tasting, we got to peruse the store. They have so much other stuff to buy in additon to cheese and maple, tons of knick-knacks and gifts and merch. We didn't get to explore the farm after since it was pitch black when we left, too bad. Enjoy!

Some years ago I tried the maple syrup from Sugarbush Farms and never looked back. No other syrup…read morecompares and I always go out of my way to visit anytime I'm anywhere in the greater New England area! Sadly this year I didn't get to visit New England - but lucky for me Sugarbush ships nationwide!! So I tried it out and ordered some of their syrup and my fave cheeses. Ordering online via their website was super easy. I ordered my fave dark variety of their maple syrup and 4 cheeses: horseradish cheddar, jalapeño cheddar, sharp cheddar, and Monterey Jack. Their horseradish cheddar is my absolute fave - a wonderful kick of the spicy horseradish blends so well with their rich cheddar. I really love the jalapeño cheddar too - packed full of flavor with just the right amount of kick - not overwhelming but enough to taste it. The other two were great as well - you can definitely tell their cheeses are made fresh on site - flavors are just next level compared to industrial-manufactured cheeses from the grocery store chains. And the maple syrup is also in a league of its own - nothing mass-manufactured from any grocery chain holds a candle to the rich, complex flavors and velvety texture. The syrups also last quite a long time so I'm able to keep my stocks full yearly! Since I was ordering cheese with a long way to travel, and it was still quite warm in parts of the US, their website suggested adding one of their insulated shipping boxes for an extra fee of $8. I didn't want to risk ruining my cheese so I did and all arrived in excellent condition! They pack it in extra insulated styrofoam with ice packs. So it's definitely worth it imo. Next year I'll be in Maine in October so I'll definitely be planning an extra day or two to pop over to Sugarbush on my way back out haha!! See yall next fall!

I'm a local photographer who has used Patch Orchards multiple times without issue, until this week,…read morewhen I had a shocking experience with them. As usual, I arrived with my clients, politely said hello and stated I was there to take photos by the Christmas trees. Christine (whom I had never met) said nothing about rules or purchase requirements and explicitly told me I could take photos. Afterward, my clients warmed up with their baby in the car and planned to cut a tree, but Christine assumed we weren't buying anything and escalated the situation for no reason. I left with my clients down the hill to take a few last shots and as I was getting into my car, Christine brought her husband Mike down in his truck to "scare me off". They flew past me, tried to block me from leaving the road, yelled at me to "never be seen on the property again," and accused me of "taking photos without buying anything" as if that were a crime. It was aggressive, threatening and completely unprofessional. This is a farm open to the public - visitors are NOT required to make a purchase just for stepping onto the property. If they have rules for photos, they can communicate them like adults instead of resorting to intimidation and theatrics. I won't be returning (for my own safety), and others should think twice before giving them business. If you do visit, apparently you'd better buy something immediately, since that seems to be their unspoken rule.

I love coming here for the delicious apples and other produce, apple cider donuts, maple products…read more(maple creamees, syrup, butter, candy, to name a few). The apple cider donuts are tasty when you get them hot and fresh. Their apple cider, both fresh and hard, is tasty too. The family that owns the orchard is kind and personable. If you like corn mazes, theirs is worth checking out. The views are also top notch.

This place is genuinely adorable and filled with beautiful animals to see, my favorite was…read moredefinitely the highland cows and all of the babies there.The family who runs this farm is super sweet and friendly and made us feel welcome both times we went. The little shop inside was adorable and had all kinds of fresh meats and cheeses.

We had so much fun visiting the farm and getting a tour of all the animal pens!…read more Our tour guide truly loves each animal and you felt a personal connection.. Our tour guide took us around all the facilities and let us interact with each animal. We went inside every gate and touched animals, I got to hold a chicken, piglet, rabbit, was able to pet cows and sheep. They have a mini farm store too where you can buy milk, cheese, meat, yogurt etc This is a wonderful activity for kids and adults alike. I would absolutely come back!

My family and I have been coming here for well over 2 decades. Honestly - if I can go here for any…read morefresh vegetables, flowers, fruits, or whatever else - I hands down will, no questions asked. This place is great, beautiful and worth a visit even if you leave with just one flower or one giant tomato. And it is such a beautiful environment, too!

The Crossroad Farm is a wonderfully impressive Vermont roadside farm stand located in the Upper…read moreValley. It's a locally owned family run farm in Post Mills, Vt. less than a half mile from Lake Fairlee. It offers a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from its impressive, timber-framed building along with Red Hen Artisan breads, MapleBrook Farm Mozzarella along with locally produced meats, yogurt, and cheeses. My choices were huge, mouthwatering beefsteak tomatoes, mixed pint of cherry tomato varieties, locally made goat cheese. Their fresh corn didn't require any soaking before roasting on my charcoal grill. It was absolutely the best ear of corn eaten in years. Their spacious 60 acre farm is dotted with beautiful flower gardens and rows of bright sunflowers in many shapes and sizes. It truly is a Vermont Farm experience.

My friends and I had an amazing time touring the farm. Katie was so friendly and kind and we loved…read moremeeting all the animals. We got to meet and feed the Alpacas, pet the horses, and hold the baby bunnies. It was such an amazing and unique experience if you have the opportunity when visiting the area definitely worth it. Also the views on her property were breathtaking.

We had the most amazing experience here. Katie, the farm owner, spent a good hour with us showing…read moreus all around the farm, introducing us to all of their animals. My boys adored the alpacas. The friendliest alpacas we've ever met, so sweet and curious! The boys got to pet the pony, hold/cuddle the rabbits, and play with the dogs. We had an incredible adventure and we are so grateful we got to come.

This place does not have the victorian mansion, it is across this place but they share parking…read morespace with the farm. Tours are set at times depending on the crowd and sells ticket on the spot. A good half day to fully be involve but a day worth of trip if you are going to read every description. A good place for a family visit. Lots of awards and family history.

We visited Billings Farm because it kept coming up as a must-see stop on our New England road trip…read more I don't like leaving negative reviews, but with 4 teenage kids, the experience was very underwhelming. The highlight was definitely the baby calves, so be sure to time your visit since that area is only open during certain hours. You can only pet two of the milk cows in the barn, and beyond that there were a few horses, pigs, sheep, and chickens. It felt more like a large petting zoo than a destination worth the admission price. For our family of six, it cost over $100 to visit, which didn't feel like a good value. We have very similar farms in California that are either free or only a few dollars to enter. If you have very young children, it might be worth a visit, but for adults or families with older kids, I wouldn't recommend it.

One of my favorite places to stop when I am in the Upper Valley area. Feeding the alpacas is fun,…read moreand I love being able to buy yarn that tells me which animal it came from, and being able to meet that animal. A special place that you can bring home special memories from. Delightful ornaments, garments, socks, gloves, hats, toys, yarn, wool, crafting kits, and little souvenirs.

It is such a cute place. You could spend 30 minutes to an hour here. Maybe more if you want to…read morevisit the other shops. We all loved the alpacas and the owner said they were all rescued too!!