I spent several months shopping for a bike and kept coming back to Burrows. the staff there were…read morepatient and friendly and helped me get the right bike for my needs at a very fair price.

I have cycled cross-country, and I have used the services of bicycle shops in probably a dozen…read morestates. This is one of the best repair shops I have ever visited. I visited this shop early on a Saturday morning. I had gotten a tune-up at a bicycle shop in the Greater Boston area in preparation of cycling Vermont Route 100, and picked up my bike on Friday night (the night before I planned to leave). When I brought it home (and after the shop had closed) I found that my bike's chain was making noise in certain gears. I tinkered around with the derailleur to try to fix the problem, but to no avail. I feared that my Vermont trip would have to be cancelled. I decided to try to find a shop in Brattleboro, my planned starting point, and selected this one because it opened the earliest. I visited there early on Saturday, explained the issue, and immediately was introduced to a mechanic (I asked for his name but have since forgotten it, unfortunately). He kindly and patiently explained what he was doing as he went through his evaluation to diagnose the issue, and invited me to stand alongside him to watch and learn. Within minutes, he deduced that the height of the derailleur was incorrectly adjusted by the previous mechanic, causing the chain to rub in high gear. He made the correct adjustment and it worked perfectly. Amazingly, he didn't even want to charge me more than $10, although I insisted on giving him that and then some for his help (and for basically saving my trip). I love cycling, but I know that visiting bicycle shops can be a frustrating process. Many bicycle mechanics seem to delight in making the customer feel ignorant. Here, the mechanic was not only skilled and instructive, but he was completely without pretension. It is a shame that I live more than two hours away from this shop, or it would be my default for repairs. As it turned out, the mechanic's adjustment on a Saturday morning ended up saving my cycling trip, and the bicycle has functioned perfectly since.

Round Back Bait and Tackle is a great, local family business. it is not Bass Pro Shop, so temper…read moreyour expectation. We stop in regularly for crawlers, shiners and other bait when headed out to fish. They have a self-serve self-pay section for bait when the store is not staffed. Kind of like a roadside farm stand. They have a surprisingly good selection of lures and rods, and the owners have great knowledge of fishing spots in the area, as well as recommendations on what to rig up. Highly recommended.

Stopped prior to camping at DAR State Forest with my two boys to pick up some bait and local…read moreknowledge. Turned into a great discussion between my 11yr old and the owner about the differences in the skeletal structure of a modern coyote skull and a pre-historic animal. Awesome shop. Highly recommend it.

We dropped in here at the last minute on our last day in Wilmington. Wish we had discovered it…read moresooner. This is a great stop for unique gifts by Vermont artists (though there are items from elsewhere as well). On one side of the store you can find slabs of wood and some unique furniture pieces. On the other side is more of a gift shop with some incredibly beautiful hand-crafted wooden bowls, boards, utensils, and more. You can also find pottery by Vermont artists in varying styles. The ladies who were in the store were helpful, but left us alone to roam and discover. This is NOT a bargain place. If you're looking for a touristy stop for cheap souvenirs, move along. This is an artisan shop and the artists' know their worth. Expect to pay appropriately for the artistry and time it takes to create these beauties.

We ordered six individual salad bowls with a Wood duck image burnished into the side of each one…read more The work, both on the bowl and the image, was exquisite. Burned into the bottom of each bowl is John McLeod's signature, as well as care instructions and Vermont Bowl's logo. They are truly works of art and the wood! The wood is simply stunning. With Donna's expert help, we chose Yellow Birch in the Tulip shape, as the color would show off the image well and the shape would make it easy to burnish. The customer service was fast, the shipping was very reasonable, and the product terrific. We are so proud to give this hand-crafted gift to our good friends. We are sure they will order a matching family-sized salad bowl to go with. What a find!

This is the place to learn pottery. Classes are primarily taught by two potters that each have over…read more30 years experience. You can take a class or rent for just a day if you have experience with clay. There is a dedicated teaching area with tables and wheels, and is open from noon till 6pm for open studio time to practice your skills when you're in a class. There are classes both mornings and evenings, check their website for details. They also offer private lessons, either 1:1 or small groups for a great intro experience with clay. This place is also a working studio, where professional potters rent out space. The professionals are friendly and great to talk to when they are not busy on their own projects. There is also a small gallery with items created by the founders (and several artists who rent there) available for purchase.

We were five teachers who came to western Mass hoping for one last summer adventure and we were not…read moredisappointed! After a lot of research, we settled on Great Outdoors and they exceeded our expectations: friendly upon arrival, informative, honest about river rules, accommodating, and affordable. It was $30 per person which included parking, a life jacket, a single tube your choice (pink or blue), and their shuttle service to the drop off spot. Because the shuttles run frequently, Great Outdoors even transported our picnic coolers back to their base for safe keeping before we put in. They also have a lockbox for car keys. Our whole experience on the river was approximately 3.5 hours but that's because we started tubing shortly after the water was released, therefore the beginning was a slow start of rock tetris maneuvering. If you want an "easier" start, I would recommend going in at the time Great Outdoors suggests. We just wanted to be on the water for longer and wanted to avoid the mass crowds of launching. Halfway through our ride, the crowds finally caught up and new tubing friendships formed because of bumper boating moments, all par for the course :)

The local turnpike parking lot doesn't allow day parking anymore so we dropped by Great Outdoors to…read morepay for park. When we asked the lady in charge working there what caused the turnpike policy change she said "Too many large families staying there all day, speaking other languages and being too loud." Clearly referring to the latino and black families I typically see out having a chill and relaxing weekend day on the river, like everyone else. That's messed up racist crap. They aren't the reason the parking got restricted, it's dumb litterbugs floating down the river leaving cans of white claw floating for the rest of us to pick up. I don't know if her views reflect the rest of the staff at Great Outdoors, but we won't be going there anymore.

Yesterday afternoon we met a friend at this gallery who was watching a glass blowing demonstration…read more When we walked into the gallery we were captivated by the amazing handmade products they had in the showroom, and we were even more impressed with the talented glass blowers who were making items. For anyone who is passing through the area and needs to find that special gift or addition to their home, this is the place to find it. The only disappointment we found with this gallery was that we didn't have the space to buy everything in the showroom. We loved this gallery and hope to return soon so that we can stock up on wonderful gifts for the holidays.

If you want the best baked goods, this is your place. The croissants are out of this world--sweet…read moreand savory. And the sourdough, baguettes, everything is incredible. Coffee drinks made to order. Lots of gluten free options for baked goods too! I would give it 10 stars if I could!

It's a small mom and pop sandwich bar in the back of the store. Coffee, beverages, baked goods…read moreoffered. We split a Turkey sandwich. Oh and a peanut butter cookie. Both ok, cookie was yummy. Convenient. Lady at the counter nice! A few tables to sit and eat. Convenient.

Stopped in for lunch and some Castle Rock souvenirs. Everyone couldn't have been nicer! The woman…read moreat the front desk was super helpful and knew exactly where I should go to sightsee. Lunch was delicious!

Matt, his son Matthew, & Eric are the best! Great service & selection - come see their beautiful…read morenew shop on the Mohawk Trail in Greenfield, MA! My new Aventon Pace 4 is the perfect e-bike. Thanks guys!