Green Experiences
Even for travelers whose first priorities are relaxation and recreation, a vacation in New England offers many opportunities to reduce one’s impact on the region while still enjoying it to the fullest. You can buy locally crafted artwork and gifts, and enjoy food and drink that’s grown or made right here. Feel the power of wind on a sailboat cruise. Tackle a nature-made obstacle course by hiking through the mountains. With a little advance planning, however, you can discover even deeper experiences that connect you to New England—and the environment—in meaningful and memorable ways.
See also the 14-Day, Eco Itinerary here.
LOW-IMPACT TOURING
A deep-rooted tradition in Europe, hut-to-hut hiking is still a relatively new idea in the United States. The oldest and best-known hut system is in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where the Appalachian Mountain Club built its first hut in 1888. Today the AMC maintains eight “high huts” sited between 2,700 and 5,050 feet (823m-1,539m) in the Presidential Range and separated from one another by a day’s hike. Go for a single night or visit all of them, and enjoy the camaraderie, good food, and restful sleep these humble but homey shelters provide. Visitors to western Maine can take advantage of a backwoods variation on the concept at Maine Huts & Trails, whose four off-the-grid eco-lodges are situated along an 80-mile (129km) trail system that’s popular with hikers, bikers, skiers, and snowshoers alike.
Seeing New England on a road biking tour lets you cover a lot of ground while still staying green. Several large companies offer bike trips in the region, but for a true local’s-eye view, consider an outfitter like Vermont’s POMG Bike Tours: Founded in 1995, it leads guests on multiday inn-to-inn biking trips that showcase the best of its home state. Not ready for an overnight commitment? In Connecticut, the company CTBikeTours.com has a popular four-hour, 20-mile (32km) “Bikes & Boats” excursion along the shoreline that includes a narrated cruise to the history-filled Thimble Islands.
Speaking of islands, Maine is famous for them—and one of the best and greenest ways to visit these ocean outposts is via kayaking the Maine Island Trail, America’s oldest recreational water trail. The 375-mile (604km) route runs the length of the coast, but if you’d just like a taste of it, Portland Paddle has two- to five-day kayaking trips that include overnight island camping and are led by licensed Maine guides.
For those who really like to stop and smell the roses, how about a walking tour where you spend each night in a different classic Vermont inn? Park once at one of the four properties on the Vermont Inn to Inn Walking Tour, and begin a series of 7-to-13-mile (11–21km) walking routes through historic New England villages and countryside, relaxed in the knowledge that your luggage will be waiting at your next destination.
DOWN-TO-EARTH DINING
Stronger local food systems, less transportation pollution, and deliciously fresh meals—these are among the many rewards of the farm-to-table model, which you’ll find guiding the menus at restaurants throughout New England in cities big and small. The purest “eat local” experience, however, may be found at farm-based restaurants, which surround diners with the landscape in which their meals’ ingredients were raised and harvested.
Chefs often lead the way in establishing these unique restaurants. In Maine, for example, Portland chef Jason Williams opened a seasonal restaurant, The Well at Jordan’s Farm, on a 122-acre (49ha) working farm where he’d sourced produce for years. Located in Cape Elizabeth, less than 20 minutes’ drive from Portland, The Well offers a menu that changes daily, depending on what’s in season, and seating options including rustic private gazebos with views of rolling farmland. Visitors to New Hampshire can enjoy a dinner reservation at The Wentworth’s Inn’s 1869 Room. Enjoy fresh, locally sourced cuisine exquisitely prepared by Chef Brian Gazda and his culinary team.
At the Woodstock Inn & Resort in Vermont, the bounty of the inn’s organic farm, Kelly Way Gardens, not only goes directly into the meals enjoyed by resort guests but also is featured in special reservation-only dinners hosted right on the farm. Called the Red Barn Dinner Series, these events celebrate the contributions of local cheesemakers, farmers, beekeepers, and dairymen for a true farm-to-fork experience. Another special dinner series can be found in Connecticut, where the “Dinners at the Farm” program in Chester offers foodies the chance to feast on a five-course meal built around ingredients selected that day from the Chester Farmers’ Market.
As for seafood, you can’t get much closer to the source than Rhode Island’s Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingstown, where owner Perry Raso and his staff raise their signature Matunuck oysters in Potter Pond, right off the restaurant’s outdoor decks. Meal-and-tour packages allow guests to visit the shellfish farm and learn about aquaculture and fisheries on both a local and global scale.
FARM STAYS
New England has a long and proud agricultural tradition, and its small, family-owned farms are some of the oldest in America. A number of these open their homes and operations to overnight guests, providing a chance for real immersion in living close to the land. Below is just a sampling of New England’s rich agritourism offerings:
- Fat Sheep Farm & Cabins, Vermont: Situated near the town of Hartland on 60 scenic acres (24ha) of woods and fields, Fat Sheep Farm welcomes guests with five modern, cozy cabins (each with a fully outfitted kitchen) and the chance to feed the animals, collect eggs, or milk sheep—or to simply sit on the porch and enjoy the view.
- Toddy Pond Farm, Maine: Sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, and ducks are your friendly neighbors when you stay at this 500-acre-plus (202ha) diversified family farm in Monroe, which rents out a pond-view, three-bedroom cottage. Activities may include visiting animals in the farm yard, kayaking on the pond, and cooking with meats and dairy from the farm’s own store.
- Starlight Llama Bed & Breakfast, Massachusetts: Not far from the popular college town of Northampton, this solar-powered, two-guestroom B&B is located on 120 acres (49ha) of conserved land that’s part of a sixth-generation dairy farm. Breakfast is made with organic ingredients grown on-site, and depending upon the time of the year, guests may see—or assist—the owners with bringing in the hay, shearing a llama, or weeding the gardens.
