We love exploring New England. And in the summertime, I especially love visiting places that we normally only go in the winter, like Vermont. Vermont in the summer is so peaceful. And what is better than a day by the pool staring up at the Green Mountains?

The Equinox Resort

We recently spent a weekend at the Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT, which overlooks Mount Equinox and the picturesque downtown. Established in 1769, the resort is filled with history. From the Marsh Tavern to the well-appointed spa, the property has everything you need for a relaxing weekend away.

The classic New England details in the newly renovated rooms are a delight. And the sun filled lobby just urges you to go out onto the patio and enjoy the afternoon.

There are also the cutest rocking chairs on the front porch, that many guests were taking advantage of, just people watching and enjoying the summer day.

And if you want to cool off, you can head to the spa to take a dip in the pool!

Dining

We tried the Marsh Tavern, which serves up a fabulous farm to table menu. Not only does the chef take advantage of all the amazing local products, but he also has his own vegetable garden which he utilizes in many of the dishes as well. The meal started off with a bread tray, filled with some homemade breads, Vermont Creamery butter and some homemade pepper jelly.

For starters we had the beef carpaccio, tater tots and the burrata salad. Light, fresh and tasty describes everything so far!

Next we shared the vegetable pasta, made with veggies all from their garden as well as some more of the Vermont Creamery butter! It was the perfect way to experience what Vermont has to offer.

And for mains we did the roast duck and the halibut. Farm to table suits Vermont well and the Marsh Tavern is a perfect example!

Exploring Manchester

Manchester has a picture perfect downtown, that you just have to explore. And here’s a fun fact, many of the sidewalks are paved in marble, due to an excess back in the quarrying days.

Also, the Orvis company is based in Manchester, in fact Charles Orvis was a former owner of the Equinox properties and opened up his first store right next to the hotel! And if you are like us and love finding the best views in town, you have to take the toll road up to the top of Mt. Equinox. About a 15-minute drive up the mountain, you get some amazing vistas of the Green Mountains.

Falconry

The Equinox Resort has a sporting past, due to its former owner Charles Orvis. And one of the more unique activities you can take part in these days is Falconry! Falconry is the art of training and handling birds of prey like: eagles, flacons and hawks. We took a lesson at the Green Mountain Falconry school and got to learn a thing or two about how they train the birds and how they hunt with the birds. It was an amazing experience!