Pennington Passages

Vermont is magical in the fall. We had the pleasure of visiting Dorset and Manchester, two small towns in the southern part of VT, in late September. It was our second visit to these quintessential New England towns.

The Dorset Bakery

Our adventure in Dorset started with breakfast at the Dorset Bakery.

The bakery was everything we remembered from our first visit two years ago. The freshly baked cinnamon crumb cake and signature french toast was just what we wanted to kick off the day of exploring. We justified our menu choices by planning a hike for later in the day.

First, we made our way over to Church Street to enjoy the fall foliage on display.

Next, we stopped in the Union Store. It had a very nice wine section among many other groceries and crafts.

HN Williams Department Store

Further down the road, we found the HN Williams store. It had a little bit of everything. The first floor was full of clothes, groceries, and a nice wine section also. The second floor had an impressive toy section and more clothes.

We purchased groceries for later and headed to our next stop – Dorset Quarry.

Dorset Quarry

The Dorset Quarry was glistening and very reflective. Some visitors were going swimming – probably for a cold plunge! We walked around and admired the water and stone.

We found out that the quarry was the first in the United States. It opened in 1785 and ceased operations in 1920. During its operations, it produced marble for many public buildings including the New York Public Library and Havard Medical School. Now it functions as a popular swimming hole.

We watched the swimmers dip into the cold water – brrr. We moved on to our main activity for the day – a hike with beautiful views.

Owls Head Hike

Our number one goal on our visit to Dorset, was to hike to Art’s Bench Lookout. The trail to the lookout was via the Owls Head Trail off Raptor Lane in the Owls Head Town Forest. The trail started out nice and flat on an access road. We were hiking with our son, daughter-in-law, and young grandson so we were very pleased at the trail conditions.

That didn’t last long. Soon the trail took a sharp turn straight up the mountain. Our grandson was a trooper and made the climb with a little help and encouragement from his parents.

Before finding the lookout, we found another quarry. We marveled at the size of the large cuts in the stone walls. We wondered why it was called the Gettysburg Quarry. We learned that the marble from the site was used for headstones for fallen soldiers of the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. Marble was also sent to Philadelphia to build buildings. The quarry was abandoned in 1897.

Just a short distant from the Gettysburg Quarry, we found Art’s Bench. The view from Art’s Bench was spectacular. Definitely worth the hike up the mountain.

The trip down was easier. Lucky for us because the grandson was done hiking. We took turns toting the tot to the car.

The next day, we decided to visit the close by town of Manchester, VT.

Manchester Vermont

Willoughby’s Depot Eatery

We started the day at Willoughby’s Depot Eatery.

Who could resist a freshly baked cream filled doughnut with maple glaze? Or a delectable breakfast sandwich called The Beverly?

We had no plans to hike this one off ( :O ) so we decided a walk around town was in order. We found the Riverwalk.

The Manchester VT Riverwalk

The Riverwalk led us to the Kimball Grist Mill.

The Grist Mill was built in the 1790s and later rebuilt in 1840. Many products were processed here such as wood, marble, and wool. The waterfall produced electicity for a short time in the early 1900s. The Dorset Quarry marble was used to construct the arch bridge on Main Street.

After the Grist Mill, our next stop was the Northshire Bookstore just across Main Street.

Northshire Bookstore

As we approached the front steps, we noticed an interesting stone.

We checked out the murals both outside and inside the bookstore.

The bookstore was very impressive. We stayed for a while browsing the collections then purchased a couple of books before leaving.

For the reminder of the day, we visited the outlet stores and shops all along Main Street and Depot Street. It was the perfect fall day in Manchester. We departed satisified knowing that we had made the most of our two day trip to southern Vermont.

The small towns in Vermont are among our favorite travel destinations. For more VT small town adventures see our posts about Woodstock, Quechee, and VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science).