If you asked me and Randy independently what the nicest hotel, bed and breakfast or inn we ever stayed in was, we both—unequivocally and without pause—would tell you Casa Gallina in Taos, New Mexico. Casa Gallina is an artisan inn run by Richard Spera, a Cornell University Hotel and Restaurant School graduate and a former New York City restaurateur who left the city for the simplicity, beauty and artisan culture of New Mexico. He has created an oasis on the outskirts of town where you’re invited to “slow down and wake up your senses.”
Randy and I stayed at Casa Gallina’s Leghorn Casita during our honeymoon road trip out west. When we walked into our casita—with a kitchen, kiva fireplace, fine linens and eclectic artwork—we inherently felt good. We were at home, which is how Richard greeted us upon our arrival… “Welcome home.” Despite staying at many lovely inns and B&Bs since our visit to Taos, Randy and I hadn’t felt this same connection until recently when we found High Shelter Farm in Perkinsville, Vermont, a farmhouse rental overlooking the Ascutney Mountains.
From Middlebury to Perkinsville and home through Woodstock we went!
High Shelter Farm, Perkinsville, Vermont
Perkinsville is a tiny Vermont town with a population around 150. The rural community is located in Windsor Country and sandwiched between Weathersfield, Springfield, Windsor and Claremont, New Hampshire, on the eastern edge of Vermont. The Perkinsville area can best be described as the “real Vermont,” with acres of farm land, few traffic lights, ample covered bridges, lots of maple syrup and many back-country roads. The area boasts outdoor recreation activities from hiking in the Ascutney Mountains to boating down the Connecticut River to skiing at nearby mountains. For the less sporty, there are many quaint towns to explore and covered bridges to photograph, as well as plenty of good cheeses and meat to eat and local libations to sip.
I first learned about High Shelter Farm, a make-your-own-bed-and-breakfast rental ($135-$160) located on a 270-acre sheep farm in Perkinsville, from a family friend. Grace Knight, the owner, invited Randy and me to stay at her 1,200 square foot rental to experience a popular lodging option in Vermont among vacationers: farmhouse rentals. Grace started renting out the lower level of her home—complete with a separate entrance and spacious kitchen—when she realized farming sheep and chickens wasn’t going to pay her property taxes, plowing and heat bills during the cold Vermont winters.
Farmhouse Rentals: Vermont
For those seeking the privacy and comfort of your own home, as well as an authentic way to experience Vermont life, vacation rentals in Vermont certainly makes sense. Grace provided me with some interesting background on the history of independently owned vacation rentals in Vermont:
This segment has been present since tourists first started visiting Vermont in privately owned automobiles in the late 1920s, and it boomed in the Depression years as a way for farm wives to supplement their incomes. A 1936 feature in the “New Yorker” magazine suggested that automobile visitors to Vermont drive until they found a town they liked the looks of, then ask a filling station attendant which local farms accommodated tourists. By the 1970s and 1980s, filling station attendants and town clerks were no longer the referral source for summer farmhouse rentals. Real estate offices kept lists of vacation rentals, both free-standing farmhouses, and cottages or ells of farmhouses with the main part of the house occupied by year-round local residents. Since the mid-2000s, by far the best way for farm wives to hang out their shingle saying “Tourists Accommodated” is to advertise on VRBO.
Our Stay at High Shelter Farm
We arrived in Perkinsville on a bluebird winter day. As we navigated the back roads and long driveway leading up to the property, we couldn’t help but gasp as the view of the Ascutney Mountains were revealed. Grace warmly welcomed us and gave us a tour of the property: barns with donkeys (Summer and Molly), sheep and chickens; a garage with snowshoes to borrow; a kitchen with every tool you might need to make your own meal; a laundry for longer-stay guests; an oversized jacuzzi for two; five miles of hiking trails for horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or hiking. The property was the perfect base to explore the area yet it was so welcoming that we didn’t want to leave once we settled in! Grace really has thought of everything to make the High Farm Shelter your home away from home.
Tips for Visiting High Shelter Farm Like a Local:
- High Shelter Farm has a three-night minimum. Once you arrive, you’re not going to want to leave, so do yourself a favor and book a full week. You might not initially think there’s enough in the Perkinsville/Weathersfield area to keep you entertained for that long, but let me assure you that there is.
- You could spend three days exploring High Shelter Farm itself; the five-mile loop around the property is perfect in every season and there’s an in-ground pool for the warmer months. You could easily spend a day at the Artisans Park in Windsor, home to SILO Distillery, Harpoon Brewery, Sustainable Farmer (don’t miss their honey!), the Simon Pearce outlet and Great River Outfitters. Don’t forget all of the covered bridges in the area, too! Grace curated a list of her favorite activities for every season, a great resource guide for travelling like a local.
- Bring your appetite! Grace leaves all of her guests eggs from her laying flock and maple syrup. Sleep in and make a leisurely Vermont flapjack breakfast. The maple syrup is some of the best I’ve ever had, and my egg-snob and former chicken farmers of a husband thoroughly approved of the eggs!
- Don’t want to leave your pet at home? As long as your dog (or cat) won’t chase the farm animals on the property, your pet is welcome to join in at High Shelter Farm.
- Travelling from afar? Grace speaks English, German, French and Spanish, and she has enterained travellers from Singapore, Scotland, England, Germany, Columbia and Ghana, as well as first-time visitors to Vermont from San Diego, Miami, the Bahamas (in March!), Arizona and Utah.
- If you’re travelling with kids, give them a farm experience by petting the rescue donkeys on the property (a mother and daughter pair who love to eat saltines and give you kisses) or collecting delicious eggs from the hen in the morning hours.
- Interested in a couples getaway? Although there is only one bedroom in the rental, there’s also a pull out sofa in the living room for an additional two visitors.
- If you happen to have a rainy day while you’re visiting or just want to stay in, Grace has a curated DVD library, books on Vermont and games to keep everyone in your family entertained.
- Despite the somewhat off-the-beaten-path location, you will still be connected to the world with cell phone service, quality wifi and Dish TV. Why not “work from home” and escape for an early weekend at High Shelter Farm?
- Have questions about the area? Grace is a wealth of information and is extremely quick to respond to email inquiries. Her rule is that she’s there to help as much (or as little) as you would like.
- If you want to go out to eat in the area, skip Ludlow (except for Downtown Grocery). I would opt for buying produce and meat locally and making your own dinner in Grace’s fully equipped kitchen.
- Give Grace suggestions to make High Shelter Farm even better after your stay! She strives to make her rental a home away from home with anything you could need or want for a weekend or weeklong getaway.
As of 2019, High Shelter Farm is not longer accepting guests regrettably.
High Shelter Farm
stay@highshelterfarm.com
High Shelter Farm, 328 Gravelin Road, Perkinsville, VT 05151
(802) 263-9613
Categories: Farmhouse Rentals, Lodging