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" Fifty-five percent of Vermont&amp;#039;s roads are unpaved. Billboards are verboten. The state flag depicts a cow standing under a pine tree. And Wal-Marts and Starbuckses are in very short supply, which is exactly how everybody likes it. &amp;quot;Vermont is a place of pure air and pure water,&amp;quot; says Ben Cohen, a founder of Ben &amp;amp;amp; Jerry&amp;#039;s ice cream and a longtime resident. &amp;quot;And it&amp;#039;s sparsely populated, which is a huge part of what makes this place what it is.&amp;quot; So it stands to reason that if you&amp;#039;re looking for an ideal winter excursion far from the madding crowd, few places equal Vermont, particularly the stretch from Bennington to Stowe, in the Green Mountains. Cruising routes 4, 7A, and 100 will bring you face-to-face with some of the oldest covered bridges and postcard-worthy barns in the country, not to mention great skiing, terrific antiques shops, and award-winning restaurants.  1 --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt;  Next --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; A great place to begin a winter trek (rent a four-wheel-drive, just to be on the safe side) is Bennington, a town nestled between the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. While not a full-fledged tourist destination\u2014Bennington is best known for the college that shares its name\u2014it has a few notable gems. Bennington Museum has the largest public collection of paintings by Grandma Moses. Robert Frost is buried at the Old First Church, the state&amp;#039;s oldest house of worship. And Bennington Potters has been crafting its ceramics for more than half a century. &amp;quot;Johnny Carson bought our trigger mug in blue agate,&amp;quot; boasts the director of product development, Joyce Hall. En route downtown, swing by the Vermont Covered Bridge Museum for edification on the structures Vermonters hold so dear\u2014only around 100 are left in the state\u2014as well as the Shops at Camelot Village, a mecca for antiques aficionados, with more than 140 dealers spread through several converted 18th-century barns. If you are a vintage-car enthusiast, be sure to patronize the old-fashioned pumps at Hemmings filling station, which is the headquarters of Hemmings Motor News and has 25 automotive classics on envy-making display. Pick historic Route 7A and venture north, stopping in South Shaftsbury at the Robert Frost Stone House Museum, where the writer composed many poems included in his 1923 Pulitzer prize\u2013winning collection New Hampshire. (Frost moved to Vermont from New Hampshire in 1920 and spent the next 40 years farming here.) In nearby Arlington is the Norman Rockwell Exhibition, where some 500 of the artist&amp;#039;s illustrations, prints, and covers for The Saturday Evening Post are displayed down the street from Rockwell&amp;#039;s home (it&amp;#039;s now the Inn on Covered Bridge Green). Route 7A is flanked by antiques shops, glassblowing studios, inns, and farms as it winds its way to Manchester, where you can tour Hildene, the 24-room Georgian Revival summer home of the 16th president&amp;#039;s eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Culture vultures should also check out the Southern Vermont Arts Center, where a striking Hugh Newell Jacobsen building that references Vermont&amp;#039;s vernacular architecture houses an 800-piece permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century art; the center also offers concerts and lectures. If you are a budget-conscious shopaholic, hit Manchester Designer Outlets, where firms such as Anichini, Baccarat, Yves Delorme, and Reed &amp;amp;amp; Barton offer luxury goods at a substantial discount. The Northshire Bookstore, at the traffic-crazed corner of what townies call Malfunction Junction, has an impressive Vermont section, and Circa50 stocks sleek home furnishings by Artemide, Knoll, Vitra, and others. &amp;quot;Most people are surprised we&amp;#039;re here,&amp;quot; partner Steve Dunning says. &amp;quot;Until recently you couldn&amp;#039;t get this type of design in the area.&amp;quot; Over at Thebault Design, antiques are cleverly combined with contemporary pieces and top-of-the-line fabrics to create what owner Amy Thebault calls &amp;quot;a balance of earthy mixed with sexy and shiny.  --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; 2 --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt;  --&amp;amp;gt; Northeast of Manchester, though not in the direct shadow of the Green Mountains, are Woodstock and Quechee, two cultural hot spots well worth the detour. In Manchester pick up Route 11/30 going east to Route 100 north and watch as sinuous turns give way to awe-inspiring vistas of pastures punctuated by silos and barns and dotted with cows. Take Route 4 traveling eastward into Woodstock, a town whose thoroughfares radiate from a central green like spokes on a wheel. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve summered in the Hamptons, done Florida, and seen enough of Colorado to last me a lifetime,&amp;quot; says Houston-based decorator J. Randall Powers, who is a frequent visitor, &amp;quot;and none compare to the simple charm of Woodstock.&amp;quot; Settled in 1765 and brimming with Greek Revival, Federal, and Georgian houses, the town has attracted wealthy visitors since the late 19th century. Locals tease that the town should be named after the Rockefellers\u2014the oil-refining clan did, after all, donate more than 500 acres to the National Park Service and fund the deceptively historic-looking Woodstock Inn and Resort. They also discreetly buried all of the village&amp;#039;s power lines in order to preserve its historic character.  If there&amp;#039;s one place in Vermont to splurge, it&amp;#039;s the Woodstock area. Powers haunts Ken Riney Fine Antiques &amp;amp;amp; Jewelry, the Red Horse Antiques in neighboring Bridgewater (which has a well-edited selection of country furnishings), and the Antiques Collaborative in Quechee (country quilts, rare books, dealers galore). There are countless places to stay overnight in styles from cozy to luxe, with the new ten-room Lauren inn at the top of the list. Outfitted with sleek furniture, high-tech gadgets, and fanciful wall treatments, it isn&amp;#039;t the &amp;quot;typical Vermont inn,&amp;quot; Powers says, &amp;quot;but it is definitely chic.&amp;quot; Metropolitan modernism may have found a foothold in the Green Mountains, but Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber of the town&amp;#039;s restaurant Osteria Pane e Salute derive as much inspiration from Italy as they do Vermont. &amp;quot;We have incredible access to local ingredients\u2014organic produce, humanely raised meats, artisanal cheeses\u2014and we draw on our experiences in Italy to present these in a very simple, honest style,&amp;quot; Heekin says. Sharing the building with the restaurant is All\u00E9chante, an enchanting bakery with delicious scones; down the road in Quechee, overlooking the Ottauquechee River falls, is the studio, restaurant, and shop complex of the renowned glassblowing powerhouse Simon Pearce. Traveling up Route 100 into the Mad River Valley, the gentle countryside of southern Vermont turns into a more severe landscape. The valleys grow deeper, the farms bigger, and the snow more plentiful. &amp;quot;This area is not a place to be seen, like Manchester or Killington or Stowe,&amp;quot; says Tim Piper, a co-owner of the 12-room Inn at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s very well-heeled, but it&amp;#039;s like a good swimming hole\u2014you only tell your closest friends.&amp;quot; The secret&amp;#039;s definitely out. The nearby town of Warren has a general store that offers fine wines and cowhide rugs and is also home to the Pitcher Inn, a Relais &amp;amp;amp; Ch\u00E2teaux property featuring 11 rooms, ranging from quirky to rustic. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re Vermont&amp;#039;s version of Brigadoon,&amp;quot; Piper says. &amp;quot;There are no traffic lights or chain hotels.&amp;quot; There is, however, a vibrant arts scene with professional and community theater groups and numerous art galleries. Veer off Route 100 onto the bumpy dirt road that leads to the Bundy Center for the Arts, a startlingly modern structure designed in 1962 by architect Harlow Carpenter that boasts some of the best views\u2014and art\u2014in the valley.  --&amp;amp;gt;   --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; 3 --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt;  --&amp;amp;gt; From Warren and its neighbor Waitsfield it&amp;#039;s a quick drive to Sugarbush Resort, which was dubbed Mascara Mountain after it opened in the late 1950s, thanks to the jet-setting crowd (Oleg Cassini, Kim Novak, Kennedys galore) who came to ski and be seen. Today skiers and snowboarders glide down 111 trails all winter long and revel in the mountain&amp;#039;s seriously posh atmosphere. If you want old-school character, there is Mad River Glen, a venerable ski resort that has virtually no man-made snow and is the home of the only single-seat chairlift remaining in America, dating to 1948. Traveling north on 100 will bring you to Stowe and its environs (Waterbury is about ten miles away), which is a synthesis of the best of Vermont. Although it touts itself as the Ski Capital of the East\u2014Spruce Peak will have brand-new base lodge digs by the end of the season\u2014be aware that there is plenty to do outdoors without ever strapping anything to your feet. You can take in Mt. Mansfield from the seat of a dogsled or schedule an outing in a horse-drawn sleigh. Definitely reserve a room at the Green Mountain Inn, because within walking distance is Stowe Mercantile (regional gourmet food and pottery), Cotswold Furniture Makers (handcrafted furniture by John Lomas), and one of Gunnel and Grier Clarke&amp;#039;s two galleries in Stowe (schedule an appointment to revel in their art-filled barn). At Topnotch Resort and Spa, an inn that has been open since 1959, the banal fa\u00E7ade conceals lodgelike interiors with all the accoutrements, including a stellar apr\u00E8s-ski scene at both the bar and spa. To satisfy a craving for European fare, dig into jaeger schnitzel and linzer torte at Trapp Family Lodge\u2014which Sound of Music heroine Maria von Trapp launched in 1950 after she and her family fled the Nazis\u2014or head to Restaurant Swisspot for first-rate fondue. A short drive away in Waterbury is Hen of the Wood, whose high-buzz-factor menu relies on fresh ingredients gathered from farms in the Green Mountains and Champlain Valley. And no visit here is complete without a Ben &amp;amp;amp; Jerry&amp;#039;s factory tour. &amp;quot;Before Ben &amp;amp;amp; Jerry&amp;#039;s, all Vermont was known for was maple syrup,&amp;quot; cofounder Ben Cohen says. Of course, he&amp;#039;s jesting. But the wonders of the Green Mountains region\u2014cultural and culinary\u2014might surprise a few first-timers. It certainly keeps many visitors coming back for more. When Randy Powers&amp;#039;s trips to Vermont come to an end, &amp;quot;I always head to the airport kicking and screaming,&amp;quot; the decorator says. &amp;quot;No Van Gogh can compare to driving through a valley and seeing the brilliant mountains on a brisk day.&amp;quot;   --&amp;amp;gt;   --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; 4 --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt;  --&amp;amp;gt;  ESSENTIAL VERMONT The area code is 802.  Choose the road less traveled. The best way to explore is via Vermont&amp;#039;s bucolic back roads, such as scenic Route 100. Discover down-home country stores (vaics.org), old covered bridges (virtualvermont.com), and picturesque towns. Hit the slopes. With nearly two dozen downhill-ski areas and some 30 cross-country centers, the options (Stratton, Sugarbush, Stowe) range from bunny hills and out-of-bounds glades to terrain parks and miles of Nordic trails (skivermont.com). Dash through the snow. Take in the rolling hills in a horse-drawn sleigh. Try the rides at the Thatcher Brook Inn (Waterbury, 244-5911; thatcherbrook.com) or the Trapp Family Lodge (Stowe, 253-8511; trappfamily.com). Be prepared. Bring quarters for that outmoded method of communication\u2014the pay phone. Cell-phone service, like the climate, is completely unpredictable. Shop local. Antiques stores (vermont-ada.com), furnituremakers (vermontfurnituremakers.com), dairy farms (vtcheese.com), breweries (vermontbrewers.com), and maple syrup (vermontmaple.org) abound, so seek out Vermont&amp;#039;s specialties and sample its goods.  WHAT TO SEE Bennington Museum, 75 Main St., Bennington, 447-1571; benningtonmuseum.org: The country&amp;#039;s largest public collection of Grandma Moses paintings. The Bundy Center for the Arts, 361 Bundy Rd., Waitsfield, 496-4781; bundycfa.org: A fine rural example of 1960s modernism. Hildene, 1005 Hildene Rd., Manchester, 362-1788; hildene.org: The summer home of the 16th president&amp;#039;s son Robert Todd Lincoln is now a house museum with nine miles of scenic cross-country trails on-site. Shelburne Museum, Rte. 7, Shelburne, 985-3346; shelburnemuseum.org: Impressionist paintings, folk art, and antique textiles in 39 buildings. Southern Vermont Arts Center, West Rd., Manchester, 362-1405; svac.org: The permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century works is housed in a stunning Hugh Newell Jacobsen structure. Vermont Ski Museum, 1 S. Main St., Stowe, 253-9911; vermontskimuseum.org: This historic meetinghouse boasts a comprehensive collection of ski memorabilia, including period garb and an installation on the evolution of chairlifts.  WHERE TO STAY The Green Mountain Inn, 18 Main St., Stowe, 253-7301; greenmountaininn.com: The restored 104-room inn has been welcoming guests since 1833. The Inn at the Round Barn Farm, 1661 E. Warren Rd., Waitsfield, 496-2276; theroundbarn.com: Sleep among antiques in a 19th-century dairy farmhouse and converted horse barn. The Lauren, 3 Church St., Woodstock, 457-1925; thelaureninn.com: Delightfully urbane digs in a historic building within walking distance of town. The Pitcher Inn, 275 Main St., Warren, 496-6350; pitcherinn.com: Eleven rooms, each designed distinctively, conveniently located at the base of Sugarbush Resort. Topnotch Resort and Spa, 4000 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-8585; topnotchresort.com: A legendary Stowe haunt with a bustling apr\u00E8s-ski scene.  Twin Farms, Barnard, 234-9999; twinfarms.com: Vermont&amp;#039;s most luxurious (and exclusive) inn, with museum quality artwork by Hockney, Lichtenstein, and Avery. WHERE TO EAT Bistro Henry, 1942 Rte. 11/30, Manchester, 362-4982; bistrohenry.com: Stellar seasonal game such as pheasant with vermouth-tarragon jus. Blue Moon Caf\u00E9, 35 School St., Stowe, 253-7006; bluemoonstowe.com: A Stowe favorite featuring pairings like rabbit with chanterelles and lamb with fig-pinenut jam in a charming dinner-only setting. Hen of the Wood, 92 Stowe St., Waterbury, 244-7300; henofthewood.com: From the vegetables to the steak, almost everything is locally sourced at this two-year-old eatery in a former gristmill. Mistral&amp;#039;s at Toll Gate, 10 Toll Gate Rd., Manchester, 362-1779: Reserve a table with a view of the brook and try chef-owner Dana Markey&amp;#039;s Roquefort ravioli. Osteria Pane e Salute, 61 Central St., Woodstock, 457-4882; osteriapaneesalute.com: Flavors of Italy unite under chef Caleb Barber&amp;#039;s watchful eye.  The Prince &amp;amp;amp; the Pauper, 24 Elm St., Woodstock, 457-1818; princeandpauper.com: A mainstay for 25 years, the taproom opens an hour earlier than the dining room for apr\u00E8s-ski libations. Simon Pearce Restaurant, 1760 Quechee Main St., Quechee, 295-1470; simonpearce.com: Dine in a glass-ensconced terrace overlooking the Ottauquechee River falls, then check out the famed glassblower&amp;#039;s wares next door. Stowe Coffee House, 57B Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-2189: Excellent maple lattes and Nutella-and-banana panini. WHERE TO SHOP  Alpine Home, 618 S. Main St., Stowe, 825-2602: Country antiques from France, Sweden, Austria, and Denmark. Antiques Collaborative, Waterman Hill Rd., Quechee, 296-5858; antiquescollaborative.com: More than 100 dealers display their fine goods in a onetime farmhouse. Bennington Potters, 324 County St., Bennington, 447-7531; benningtonpotters.com: Handmade pottery, no two the same, in a range of finishes. Circa50, 4898 Main St., Manchester Center, 362-3796; circa50.com: Modern furnishings, including Artemide, Kartell, and Knoll, in an 1890s building with original out-of-true floors and sloping brick walls. Clarke Galleries, 51 S. Main St., Stowe, 253-0100; clarkegalleries.com: The owners have two venues for top-drawer art\u2014this one is centrally located\u2014in one small town. Cold Hollow Cider Mill, 3600 Waterbury-Stowe Rd., Waterbury Center, 244-8771; coldhollow.com: Fresh-pressed apple cider, regional gourmet foods, and famous doughnuts. Comollo Antiques, 4686 Main St., Manchester Center, 362-7188; comollo.com: Everything from a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk to a 19th-century Venetian mirror to Federal-style furniture. Frog Hollow, 4716 Main St., Manchester, 362-3321; froghollow.org: Choose from the work\u2014paintings, photography, jewelry, sculpture\u2014of nearly 250 juried Vermont artisans. Ken Riney Fine Antiques &amp;amp;amp; Jewelry, 63 Central St., Woodstock, 457-3043: A treasure trove of stellar finds like Dresden china embellished with 24K gold. Marie Miller Antique Quilts, 1489 Rte. 30, Dorset, 867-5969; antiquequilts.com: Hundreds of 19th- and early 20th-century quilts, all in excellent condition. The Red Horse Antiques, Rte. 4, Bridgewater, 672-3220; theredhorseantiques.com: Two floors of meticulously edited European and American antiques in a former carriage house. Susan Sargent Designs, 3609 Main St., Manchester, 366-4955; susansargent.com: The Vermont designer&amp;#039;s vibrant furniture and home accessories retail store in a rehabbed bank building. The Vermont Country Store, Rte. 100, Weston, 824-3184; vermontcountrystore.com: Half museum and half supermarket, this evocative shop stocks everything from penny candy to carved-wood bowls to flannel shirts.   --&amp;amp;gt;   --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; --&amp;amp;gt; 5  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/travel/a1270/elle-decor-goes-to-vermont-45056/>