1. Elias Child House
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 974-9836
Address: 50 Perrin Rd.
Description: On a rural, seldom-traveled road amid pastures and forests, the Elias Child House seems far removed from the busy trappings of modern life. The 18th-century house has 3 guest rooms, an in-ground pool, a screened-in porch, and a large country breakfast in the morning. But that doesn’t really do justice to the colonial feel that you get from this bed-and-breakfast, with its wide floorboards, its original wavy glass windows, and wainscoting. The 9 fireplaces, including a beehive oven and 2 walk-in cooking hearths, remain intact, and the owners will give hearth-cooking demonstrations. The claw-foot tub in the Aimee Room is a pure, lavish delight, and the very reasonable prices you’ll pay at the Elias Child will seem a pittance for the joy you will find here.
2. Inn At Woodstock Hill
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 928-0528
Address: 94 Plaine Hill Rd.
Description: On 14 acres in rural Woodstock, this 1816 inn was built by William Bowen, the grandfather of the man who built Roseland Cottage, and now has 18 rooms with private baths for your pleasure. There is also a cottage with 3 more rooms. Six of the rooms are furnished with four-poster beds, and 8 have working gas fireplaces. They offer seasonal packages and wedding packages, and host corporate meetings throughout the year in this rambling mansion. The attached fine-dining restaurant serves breakfast for guests, and lunch and dinner for everyone ($$$). You’ll find classics like rack of lamb and interesting twists like Madagascar green peppercorn sauce. The nearby fields and forests still belong to the storied Bowen family, though the inn was sold in 1981.
3. Mansion At Bald Hill
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 974-3456
Address: 29 Plaine Hill Rd.
Insider Pick:
Description: The 4-story-high Mansion at Bald Hill is enormous, with over 13,000 square feet, surrounded by formal English gardens and stone walls. However, there are only 6 guests rooms, elegantly appointed and furnished. You will feel like a guest of the Bowen family, perhaps like one of the many US presidents who lodged and dined with them. You will be treated to a gourmet breakfast in the dining room or on the sunlit terrace by the gardens. The Mansion serves dinners every night (except Mon) and uses local organic ingredients whenever possible. For an appetizer, try the white cheddar tater tots, and for an entree, the grilled barramundi. Their Sunday brunch is famous; try the banana-pecan French toast or the lobster mac and cheese.
4. Beaver Pines Campground
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 974-0110
Address: 1728 Route 198
Description: At the very north edge of the state on Route 198, Beaver Pines Campground is a relaxed and quiet family campground, with 60 large forested sites that give a lot of privacy. There are even a few secluded sites off the main tracks deep in the woods. Still, they have hot showers, a laundry room, and a camp store, as well as a field for horseshoes, volleyball, and wiffleball. There is a small pond for canoeing, fishing, and kayaking as well. Red squirrels play throughout the pines and chatter excitedly. Best of all, Beaver Pines Campground borders the Nipmuck State Forest, and you can hike or mountain bike on a path that leads out the back of the campground into 25 miles of trails. Now that’s true relaxation.
5. Mrs. Bridges Pantry
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 963-7040
Address: 292 Route 169
Description: Across from the Woodstock Fairgrounds, you’ll find a charming wood-paneled barn house, with a British flag, that serves all the traditional delicacies of an English tea, from tea and cocoa to scones and clotted cream. Meat pies, salmon cakes, Cornish pasties, Scotch eggs, and tea sandwiches make this the perfect place to stop for lunch in Windham County. If you don’t want the hot tea, the ginger-lemon iced tea is refreshing. You can also find gifts in the gift shop from the British Isles, from lemon curd to biscuits to china. Tea is best when it is shared, so let Mrs. Bridges share hers with you.
6. Sweet Evalina’S
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 928-4029
Address: 688 Route 169
Description: Known as “Evy’s” to insiders, this local independent store (once a smaller roadside stand) serves seasonally grown, locally sourced food as much as possible. It’s a lunch and breakfast place, but they also have become famous for their Thurs to Sat night pizzas. They also make what some call the best meatball sandwiches in Connecticut. You’ll see both locals and tourists enjoying the fried clams or the deli sandwiches. For those of you with a sense of humor, the play-dough-flavored ice cream is a classic, yellow colored with small morsels of what is probably cookie dough. Best not to ask, and just enjoy.
7. Stoggy Hollow General Store
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 974-2889
Address: 492 Route 198
Description: The Stoggy Hollow General Store has been a classic Windham County breakfast and lunch joint for years, and recently added a small but comfortable bar area. The interior is rustic, and you can sit on picnic tables in warmer weather. The menu is classically American, with burgers, sandwiches, soups, and dinner specials. The bar has a decent selection of beer and mixed cocktails. The breakfasts are probably the most popular here, and the portions are absolutely huge. Stoggy Hollow’s bakery is legendary, with muffins, fresh breads, and pies. Oh, the pies from the Hollow. Take a few home to all those unlucky not to eat there themselves.
8. Roseland Cottage
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 928-4074
Address: 556 Route 169
Description: This pink candy Gothic Revival cottage in Woodstock was built in1846 as the summer home of Henry Bowen, a rich merchant who spent the rest of his wealth founding churches and supporting the Union cause in the Civil War. The lawn was landscaped in the 1850s and has been lovingly restored, a picturesque landscape that includes original boxwood-edged parterre gardens. The estate also includes an icehouse, an aviary, and a carriage barn. Inside you will find the cottage to be just as colorful, and along with patterned carpet and stained glass, you’ll find the nation’s oldest surviving indoor bowling alley. Figures like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Ulysses S. Grant walked these halls, and now you can, too. There are festival days throughout the year, including a spectacular Fourth of July extravaganza, similar to the ones the Bowens held centuries ago, and a Civil War encampment in Aug. On ordinary days you’ll be served pink lemonade and can participate in the games of a summer season long ago.
9. Taylor Brooke Winery
City: Woodstock, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 974-1263
Address: 848 Route 171
Description: Owners Dick and Linda Auger want visitors to feel at home when they arrive at Taylor Brooke Winery. The winery and tasting room are found in the beautiful landscape of the Quiet Corner, and a pleasant drive through Woodstock will take you there. A wide variety is offered, including intriguing blends featuring fruit infusions. Try Riesling on its own, then sample the wines that blend Riesling with concentrated essences—Green Apple Riesling, Summer Peach, Autumn Raspberry, and Cranberry Riesling are all surprising and fun. Don’t miss Chocolate Essence, a Merlot port infused with chocolate: “dessert in a glass.” Taylor Brooke pioneered the use of the Traminette grape, and the wine made from these hybrid grapes is delightfully floral and smooth with just the right touch of sweetness. Their version of Cabernet Franc is aged in Hungarian oak and has hints of mocha on the finish. Bring lawn chairs and set up a blanket between the rows of vines. Vineyard dogs Zima and Georgia will make sure you don’t stray too far.