1. Feather Hill Bed And Breakfast
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (866) 963-0522
Address: 151 Mashamoquet Rd.
Description: This home was built in 1936, not 1736, but is charming in a different way, with 5 bright, airy rooms, all with private baths and recently renovated with all the amenities modern travelers want. There is also a separate 900-square-foot cottage with fireplace, kitchen, and dining room. Breakfast is included; let them know if you would like something for a special diet. Owners Fred and Angela will make you feel like part of their family, and that is what staying at a bed-and-breakfast should be all about. The rooms at Feather Hill are named for birds, and after a night here you will feel the freedom of these winged creatures, as you fly to your next nest in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut.
2. Gwyn Careg Inn
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 928-5018
Address: 06259
Description: Built in 1760 by the Osgood family of Pomfret, this National Historic Register house was developed into a mansion in 1899 and named Gwyn Careg, which means “pure stone” in Welsh. The land around was turned into a landscaped estate, with a stone-walled Spanish garden and a scenic 3-acre pond, rich with rustic stone walks and flowering trees. In 1980 the mansion was refurbished and became an inn, run by the Bove family. There are 5 guest rooms here, 2 with fireplaces and all with antique charm. You are within walking distance of Mashamoquet Brook State Park, and the 50-mile Air Line State Park Trail runs right behind the property, offering 50 miles of uninterrupted bicycling. Sharpe Hill Vineyard is 3 miles away on a country road, and you should make reservations for dinner at the Fireside Tavern there.
3. Mashamoquet Brook State Park
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 928-6121
Address: 147 Wolf Den Dr.
Description: The Wolf Den section of Mashamoquet State Park offers 35 open campsites with flush toilets and drinking water from April 15 to October 15. The lower-numbered sites are on the outside of the ring, and therefore are more desirable, especially sites 4 to 16. A nature trail leaves right from the campground to a wildlife-viewing platform. The Mashamoquet Brook section is more rustic, with 20 wooded sites, composting toilets, and pump water. Its entrance is just west of the main park entrance on Route 44. You can make reservations, and vacancies are filled first come, first served. This is a great place to hike, fish, and swim, but also a great central location from which to explore Windham County.
4. Fireside Tavern At Sharpe Hill
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 974-3549
Address: 108 Wade Rd.
Description: Up an ancient staircase in the loft of Sharpe Hill Vineyard’s huge red barn is the Fireside Tavern, with its hand-hewn beams and high-backed colonial chairs. The location is traditional New England, but the food is far-ranging and global, with dishes like jerk chicken, creole shrimp, and sea bass. Some of the herbs and flowers are local, however, grown right in the garden outside, and the produce is locally sourced. Let the waitstaff suggest which of Sharpe Hill’s wines go with the dishes, although you might have your own ideas after tasting them downstairs (show up early and visit the charming tasting bar for sure). For dessert, the Moon Mountain torte is sinful. The exclusive restaurant is only open Fri through Sun and is not wheelchair accessible, and reservations are required for specific timed seatings.
5. The Vanilla Bean Cafe
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 928-1562
Address: 450 Deerfield Rd.
Description: Across the street from Martha’s Herbary at the corner of Routes 169 and 44, this busy cafe serves three meals a day in their stained-glass lit, clean, comfortable dining room. Order at the counter and they’ll bring you your quiche or chili, burger or Cajun sausage hot dog. They have large sandwiches packed full of meat, served with pickle and chips, just like a good deli should. You can create your own with their interactive menu. If you’re there for breakfast, try the chili omelet or the cinnamon-vanilla French toast. Though this is primarily a lunch place, Fri and Sat nights The Vanilla Bean features entertainment and a small dinner menu. The cafe also offers gluten-free foods, like their chili.
6. We-Lik-It Ice Cream
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 974-1095
Address: 728 Hampton Rd.
Description: This 120-acre farm’s herd of Holsteins is milked twice daily, and they make the ice cream fresh. If you stop by and they are “out” of a flavor, it’s because they literally just made a batch, and it sold out. They have interesting flavors; try the Guernsey Cookie if they have it, a coffee ice cream with Oreos. Road Kill is another favorite, vanilla with cherry swirl, white chocolate chips, and walnuts. The ice cream is rich and creamy, and the portions are huge. Some say to get the ice cream in a dish because the cones can’t stand the amount. But the waffle cones are made fresh while you wait. Let me repeat: They make the waffle cones fresh on the spot. Open Apr through Oct, the farm also has hay and sleigh rides, and has a greenhouse with seeds, flowers, and greens to buy.
7. Celebrations Gallery And Shoppes
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 928-5492
Address: 330 Pomfret St.
Description: In a spacious Victorian home, Celebrations has a large gallery with crafts, paintings, and other original art. From watercolors to woodworking, you can find the best of the Quiet Corner here. However, Celebrations is much more. They have begun a new program that makes this the perfect place to experience afternoon tea. They have special days (one during the week and one Sat each month) when you can reserve a place for afternoon tea from 2 to 5 p.m., at which you’ll enjoy freshly brewed pots with unlimited refills, a soup course, and a classic three-tiered selection of sandwiches, savories, and scones. They also have other things for sale at the shop, like adult and children’s tea sets, jewelry, and other knickknacks. Open Wed through Sun.
8. Martha’S Herbary
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 928-0009
Address: 589 Pomfret St.
Description: This is a wonderful store to find a unique gift for someone who has everything, a small shop that makes use of all its space. Martha’s not only has herbs to buy for your garden, but inside the shop they carry natural-fiber clothes, bags, jewelry, art, homemade potpourri and soaps, special teas, and unusual knickknacks. You can also walk through the English herb garden outside, with raised beds and arbors, and a sunken medicinal garden. In the spring the smells that come from Martha’s are divine: basil, tarragon, sorrel, and cilantro. Stop by in the winter, though, and the friendly staff will treat you to mulled cider. They also run classes on gardening, and if you see their garden just once, you’ll know you could probably use their expertise.
9. Mashamoquet Brook State Park And The Wolf Den
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 928-6121
Address: 147 Wolf Den Dr.
Description: Along Route 44 between Willimantic and Putnam, you’ll find this 1,000-acre park with 7 miles of hiking trails. Unusual formations called the Indian Chair and Table Rock are only warm-ups for the Wolf Den, a narrow cave among large glacial erratic boulders. This cave is where Israel Putnam (“Old Put” to his friends) supposedly killed the last wolf in the state. The park also offers fishing and swimming in the Mashamoquet section. Near the entrance you can find the 4-story Brayton Grist Mill and Marcy Blacksmith’s Shop Museum. The gristmill is the best example of an 1890s one-man operation in the state, and maybe anywhere. There’s also an exhibit of 19th-century Marcy family blacksmithing tools and the water-powered shop. The museum and mill are open on weekends May to Sept from 2 to 5 p.m.
10. Sharpe Hill Vineyard
City: Pomfret, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 974-3549
Address: 06259
Insider Pick:
Description: Hidden in the hills of Pomfret, past forests and meadows, you’ll see a western rail fence and the huge red barn of one of Connecticut’s largest and most award-winning wineries. The owners, Steven and Catherine Vollweiler, and the winemaker, Howard Bursen, have created an institution here in this barn, which contains the winery itself, the barrel room, the tasting room, and their unique restaurant, the Fireside Tavern. They produce the best-selling wine in New England, Ballet of Angels, a semisweet summer pleaser, cool and refreshing. But their other wines are even more worthy of attention, the Wine Spectator–rated Chardonnay and the St. Croix, which tastes like spiced roses. Sit on the stone terrace behind the tasting room and enjoy a glass, but you should certainly take a walk up the hill through the rows of grapevines. At the top you’ll have a view of Windham County and beyond into Massachusetts and Rhode Island.