Most people come to Mount Snow, ski, eat, and leave. They never get off Route 100. Which is fine – more of the good stuff for the rest of us.
Our Top 10 things-to-do hub covers the obvious picks – Mount Snow, Harriman Reservoir, the Mount Olga fire tower, downtown Wilmington. This post is the other list. Five spots in the Deerfield Valley that don’t show up on the standard guide and have zero overlap with our other posts. None require special skills or long drives. They just require knowing where to look.
Honora Winery & Vineyard – Jacksonville Tasting Room
A working winery with 36 acres of vines tucked into the hills of Jacksonville, about 25 minutes south of Valley View Villa on Route 100 toward the Massachusetts line. The tasting room sits in a converted barn and pours flights of their estate-grown reds and whites – cold-climate varietals like Marquette and La Crescent that actually do well at this latitude, plus a few off-dry whites that surprise people. Open seasonally, with extended hours in summer and fall.
The grounds are pretty enough to bring a picnic; outdoor seating overlooks the vines. They host live music on weekends in summer. Pair with a stop in downtown Jacksonville for dinner or with a Bennington day trip on the way home.
📍 Honora Winery, Stark Road, Jacksonville VT | ~25 min from Valley View Villa | $ flights | 21+
Hamilton Falls & the Swim Holes at Jamaica State Park
About 40 minutes north of Valley View Villa via Route 100 and Route 30, Jamaica State Park has one of the better-kept swimming secrets in southern Vermont. The West River Trail follows the old railbed about 3 miles up to a side trail to Hamilton Falls – a 125-foot cascade with a series of natural rock pools and slides carved into the bedrock above. Cold, clear, surrounded by forest. The pools below the falls are deep enough to swim in.
The hike in is mostly flat on a wide gravel path, easy for kids if you don’t push to the top. Go on a weekday if you can; locals know about this one and summer weekends fill the lot. Day-use fee at the park entrance. Swimming at your own risk – no lifeguards. People have been seriously hurt sliding the upper falls; stick to the calm pools below.
📍 Jamaica State Park, Salmon Hole Lane, Jamaica VT | ~40 min from Valley View Villa | $ state park day-use fee
Marlboro Music Summer Chamber Concerts
One of the most respected chamber music programs in the country happens 30 minutes east of the villa, on the campus of the former Marlboro College. For roughly five weeks each summer (mid-July through mid-August in 2026), young professional musicians study with senior artists and perform weekend concerts at Persons Auditorium. Tickets are reasonably priced, the hall is intimate (about 700 seats), and the playing is serious – alumni include Yo-Yo Ma and Richard Goode.
Concerts run Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Buy tickets in advance on the Marlboro Music website – weekend programs sell out, especially in late July. Combine with dinner in Brattleboro on the drive home.
📍 Marlboro Music, Persons Auditorium, South Road, Marlboro VT | ~30 min from Valley View Villa | $$ tickets, advance only
Adams Farm Petting Barn and Hay-Wagon Rides
Adams Farm is one of those places that adults assume is just for kids, then end up enjoying as much as the kids do. A working family farm in Wilmington with a heated petting barn (goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas, miniature donkeys, draft horses, rabbits) and seasonal hay-wagon rides through their pastures and maple grove. In winter, the wagons swap for horse-drawn sleighs that end at a log cabin where you warm up by a wood stove with hot chocolate.
Worth a 90-minute stop on a slow afternoon. Open year-round but seasonal for some activities – book sleigh rides ahead during holiday weeks. About 15 minutes from Valley View Villa via Route 100 and Higley Hill Road.
📍 Adams Farm, Higley Hill Road, Wilmington VT | ~15 min from Valley View Villa | $-$$
Vermont Distillers Tasting Room
Tucked into an unassuming building on Route 9 in Marlboro, near the Hogback Mountain overlook, Vermont Distillers is easy to drive past entirely. That would be a mistake. They produce small-batch spirits using Vermont ingredients – their maple bourbon and Metcalfe’s Maple Cream Liqueur are the standouts and have won regional awards. The tasting room is informal, the staff is knowledgeable without being pretentious, and a flight of five tastings is one of the cheapest entertainment options in the valley.
Pairs naturally with a stop at the Hogback Mountain overlook (right next door for the 100-mile view) or as part of a slow drive on Route 9 toward Brattleboro. About 20 minutes from Valley View Villa on Route 9 east.
📍 Vermont Distillers, Route 9, Marlboro VT | ~20 min from Valley View Villa | $ flights | 21+
Why This Matters
The ski mountain is great. The restaurants are good. But the places that make people want to come back are usually the ones they didn’t plan for – a barn full of llamas on a Tuesday afternoon, a chamber concert in a 700-seat hall, a flight of estate Marquette on a vineyard deck. The Deerfield Valley has more of these than any ski town has a right to. From Valley View Villa, all five of these are within a 40-minute drive – you can fit two of them into a slow day with time to be back at the pond by 5.
The reason we started keeping a mental list of these places is that our best days as guests ourselves, years ago before we owned the villa, were never the ones we planned. We remember a rainy afternoon that turned into an hour watching a potter throw bowls in a barn studio, and a wrong turn that landed us at a farm stand with the best cider donuts either of us had eaten. Those detours are what made us fall for this corner of Vermont in the first place.
So the tip we give every guest is to leave one afternoon completely open on the calendar, no reservation, no destination. Ask whoever pours your coffee in the morning what they are doing that day, and go do a version of that. The people who work these hills know where the good stuff is, and it changes week to week with the seasons and the light. The formal attractions will still be there. What you cannot schedule is the barn full of llamas on a Tuesday or the impromptu porch concert, and those are the moments our guests email us about months later, long after they have forgotten which restaurant they booked.
🗺️ More to Explore Near Mount Snow
- Top 10 Things to Do at Mount Snow and West Dover, VT — The mainstream picks – Mount Snow, Harriman, Mount Olga, downtown Wilmington
- Top 10 Things to Do in Wilmington, VT — The village walking guide for an afternoon downtown
- Summer Bucket List for the Deerfield Valley — The 10-item summer-only roundup
- Stargazing in Vermont: Best Night Sky Views Near West Dover — Another under-the-radar experience worth trying
- 7 Winter Activities at Mount Snow for Non-Skiers — When people think of Mount Snow, skiing and snowboarding usually come to mind first.
- A Vermont Summer Getaway From New York City — Want a Vermont summer getaway from New York? About four hours north sits a…
- Vermont Summer Getaway From Boston: A Mountain Escape — Planning a Vermont summer getaway from Boston? It’s under three hours to a private…
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some lesser-known things to do near Mount Snow?
Five we recommend most: Honora Winery’s Jacksonville tasting room (~25 min south), the Hamilton Falls swim holes at Jamaica State Park (~40 min north), Marlboro Music chamber concerts in July and August (~30 min east), Adams Farm’s petting barn and hay-wagon rides in Wilmington (~15 min), and Vermont Distillers’ tasting room on Route 9 (~20 min east).
Is Marlboro Music worth driving to from Mount Snow?
Yes – if you’re visiting in July or August and have any interest in classical music. The festival has hosted some of the best chamber musicians in the world for over 70 years, the hall holds about 700 people, and the drive is about 30 minutes east of Valley View Villa. Buy tickets in advance – weekend programs sell out.
Can you swim at Hamilton Falls?
Yes – in the calm pools below the main cascade. The upper rock slides have caused serious accidents over the years and are not safe; stick to the lower pools. The hike in is about 3 miles round trip on a wide flat path, easy for kids. Swimming is at your own risk – no lifeguards.
What’s the closest winery to Mount Snow?
Honora Winery in Jacksonville, about 25 minutes south of Valley View Villa on Route 100. They grow cold-climate varietals on 36 acres and run a tasting room out of a converted barn with outdoor seating. Open seasonally with extended summer hours.
