Hill Farmstead/VT Trip

i'll second the question on camping near HF. would love to plan a trip in the spring or early summer and camp somewhere near the brewery due to the remote location.

 

HF is so remote, there really isn't anything out there. There might be private camp grounds I don't know about, but as for the state run camp grounds, Elmore State Park (in Elmore, VT) and Stillwater State Park (in Groton, VT) would be the two closest. You'd probably do better camping at Little River State Park in Waterbury. Greensboro (and the Greater Hardwick area) is nice and all, but nothing out there.

 

You should check with HF, they may have camping on site. I know they do during tastings.

 

HF does not allow you to camp at the brewery except for festivals at the brewery.

 

A bit late to the party. It's not quite camping but I know a few of the cottages along Shadow Lake can be rented by the day or week.

 

there's a ton of camping spots around HF. use google.

 

Doing this trip in a couple of weeks and decided to stay nearer to waterbury. Planning to ride bikes as much as possible and got a cabin at Little River. Anybody ever use bikes between Little River State Park and Waterbury?

 

Vermont is not much other than camping (or beer). Look around and you find a spot.

 

Hostel Tevere is a good, affordable option: http://hosteltevere.com/

It's an hour and a half away from HF, but it's super close to the Warren General Store where you can buy Lawson's and it's not a far drive from Montpelier (where I'd suggest stopping into Three Penny Taproom: http://www.threepennytaproom.com/).

 

I live near that stretch of Rte. 2 and drive/bike it frequently. Our local cycling club even holds a regular time-trial including part of that stretch. Coming out of Waterbury westbound on Rte. 2 the shoulder is minimal, but within 1 mile (when you pass underneath the interstate) the shoulder gets wide. The ride up the access road to LRSP is a lot of dirt, narrow and twisty. Locals all have signs out asking cars to slow down, so take care on that stretch. Since it's off-season, it'll be significantly quieter, I expect. Also, we are in for a long & difficult mud-season up here due to the extreme depth of the frost and late snow retention - so bring your fat tires!

 

Great and good point about mud season, did not think about that. How far is the dirt road to the park? Thank you!
PS they have not been able to sugar down here this week, to cold.

 

The dirt road is about 3 miles, in a car it seems pretty long. It is doable, but would stick with a mountain bike and fat tires. Make sure to bring some fire wood!

 

It's best to pick up firewood locally to avoid introducing nasty tree killing insects that live further south.

 

Doing the same trip the last weekend in June from Long Island and staying in Little River. Let us know how you fair.

 

=
Google maps has the bike ride from Little River (isn't that a bad 70's/80's band) to the Prohibition Pig as 27 minutes. Even if it's an hour it beats a night in jail.
We looked into the taxi situation which sucks. Maybe some enterprising Waterbury local should start a taxi business. You could probably do pretty well driving people back to where they are staying all night long.
We managed to score a cabin so that should be pretty neat.
I would say mud season, to this point, has been pretty mild down here.
Since we all live in VT can I bring VT firewood?

 

We make the Brooklyn to HF trip quite often - message me if you need any help.

 

Any idea what the waits are like on a Saturday in May? What time do people start lining up? Does it make sense to go near the end of the day?

 

some one needs to open a taxi service.

 

Depends on what's for sale/what's going on in VT that weekend, but you're looking at an easy 90 mins - 2 hours at open.

 

Makes sense, does it calm down near close?