Notes from the host
Mount Harmony Farm Vacation Guest House
Please note: there is a 3-night MINIMUM for stays and 31 nights MAXIMUM, and NO FARM STAYS--farm animals can be experienced from picture window, lawn & deck. There are a day before and after each reservation for cleaning/sanitizing and 3 days advance notice for reservations. 2-story Guest House (whole house, not shared with other renters--just one rental group at a time). Sleeps 1 couple & 2 kids + another adult or 2 couples very comfortably + another adult or child--5 people maximum (2 king-sized beds, 1 full-sized bed, a Captain's Bed (and an inner-spring mattress cot if needed). Bed rooms and BATHROOMS ARE UPSTAIRS. Downstairs has a full-sized inner-spring mattress couch-bed (no bathroom downstairs). Country privacy in Vermont's NE Kingdom. Close to nature and old-fashioned farm charm, peaceful -- a great get away. Let go, unwind, have fun, de-stress & relax, or knock yourself out in the great outdoors. Guest House Garden (separate from the Farm) with protective fencing for the Guests & Farm animals (NO FARM STAYS, and do NOT pet/feed the donkeys) usually has lots of yummies in it by early July until mid-October. Pets allowed upon approval -- NO LARGE DOGS, and no more than 2 dogs. No dogs allowed into upstairs rooms--please groom & de-tick/de-flea pets before coming.
2-story Historic Guest House has Old-Fashioned Rustic Charm & Elegance and amazing views from the LARGE upstairs picture window. The picture window looks out onto beautiful, changing mountain views and the antics of our animals--clear nights are great for star-gazing. There is an air-conditioner in the upstairs Great Room during the hot months. Cool Fall nights you can turn on the upstairs baseboard heaters, and later on the energy-efficient pellet stove. In Winter the Upstairs has individually controlled baseboard heaters and the Great Room's energy-efficient pellet stove. Downstairs has an energy-efficient wood stove plus the supplementary pellet stove. Cook up a storm in the open kitchen, grill up a storm outside during the warm months, or check out nearby cafes-restaurants, and most especially the #1-Rated Hill Farmstead Brewery 20 minutes away.
Free WiFi (10 meg speed, HD-TV & Blu-ray DVD (+Netflix, Amazon Prime with HBO, HBZ, Masterpiece Theater, Britbox/Acorn, etc.). Upstairs Roku TV has access to Hulu and Peacock as well. We have games, cards, jigsaw puzzles, books, stuffed toys, crayons/art supplies, Audubon Nature Guides, binoculars & a recliner. We have a 5-gallon hot/cold water dispenser downstairs and another upstairs--we encourage people to bring personal (not disposable) water bottles--the spring water in the dispensers in warmer weather comes from a public access spring in nearby Shadow Lake. Tap water comes from our artesian well and has a whole-house filter. Clear skies at night are great for star gazing (check out when there are meteor showers, too). It's all about the experience of Mount Harmony Farm.
Please note: During late November thru early March, we recommend fleece-lined jeans (or a polypropylene base layer) and sweaters. Walking around in just T-shirts and light-weight jeans indoors during these months is not suited to this region or our budget.
The nearby (near-private) Nature Sanctuary is just down the hill--great swimming--the water come early July is beautifully warm and usually stays warm to end of September/early October, with fishing, hiking, beautifully laid out & well-marked hiking paths, and a scenic outlook ("O'Leary's Leap") which has a steep, well-laid-out climb for the last 10 minutes. There is also a second pond +another locked cabin, plus a high point elevation--lots to explore. A mile further on (on Rte. 122) is the world-renowned Bread & Puppet Theater. Shadow Lake and many other swimming areas are also nearby. Craftsbury/the Commons/ Sterling College/the Open Center are a 1/2 hr+ away for biking, hiking, events, dining, farmers' markets, summer concerts outside & more. In the other direction are Burke Mountain-Kingdom Trails (world-class mountain biking events, and great restaurants/bars in that area). Lake Willoughby is about 45 minutes away and fairly crowded during very hot days. In Winter there is skiing, sledding, snowshoeing at Burke & Craftsbury's Open Center, and fat tire biking at Kingdom Trails.
Guest House Rates are for up to 4 people--additional guest is $25/nt (if under 5 years old = free)--with a limit of 5 people. Because we have a STRICT NO-CANCELLATION POLICY. If you or your guests' plans are at all iffy--we recommend taking out Traveler's Insurance in the event you may have to cancel or leave early.
Greensboro (Miller's Thumb, Willy's Country Store & Circus Smirkus) is about 20 minutes away, and a quick jump to the wildly popular Hill Farmstead Brewery (amazing beers/brews--go to their website). About 10 minutes south of Circus Smirkus is Perennial pleasures--beautiful & artistic gardens, plants to buy, and a wonderful tea room with real china & silverware, plus several varieties of entertaining chickens wandering about. From there you can continue south to Hardwick where you'll find Positive Pie (reservations recommended), a fun bookstore, a gift shop, the Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op & Cafe, a thrift shop, a creative cafe, an AT&T; store, and more.
If you go north to Newport you will find many things to see & do there, plus Lake Memphremagog which extends well into Canada (bike paths from Newport into Canada go around parts of the Lake). Canada entry may require Covid vaccination certificates, as well as passport or special sticker on your driver's license/state ID.
Please Note: THIS IS NOT A FARM STAY--the protected farm animals are NOT to be fed/petted as the donkeys do not always understand where carrots leave off and fingers begin. They also are not horses (horses can be fed from open palms--but donkeys cannot). Please do not fly drones on our property--go off our property--far enough away you won't scare our protected animals.
SLEPT LIKE BABIES...: Dear Stephanie & Marc.-- We had a glorious time. We loved the downstairs great room and especially loved reading and looking at the donkeys and the mountains from the upstairs Great Room. We all slept like babies!!!!! It was such fun watching the birds and the chipmunk darting about outside. Torben loved snowshoeing on your property. -- Thanks for providing such a wonderful larder with spices, oils, rice (which I used), teas and coffees, which I loved. I did the cooking and they cleaned up! -- Thank you also for being the 'parents' for the rescued animals. We have friends who live in Woodstock, VT and the wife is totally committed to taking animals out of abusive homes. You are doing a great thing and your animals must be thankful to have you care for them. We loved hearing them 'talking' to Marc! -- Thank you so much. -- April & Torben, FL
IT WAS LIKE COMING HOME: We read the website & write-ups, made the deal, but still didn't really know what to expect. It was like coming home to the family farm for Thanksgiving. We're not often welcomed by two mules, a gaggle of Geese, various sheep, and a pair of chipmunks. No moose though, at least not yet. Marc & Stephanie are like family. Staying here's been a treat. Raiding the vegetable garden, watching the chipmunk while reading on the deck, the view from upstairs, the 'sanctuary' down the hill & across the road (all parks should be like this), the leaves turning. Drive the byways, but better yet -- take the well-used Vermont Gazetteer and take those really skinny back roads that are red -- the dirt/gravel ones. Get lost, find your way. Go to the observatory at the top of Prospect Hill near Brownington, and look into Canada. Try them all -- they're good roads, often better than the asphalt ones. -- Pam & Les, TX
WOW!!!: Let me start off by saying WOW!!!!! You and your farm are amazing. It was so nice to meet folks who still have strong morals/values and treat animals/land with the love and respect they deserve. We really were just trying to 'get away', but you made our trip so much more than that!! And for that I THANK YOU. We loved sitting down with you two and hearing you speak so lovingly about your farm. My husband and I have had our share of many tragedies over the last few years and found it hard to get out of our pity party; in just two short days Mount Harmony provided us with the atmosphere to 'let go'. Your gratitude towards my husband's veteran status was unexpected and appreciated, I hope we did not insult you by not taking you up on your offer to stay a night 'on you'. If we didn't have [responsibilities], we would have taken you up on the offer in a heartbeat. We'll be back, but next time for a longer stay (they've been back many times).
-- Sonya, Gary & Friends, MA, now FL
Hosted by Stephanie Bourdelle