A tiny state, more than a third of which represents conserved land, Vermont has done things its own way since the colonial era. Its Green Mountain Boys militia once fended off land claims from New York and New Hampshire, and for a brief moment, Vermont even functioned as its own republic. That don’t-tread-on-me energy still lingers today, blended with a deep respect for the arts, outdoors, history and small business. In southern Vermont, less than five hours from Philly, the village of Manchester is a microcosm of that personality. Slung between the Green Mountains, the glowing town looks like something straight out of a Hallmark movie — especially in winter, when snow this time of year is nearly guaranteed.

Start the car.

Stay: Kimpton Taconic

Stone fireplaces, leather chairs, plaid wallpaper, draft-blocking drapes, a grand front porch…Kimpton Taconic hits the winter-in-New-England vibes hard. The 86-room boutique hotel sits right on Main Street, close to everything in town, and has a solid on-site tavern, the Copper Grouse (think cider-brined chicken and maple crème brulée). The hotel also offers seamless equipment rentals through a Ski Butlers partnership. Bookings also include two free adult tickets to Hildene.

📍 3835 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 05254

Visit: Hildene

Just south of town, surrounded by woods and snow, Hildene was built at the turn of the 20th century by Mary and Robert Lincoln, the only son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Run as a museum nonprofit since 1978, the Georgian Revival estate, gardens and 12 miles of trails are open to visitors, making it a must-stop whether you’re into history, architecture, design or horticulture. Train buffs will love Sunbeam, the restored Pullman carriage from Robert Lincoln’s tenure as president of the Pullman Company from 1897 to 1911.

📍 1005 Hildene Rd., Manchester, Vt. 05254

View: Southern Vermont Arts Center

Take a short detour off Main Street into the forest and you’ll find Southern Vermont Arts Center. This estate includes classrooms, museum galleries, performance space, a yoga studio, and a café. Originally built in 1917 as a summer estate for an Ohio socialite and philanthropist, the property was acquired by the arts center in 1950. Grab a coffee at the café and walk—or snow-shore, or cross-country ski—through their epic sculpture park.

📍 860 Southern Vermont Arts Center Dr., Manchester, Vt. 05254

Shop: Northshire Bookstore

Northshire Books is almost a caricature of Vermont: a rambling country house riddled with cozy alcoves. Opened in 1976 and now run by three sisters who grew up shopping here, the store leans hard into its indie roots — staff bios list genre specialties and years of service. They’ve got the bestsellers, sure, but it’s their rare-books collection that’s really special. A signed Jimmy Carter autobiography, for example, or an alternatively-illustrated British edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

📍 4869 Main St., Manchester Center, Vt. 05255

Ski: Bromley Mountain

Located only ten minutes from town, Bromley Mountain’s 47 trails represent a solid mix of expertise levels. If you’re skiing experience begins and ends with the Poconos, maybe start with a few runs on the family-friendly Chase-It trail before leveling up to the Lord’s Prayer, the Plunge and Havoc.

📍 124 Bromley Lodge Rd., Peru, Vt. 05152

Relax: Spa at the Equinox

After a day on the slopes, soothe those boot-bound feet and sore hammies at the Spa at the Equinox. Deep-tissue massage, Ayurveda treatments, cupping therapy, maple sugar scrubs — get one, get them all. You won’t want to leave the spa. It’s got cozy relaxation lounges, a huge indoor pool stretching out beneath an open-beam ceiling and an outdoor hot tub perpetually cloaked in steam.

📍 3567 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 05254

Dine: The Reluctant Panther

Points for the name alone. The Reluctant Panther, whose moniker nods to Vermont’s resistance to outside rule in the late 1700s, has been operating as a bed-and-breakfast since the 1960s — but its restaurant is open to the public. The food is exactly what you want to eat in the winter here: a Vermont cheese board, thick pork chops with German potato salad and smoked maple gastrique, venison osso bucco, all served in a fireplace-warmed dining room. The wine list has earned Wine Spectator recognition four years straight. Meow.

📍 39 W Rd., Manchester, Vt. 05254

The Boston College men’s hockey team lost an ugly one on Friday night, falling to Vermont 6-1 to snap a four game winning streak. The Eagles fell behind early and were never able to catch up in this one, as the Catamounts were the better team by a considerable margin over the full 60 minutes. It was probably BC’s worst showing of the season and one that they’ll immediately need to rebound from when they play in the Beanpot final on Monday night.

Vermont got out to a lead just 80 seconds into the first period, scoring on an odd-man rush turned breakaway after a rough turnover by Aram Minnetian in the neutral zone. They doubled their lead just around the nine minute mark of the period when Louka Cloutier seemingly just missed what looked like a fairly simple wrist shot from the boards on a delayed penalty. BC did bounce back with a nice penalty kill right after allowing the second goal and had some power play time of their own late in the period. They were unable to cut into Vermont’s lead, however, despite controlling the puck generating a handful of pretty dangerous scoring chances and went into the first intermission trailing by two goals.

The Eagles made the most of about a minute of carryover power play time to start the second period with James Hagens continuing his recent streak of strong play with his 16th goal of the season. Hagens was able to redirect a Lukas Gustafsson shot from the point into the back of the net to make it a 2-1 game just about 45 seconds into the period. It looked like Vermont had regained their two-goal lead a few minutes later after a goal on what appeared to be a nice passing play, but a quick review took it off of the board for a pretty clear kicking motion. BC’s reprieve didn’t last for long, though, as the Catamounts were able to convert on a power play chance just a few minutes later to make it a 3-1 game after two periods of play.

They made it a 4-1 game and ended pretty much any hope of a BC comeback about two and a half minutes into the third period. A breakdown in coverage off of a Vermont rush left a Catamount wide open right above Cloutier’s crease for a one timer into a wide open net to make it a three-goal game. They made it 5-1 with a shorthanded goal not too long after that after another rough turnover, this time from Teddy Stiga and turned it into a laugher a few minutes later with a goal to make it a 6-1 final.

On the heels of a big win against BU last week and a Beanpot victory over Harvard on Monday, this might have been BC’s worst performance of the season. It was a genuinely ugly performance basically from the opening faceoff and outside of a few minutes early in the second period, they never really looked like they were going to get into this game. It’s a bummer because they had been playing some good hockey and it felt like they could go on a bit of a run, but instead they laid a bit of an egg. They’ll have a chance to bounce back almost right away when they play BU once again on Monday night, this time in the Beanpot final.

ENOSBURGH, Vt. (WCAX) – A former Vermont schoolteacher faces charges of sexually assaulting a student.

Vermont state police say they started investigating Ashley Goodwin, 43, of Enosburg, in November after a report of sex offenses that took place from 2007 to 2009, when Goodwin was a teacher at Enosburg Middle School.

Troopers say the investigation revealed that Goodwin repeatedly sexually assaulted a student, starting when the child was 14.

Police cited Goodwin on Friday for aggravated sexual assault. She’s due in court on Monday.

Goodwin is no longer a teacher.

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