11

Trip

notes

Hostel of Maine Forget everything you think

you know about hostels; this welcoming,

woodsy log cabin run by Justin and Melanie

Steele holds pop-up dinners with local chefs

and stocks Maine-brewed craft beers.

Make this your base for hiking to Horns

Pond and other trails in the Bigelow Ranges.

3004 Town Line Rd, Carrabassett Valley, ME,

+1 207 237 0088, hostelofmaine.com

Boston Park Plaza There can be few better

places to wash o the wilderness than

the Plaza, which had a $130-million

renovation in 2017. The adjacent Strip by

Strega does upscale steak and seafood.

50 Park Plaza at Arlington St, Boston, MA,

+1 617 426 2000, bostonparkplaza.com

EAT

Swyft Chef Joel Viehland crafts his

sourdough pizze from a 30-year-old starter

and tops them with local heirloom tomatoes

and house-made burrata. 3 Maple St, Kent,

CT, +1 860 592 0404, orehillandswyft.com

Prairie Whale A little bit of New York in

the Berkshires backcountry. This hotspot

is packed day and night. 178 Main St,

Great Barrington, MA, +1 413 528 5050

20 Railroad Public House No reservations

here, but the short-rib and brisket burgers

or the artery-plugging lobster mac-and-

cheese are worth the wait. 20 Railroad St,

Great Barrington, MA, +1 413 528 9345,

20railroadpublichouse.com

Schilling Beer Co On the banks of the

tumbling Ammonoosuc, this former 18th-

century gristmill serves fancy fl ights – the

spicy Belgian-style Erastus is our pick –

and wood-fi red pizza. 18 Mill St, Littleton,

NH, +1 603 444 4800, schillingbeer.com

Coplin Dinner House Owners Heidi

Donovan and Tony Rossi source seafood

from the Gulf of Maine and meat, eggs

and vegetables from their own farm.

8252 Carrabassett Rd, Stratton, ME,

+1 207 246 0016, coplindinnerhouse.com

GETTING THERE
Virgin Australia and partner Delta Air Lines
fl y from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to
New York City and Boston via Los Angeles.

Walking there
The 3,524-kilometre Appalachian Trail
stretches from Georgia in the south to Maine
in the north. It’s threaded with hundreds of
side trails that can be accessed by road
and walked in tandem with stays at good
lodgings, particularly in New England
where the trail intersects many towns.
See The Appalachian Trail Conservancy
(appalachiantrail.org) and the Appalachian
Mountain Club (outdoors.org).

STAY
Troutbeck This newly remodelled
18th-century estate in New York’s Hudson
Valley has hosted naturalist John Burroughs
and writers Mark Twain and Henry David
Thoreau. It’s an easy drive to the Ten Mile
Hill hike at Bull’s Bridge. 515 Leedsville Rd,
Amenia NY, +1 845 789 1555, troutbeck.com
Briarcli Motel The Brady Bunch house
meets colourful Scandinavian cheeriness at
this revamped roadside motel. Stay here for
access to Mount Greylock. 506 Stockbridge
Rd, Great Barrington, MA, +1 413 528 3000,
thebriarcli” motel.com
Omni Mount Washington Resort Built in
the early 20th century, the last remaining
White Mountains grand hotel was once
the summer playground of railroad barons
from New York and Boston. It has 200 rooms
and suites, a golf course and, allegedly,
occasional visits by the ghost of one of
its original owners. Take a daytrip to the
imposing Mount Washington – there’s
a popular cog railway to the top if the
hike is too challenging. 310 Mount
Washington Hotel Rd, Bretton Woods, NH,
+1 603 278 1000, omnihotels.com/hotels/
bretton-woods-mount-washington
Adair Country Inn Expect fl ocked wallpaper,
fl oral bedspreads and no-fuss country
food such as bowling ball-sized popovers,
a cross between a croissant and a Yorkshire
pudding. Stay here to access the Lonesome
Lake Hike. 80 Guider La, Bethlehem, NH,
+1 603 444 2600, adairinn.com

Ap

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Boston

Augusta

New York City

Philadelphia

Washington DC

Atlanta

Atlantic Ocean

GOURMET TRAVELLER 147