Harvesting Fall Pleasures in Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Fall is about more than just looking at leaves: it’s the time for outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking, and for farmers’ markets and harvest festivals. The town of Sturbridge, in Central Massachusetts about halfway between Boston and Hartford, is a perfect choice for families, couples, or groups of friends looking for a fall getaway.

When most New Englanders hear “Sturbridge” they immediately picture scenes of 19th-century life at Old Sturbridge Village, the northeast’s premier living history museum. But along with the old-time charms of that village—and there are plenty to easily fill a family’s day— the town of Sturbridge offers many reasons to stay longer. And lots of them—including craft breweries—are 21st–century pleasures. Fall is a good time to explore the old and the new in this appealing town, when its hills are painted in bright leaves and the region’s farms are bursting with harvest activity.

Bite into a crisp just-picked apple at 150-acre Hyland Orchard, a third-generation farm where you can pick your own Mac, Macoun, Cortland, Mutsu, Gala, Granny Smith, Empire, Fuji, and Braeburn varieties. On weekends from late September through late October, the orchards become one great big harvest festival, with free hay rides, live music, animal petting for kids, farm tours, food vendors and pumpkins. There are also free weekend tours of the Rapscallion Brewery, in the farm’s converted 1940s apple barn.

The Sturbridge Town Common and the grounds of the Publick House Historic Inn  take on a party air in mid-October (the 13th and 14th in 2018) for the annual Harvest Festival. Farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, locally made food products, local crafts, and a mini Food Truck Festival fill the common, while all sorts of fanciful straw figures decorate the Publick House grounds for their annual Scarecrow Contest.

Throughout September and October, the Town Common hosts a Sunday farmers’ market from 10am-2 pm. More than two dozen vendors sell fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, meats, and lunch selections. Make the Farmers’ Market a Sunday lunch stop and listen to the live music.

Sturbridge has a long farming heritage, and much of its former farmland has been kept as open space. Part of a family farm is now the 84-acre Heins Conservation Land, crossed by the historic Stafford Turnpike, a popular 1.2-mile walking trail through open fields and woods. The historic marker explains that this was an original road between Worcester and Hartford (then a 12-hour trip), opened in 1810. Two shorter trails loop through this scenic property.

About 20% of Sturbridge’s landscape, some 6,000 acres, is dedicated open space, and much of it is crossed by hiking trails. Like the Stafford Turnpike, many of these have an interesting history; all are at their most beautiful when wrapped in fall colors. A one-hour loop trail through the 57-acre Tantiusques Reservation reveals one of New England’s first mining operations. You can see the remains of a graphite mine used by both the native Nipmuc and, in the 1800s, by a pencil manufacturer. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Grand Trunk Trail is a National Recreational Trail, flat and wide on a former railroad bed alongside the Quinebaug River. Trees shade benches where you can admire the riverbank colors reflected in the water. This is a good route for cyclists, too, and for families with strollers. The town offers a handy downloadable Trail Guide with directions and trail maps for these and others.

For a little climb and a scenic vista across the autumn landscape, head to Wells State Park and climb to Carpenter Rocks, a granite outcrop that puts you above the trees. More than 10 miles of trails explore this 1,470-acre parkland. More outdoors options await at Westville Lake, where there’s a place to launch canoes and kayaks in the Quinebaug River, as well as fishing, picnic tables and undeveloped land that’s especially popular with birders.

If all this hiking raises a thirst, help is nearby. In addition to the family-friendly Rapscallion Brewery at Hyland Orchard, two other microbrewers put Sturbridge on the beer-lover’s map. Homefield Brewing never brews the same beer twice, designing each from locally grown hops and other ingredients—fruits, cider, honey—sourced from nearby farms and orchards. “Fresh and hoppy and good for local farmers” is their motto, and you can sample their latest results with tacos or other light dishes at their brewery.

Altruist Brewing Company began brewing in their garage, inviting a few friends to sample, but soon outgrew homebrew and found a new home in an old mill building. The taproom maintains the character of the original building, and you can listen to live music in the beer garden overlooking the river.

Taking a break for lunch or dinner doesn’t have to mean going inside on a beautiful fall day; several Sturbridge restaurants offer outdoor dining. Cedar Street Café serves breakfast (the pastries are made on-site) and lunch on a terrace bordered by a perennial garden and the barn of the historic Wright Farm. Prepare for a day’s hiking with a hearty breakfast burrito or bite into an equally hearty Cubano sandwich for lunch. Sit outside overlooking Main Street as you lunch on a ½-pound Angus burger or a Portobello Unburger with Boursin cheese at The Duck. The 50s-themed Jimmy D’s Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop serves salads and sandwiches, along with ice cream, indoors or on the patio.

Relax over lunch on the outdoor deck or screened porch at the historic Oxhead Tavern, with open views across the foliage-fringed Cedar Lake. The Tavern, a wood-beamed room built in 1820, is the restaurant of the Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center, a well-located hotel that welcomes families with 233 spacious rooms and suites. Comfort Inn & Suites is a hit with kids for its outdoor and indoor pools; parents appreciate the included breakfast.

Or close your day’s adventures close to nature, at one of the local campgrounds, which offer other activities as well as a variety of accommodations. Outdoor World Camping Resort has wooded and lakeside sites, an indoor pool, mini-golf, and a fishing pond. Jellystone Park Camp-Resort, on a lake with sandy beach, is a camping and full-service resort with rental cabins, campsites, pool, and aqua center.

Whether it’s watching 19th-century harvest preparations, joining a 21st-century festival, dining al fresco or kicking through leaves on a woodland trail, there’s plenty to do in Sturbridge.