A lot of outlets

With arts, resorts, and the outdoors, there's much more than shopping

August 29, 2007|Ron Driscoll, Globe Staff

In its early years, now-bucolic Manchester was something of an industrial region. At various times, it was home to marble mills, lumber companies, and iron mines. The presence of so many mills inspired the name Factory Point for the area that is now Manchester Village. The town's proximity to the Green Mountains gave it a foothold as a summer resort, particularly for wealthy New Yorkers, and those long-ago factories have been supplanted by factory-outlet shopping, with more than 30 of the stores clustered in Manchester Center. With the picture-postcard village and The Equinox resort and spa as its hub, Manchester is home to outdoor pursuits including skiing, fly-fishing, and hiking, and to shopping, the arts, and a simmering dining scene.

Play

It's no accident that the American Museum of Fly Fishing (Route 7A, 802-362-3300, $5 adults, $3 children ages 5-14, amff.com) is in Manchester, or that it sits across a shared parking lot from the Orvis Co.'s flagship store. Town native Charles Orvis developed the ventilated reel, which allowed the fishing line to dry quickly on the reel, and opened his first store here in 1856. Orvis now has 55 stores and more than 500 dealers. The museum was created in 1968 and lays claim to the world's largest collection of angling artifacts, including Ernest Hemingway's fly rod. Note: The museum's main gallery will close temporarily Sept. 4 for installation of an exhibit.

The Equinox Preserve (free; park at The Equinox, at Burr and Burton Academy upper lot when school is not in session, or at the top of West Union Street) consists of some 850 acres on the slopes of Mount Equinox, and boasts perhaps the largest northern hardwood forest in New England. It is open year-round for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and snowshoeing. A trail map lists a dozen big trails and suggested one-, two-, three-hour, and day hikes.

A mere pitching wedge shot across the road from The Equinox is Gleneagles Golf Course (green fees $104 weekends, $92 weekdays, $59 twilight, equinoxresort.com), which was designed by esteemed architect Walter Travis in 1926 and updated by Rees Jones in 1992. It earned the No. 59 spot on Golf Digest's 2006 ranking of the top US re sort courses.