Old Stone House Museum

Literally constructed of heavy stone granite blocks, the Old Stone House Museum (109 Old Stone House Rd., Brownington, 802/754-2022, www.oldstonehousemuseum.org, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed.–Sun. mid-May–mid-Oct., $5 adults, $2 students) once served as a boys’ dormitory and school. It now houses the collection of the Orleans Historical Society, including Victorian-era furniture and cooking implements and some of the original schoolbooks from the academy library. Behind the museum is a wooden observation platform on Prospect Hill that commands the surrounding farm country.

Cow Town Elk Ranch

Once native to Vermont, the mighty American elk was extinct for decades before it was reintroduced at the Cowtown Elk Ranch (Main St., Derby, 802/766-4724, www.derbycowpalace.com), in 1992. The herd of more than 350 animals is cultivated for big-game hunting in a preserve down the road in Irasburg.

During daylight hours, the elk are available for viewing in the pasture; best time to see them is in the late afternoon when they are brought into the front pasture for feeding. Speaking of which, the ranch also serves lean venison steaks at its adjoining restaurant, the Cow Palace (11 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sun.).

Covered Bridges

The little town of Montgomery has no fewer than seven covered bridges, all built with the same design between 1863 and 1890 by brothers Sheldon and Savannah Jewett. The Inn on Trout River has a map with the locations of all the bridges, and will even share some “covered bridge poetry” if asked.