Quechee Lakes

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Quechee Lakes is a private community located on the border of Vermont and New Hampshire in the town of Hartford, Vermont.Opened in 1969, the community has grown to consist of 19 town-home villages and more than 600 single-family homes.^[1] built on 5,200 acres in the hills surrounding the Ottauquechee River Valley.^[2] It is developed by Quechee's largest residential real estate firm, The Quechee Lakes Company, which is owned by an affiliate of the international real estate company Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC of Boston, Massachusetts. Taurus initially purchased the majority interest in 2005, and purchased the remaining interest in the winter of 2007.^[3] Quechee Lakes is the leading second-home destination in Vermont.^[4]

1 Location
2 Culture
3 Recreation
4 References
5 External Links

[edit] Location

Located at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91 as well as US Routes 4 & 5 ^[5], Quechee is a two-hour drive from the nearby metropolitan area of Boston, less than a three-hour drive from Montreal and a 15 minute drive from New Hampshire's Lebanon Airport. This makes the town accessible in a variety of ways including daily one-hour direct flights from New York's La Guardia Airport. ^[6]

[edit] Culture

Quechee Lakes is located in the town of Quechee, Vermont, a former mill town that shares many cultural roots with the greater New England area. Quechee's culture is greatly influenced by its rural, mountainous landscape and the vast availability of Maple trees. Quechee Gorge Village has a variety of New England country facilities including a country store with homemade fudge, a crafts shop and the largest antique mall in the state.^[7] Residents and visitors of Quechee are close proximity to the small town shopping, artisan studios, galleries, country stores and restaurants of Woodstock, Vermont and are also about 13 miles from Hanover, New Hampshire where study groups, lectures, social activities and trips are regularly provided by the Institute for Lifelong Living at Dartmouth College.^[8] Cultural events include a covered bridge marathon and annual hot air balloon festival in June, the Quechee Scottish games in August, and an annual Fall Foliage Crafts Festival in October. Quechee is also home to the Simon Pearce glass blowing, pottery facility and restaurant established in 1981^[9] that offers an array of rustic Vermont fare including seasonal greens with locally made goat cheese and shepard's pie made of local grass-fed beef.^[10]

[edit] Recreation

Home ownership in Quechee Lakes grants automatic membership to its private club, the Quechee Lakes Club. Members have access to the club's amenities, including:

Two championship golf courses: The Highland and the Lakeland.

Downhill ski area with quad chairlift and ski school.

12 tennis courts (8 Har-tru and 4 all weather) and 1 indoor squash court.

Outdoor swimming pool and indoor lap pool.

Fitness center with free weights, aerobics/multipurpose rooms and a family area.

35 miles of trails for cross-country skiing, biking, hiking and snowshoeing.

Access to Lake Pinneo with beachfront, lifeguards, snack shack and volleyball.

The Grille Room Restaurant that is open for lunch and dinner.

A camp for children and teens at Murphy Farm during summer and school vacations.

Organized social activities for all ages, year-round, including group tours and dances.

Lake Pinneo, a freshwater lake used for boating, canoing and kayaking.

Quechee Lakes is also near skiing sites such as Killington, Suicide Six, and Mount Ascutney.^[11] The Quechee Gorge, also known as the "Grand Canyon" of Vermont, is a local site of steep hiking trails alongside the Otauquechee River.