Mountains and valleys create recreation opportunities in Braintree
Jackson Evans grew up visiting family in Braintree, and he has lived in the Vermont community for 15 years, experiences that have made it clear to him why people choose to settle there. “The thing that I see as drawing people here is the natural beauty of the place,” says Evans, who works for the town of Braintree. “It’s a pretty rural area with small farms dotting the landscape. The town is made up of two valleys on either side of a ridge.” The topography creates plenty of opportunities for skiing, hiking, cycling or trout fishing from the White River and its tributaries. There aren’t many places to shop or eat out, but businesses line Main Street in the neighboring town of Randolph, which Evans says “is like Braintree’s downtown.”
Skiing, hiking and snowmobiling Braintree’s hills and trails
People in Braintree get outdoors on private land rather than at public parks. The New England Forestry Foundation maintains Braintree Mountain Forest, about 1,500 acres dotted with mountain peaks. People often use the forest for backcountry skiing, which Evans says is a blend of downhill and cross-country skiing. Skiers attach devices called climbing skins to their skis so they can scale hills. “Once you get to the top, you take your climbing skins off, and you ski back down,” Evans says. “It’s a way to explore more wild areas on skis in the winter.”
Meanwhile, the White River Valley Snowgoers is a Braintree-based snowmobile club that gets permissions to maintain and ride trails through private property in the fall and winter. When the weather is warm, people park their RVs next to the White River at Abel Mountain Campground. On the other side of the river, hiking and mountain biking trails follow the flow of the water, with one route connecting to the neighboring town of Randolph. Evans says cycling is common too, with locals favoring gravel bikes. “They’re great for getting on dirt roads, which Braintree has 15 or 20 miles of.”
Randolph maintains a green space with a playground, disc golf course and ball fields alongside the White River’s churning waters. A pedestrian bridge crosses the river and leads to the town swimming pool.
Homes with lots of land, Green Mountain views
Houses are spread out, but people typically live on the west or east side of Braintree, where valleys form between the Green Mountains. Architectural styles vary from Colonial Revival to contemporary, but houses consistently come with multiple acres of land or back-deck mountain views — and sometimes both. Houses usually sell between roughly $160,000 and $400,000, though larger homes on 5-plus acres can range from $470,000 to $600,000.
Orange Southwest School District serves Braintree
Kids in town can go to Braintree Elementary School, which gets an A grade from Niche and emphasizes learning outside the classroom. On any given day, students may be releasing trout into a stream, learning about diesel engines at the district’s Randolph Technical Career Center or building little libraries to set up around Braintree. After sixth grade, students can attend Randolph Union High School, a C-rated school with an Innovation Center that hosts 3D printers, a laser cutter and other equipment students can use to tinker and build.
Circus-inspired bike ride among local events
In the fall, cyclists cruise nearly 40 miles around Braintree’s woods, mountains and farmland during the annual Circus Ride. The name comes from the cycling route, which follows the path taken by a circus when it traveled between Randolph and Rochester more than 100 years ago. “They’d take circus elephants and have them pull wagons over the mountain pass,” Evans says. The Braintree Historical Society organizes events, such as a free bluegrass concert series in the summer. The historical society also oversees Old Home Day, an annual tradition for more than 100 years. Locals gather for a church service, music, dinner and tours of the historical society’s museum.
Farm-fresh craft beer in Braintree, with more retail in Randolph
Bent Hill Brewery grows the hops and produce used in its beers, which are often aged with fruits such as plums and black currants. The taproom pours beers, serves food and hosts musical acts from Celtic duos to reggae bands. In Randolph, commerce is largely confined to rows of brick buildings along two streets. However, those storefronts are packed with restaurants, boutiques, a bike shop and about a dozen other businesses. One of them, Thai eatery Saap, is owned by a James Beard award-winning chef. The Playhouse Movie Theatre screens films, as it did when it opened in 1919, and Shaw’s on the south end of Randolph is the nearest supermarket.
I-89 and Amtrak station nearby
People rely on cars, highways and dirt roads to get around Braintree. Less than 5 miles west, drivers can merge onto Interstate 89 and take the highway 30 miles north to Montpelier, Vermont’s capital city. Trains stop at Randolph’s Amtrak station, within a three-hour ride of Montpelier and Springfield, Massachusetts. Many locals are self-employed or work in Randolph, while others take advantage of Braintree’s high-speed internet and work remote jobs.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
