VACATION RENTALS IN CENTRAL
VERMONT
Available on this
page -
Confidentiality
A Bit of History
Twin Ponds
Fishing Laws in Vermont
Nearby Attractions
Rates
Terms
Reservation Deposit
Damage Deposit
How to Make a Reservation or Get Additional Information
Secluded
But Accessible Twin Ponds Cottage
Every year we have
Christmas tree customers from out of state who exclaim over how beautiful
and peaceful this part of Vermont is. For approximately twenty years
we rented Twin Ponds Cottage to people from all over the U.S. who
have been impressed with the quiet beauty of this area. We have a
lovely cottage in the midst of our 200 acre Christmas Tree Farm and
on Twin Ponds, a natural body of water with controlled access, that
just became available for vacation rental again. (You may click on
any picture on this page to see a larger version.)
This cottage is
a year-around home that we rent or lease for periods of at least two
weeks. If you like being crowded, lots of noise, traffic and activity
all around you, this is not for you! This two bedroom cottage is in
a wonderfully peaceful environment to inspire artists, writers or
just plain folks wanting to recharge their batteries.

Sit on the screened-in porch and divide your time between watching
the ducks and geese swim by and counting the number of cars that go
by in a day on the road 50 yards away.

Fish, swim, or boat on Twin Ponds and forget the outside world. Get
your exercise and walk or bicycle on the many roads in the area.
Use the cottage as a base and take frequent day trips. Let the family
enjoy the cottage while you toil in the city and join them on the weekends.
Tele-commute to your job in the city from the cottage and be more productive.
(Note below where we provide a phone and an internet connection.) Take
time off and write the great American novel. Watch the Christmas tree
crew shape and care for the trees. It is all up to you.

CONFIDENTIALITY
If you are a celebrity or just a private (but law abiding) person you
can blend in here and avoid the media and the fans. When you arrive
or shortly before you arrive we will ask you to provide us a list of
persons to whom you want us to acknowledge your presence should we be
contacted.
We provide a phone at the cottage but it is limited to local out-calling,
use of your charge card for long distance, satellite TV access, and
internet access to internet providers with local dial up access numbers.
(Most of the major and local internet providers have local phone access.)
If you desire privacy, you should be careful about who you give the
number to. Some cell phone providers do not have good coverage everywhere
in Central Vermont. For example, NexTel Phones have been problematic
in some rural areas.
Recently renovated, the cottage has a new kitchen, a working fireplace,
a pond view, (a short walk to the ponds) central heat, satellite TV,
could sleep six, 1.5 baths, laundry area. No smoking, no pets, and deposit
required.
The cottage is located on one of the North-South plateaus that run
through Central Vermont. Located on a town maintained gravel road, it
is about 6 miles from Exit 5 on Interstate-89.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Lew’s parents purchased the property including most of the pond
frontage in 1958. Lew’s Dad had dreamed of having a “trout
pond” for years and had cut Christmas trees on the property for
many years. There was an old barn on the property that Lew’s Dad
hoped to be able to turn into a camp. However efforts to do so showed
that many of the barn structural components were too rotten to be salvaged.
Plan B involved Lew and his Dad taking a building down in their home
town of Chester Vermont and using the various components to build the
cottage. A gas station owner had purchased a piece of property with
a circa 1870s house and wanted to have the house torn down to make additional
parking for his station. By 1961 the cottage was built with a crawl
space underneath and a screened-in porch. By then Lew’s parents
had bought the adjoining property which had a farm house on it. Lew’s
parents (it was his mother’s pet project) rented the cottage for
many years to vacationers from all over the U.S. In 1980 the cottage
was jacked up and a full basement was constructed. 1986 Lew’s
parents decided to retire to the cottage and had an addition built which
made the cottage 24 by 38 not counting the screened-in porch. Lew’s
Mom died in 2004 and the property was renovated to include a new kitchen,
chimney repairs and a finished room in the walk-out basement. It is
now ready for you to enjoy.
TWIN PONDS
If you remember from above, Lew’s Dad wanted a trout pond. But
Twin Ponds has a typical mix of yellow perch, hornpout (catfish) and
chain pickerel. Trout were unable to breed in the pond because of the
fierce competition from the existing species. Lew and his Dad became
fond of fishing in the pond because it was unusual not to catch at least
a few fish almost every time they went fishing. The fish in a nearby
pond had been killed and trout introduced by the State of Vermont with
mixed results. They decided not to go to the expense of killing the
existing fish in favor of trout. Since then large mouth bass have been
introduced with favorable results. If you like to fish, you will enjoy
Twin Ponds.
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Like many of the ponds in this part of Vermont Twin Ponds was formed
by a glacier. Much but not all of its water comes from natural springs
in its bottom. While the surface water is quite warm in the Summer,
you don’t have to go too deep to find cool water. Except for a
couple of places where we have had gravel brought in the bottom is black
mud with occasional deposits of natural lime. If you have children coming
with you or visiting you, you will want them to be supervised when they
are near the water. There are spots where the mud and the water is pretty
deep near shore. The depth of the water in the ponds varies from wet
toes to about 45 feet. There is a floating dock accessible from the
shore and a float anchored a short swim from the dock from which you
may dive. There is a 12 foot aluminum row boat with oars. Although the
boat has built in flotation, Vermont law (www.boat-ed.com/vthandbook/pfds.htm)
requires personal flotation devices ( life vests) for each person on
small boats. We provide three adult sized vests, two child vests (50
to 90 pounds, and one vest 30 to 50 pounds) to be worn when fishing
or boating. If your party has different requirements, please let us
know when you make your reservation. If you have smaller children, you
should bring the appropriate personal flotation devices.
A WORD ABOUT FISHING LAWS IN VERMONT
Despite the fact that you will be fishing on private property, you
will need a current Vermont fishing license to fish on Twin Ponds. Vermont
law regards all bodies of water that have streams flowing into and out
of them as subject to State Fish & Wildlife regulations regardless
of size. Twin Ponds has a very small stream flowing into it and an even
larger stream flowing out of it. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
has a number of different fishing licenses available. You can even order
the license on line. Their website is http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/index.cfm.
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
The cottage is an hour or less from the following: Stowe, Killington,
Pico and Sugarbush ski areas; The Burlington International Airport;
Lake Champlain; The Lebanon, New Hampshire Regional Airport; Dartmouth
College; Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center; and the White River Junction
Veteran’s Hospital. There are a number of historical sites near
by. Go to http://www.vermontvacation.com
for more information. It is approximately half an hour from the State
Capital in Montpelier, the Central Vermont Medical Center, the Gifford
Medical Center, Norwich University, Vermont Technical College and many
other attractions.
RATES
- The entire Summer season
(June thru August): $1200/week
- One Summer month:
$1400/week
- Two weeks in Summer:
$1600/week.
- The entire Foliage Season:
$7,000 September 10 to October 16.
- Two weeks or more in
Foliage Season: $1700/ week.
- Other arrangements are available.
For any lease less than 30 continuous days the Vermont rooms tax applies
and is in addition to the rate. The current rooms tax rate is 9%.
TERMS
Payment by check, cash or money
order. No credit cards accepted.
RESERVATION DEPOSIT
30% of the total amount. The entire reservation deposit will be returned
if the reservation is cancelled 15 or more days before the rental was
to begin. Otherwise the deposit will be retained in the event of cancellation.
Balance due upon arrival.
DAMAGE DEPOSIT
$500.00. Returnable within 72 hours if property is undamaged. If damage
is done, the balance will be returned as soon as a repair estimate can
be obtained but not less than seven days after the end of the rental
period. Linens (including towels), dishes and kitchenware are supplied.
HOW TO MAKE A RESERVATION OR GET ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Please send us an e-mail,
write us (L.H. Stowell & Son; 1591 Twin Ponds Road; Brookfield,
Vermont 05036- 9736), or call us (800-557-0400). Tell us about you and
the person(s) who will be staying at the cottage for part or all of
your stay at Twin Ponds Cottage. Please provide full names and addresses
of the persons who will be occupying the cottage. Tell us what your
expectations of your vacation will be. If we think that Twin Ponds Cottage
is not a good match for your expectations, we will advise you of that.
We are not trying to exclude anyone, we just want happy vacationers.
Please provide your contact information
Phone number
E-mail
Fax
Residence phone
Work Phone
We hope that you have enjoyed visiting our web site and that Twin Ponds
cottage may be in your vacation future.
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