The Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast is located on top of Newfane Hill, a few miles outside the village of Newfane in southern Vermont. It is owned and operated by Dave and his husband Scott as a men-only gay resort. Created to serve as a safe haven for men to socialize and relax, Frog Meadow has various unique features such as a swimming pond, a wood-fired hot tub, a massage studio, and extensive grounds covered in woods and meadows. Close by is also the city of Battleboro, which is known by some for its artistry, surrounding scenery, and counterculture.
The Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast is settled on relatively extensive grounds in the hilly country of southern Vermont. The B&B itself consists of three buildings, respectively called the Main House, the Brook Cottage, and the Bee Cottage. The Main House is a wooden house built in the cape style. Its primary rooms include three guest accommodations, three bathrooms, a large Eden kitchen with an attached dining room, and a great room that doubles as a retreat room. The latter of these rooms opens onto a large patio overlooking the wooded countryside. The deck itself is an outdoor living area where men can gather to socialize or relax, as well as spend time in the wood-fire hot tub—a unique feature of the bed & breakfast and one of the most popular, according to the owner Dave.
The Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast is established on 63 acres of land that is covered in meadows, woods, and hills. Some unique features that reside on the property's premises include a swimming pond with an attached brook, various gardens, an apple orchard, and an apiary consisting of two beehives. There are also extensive hiking trails and an abundance of 18th century stone walls crisscrossing Frog Meadow Farm's grounds.
The Main House has additional unique features such as the massage studio and the free weight workout gym. Dave himself is one of the massage therapists at Frog Meadow, trained in Swedish, myofascial release, and deep tissue massage techniques. He was inspired to learn massage after a trip to Hawaii in 2005, where he and his husband received massages at a gay resort they were staying at. In 2007, Dave graduated from Greenfield Community College in the Stillpoint Massage Program. Dan Roden is another massage therapist at the B&B whose practice includes Reiki, positional release technique, reflexology, Trager, and Swedish massage.
The three rooms in the Main House are The South Room, The North Room, and The Frog Meadow Suite. To name a few, each of these rooms' amenities and features includes a king-sized bed, air conditioning, heated towel racks, various furnishings, natural cotton robes, Wi-Fi, and high thread count sheets. The South and North Rooms are 200 square feet in size, while The Frog Meadow Suite boasts a 400 square feet space. Both the owner's favorite room and the most popular among their visitors, the Frog Meadow Suite is the only room with a private bath, complete with a jacuzzi tub.
The two cottages on the premises are perhaps more fitting for guests who want more private accommodations or want to be closer to nature. Besides the Brook Cottage, which has a queen-sized bed, the features and amenities of the two cottages are similar to that of the guest accommodations in the Main House. The Bee Cottage is a small red wooden dwelling tucked away on one of the lower meadows of the property. It gets its namesake because it is just past Frog Meadow's apiary and orchard. The Brook Cottage is nestled in a shady area beneath some trees and has a finished wood look. Its namesake comes from being built next to the brook that feeds into the swimming pond on the property. Though both of these cottages don't have plumbing, guests are welcome to use the surrounding woods or walk the short two-minute distance to the Main House when they need to relieve themselves.
Dave was once a professional chef, something he mentioned he maintains as he cooks breakfast for his guests each morning, among other meals. In the "farm to table" style that Vermont is known for, Dave says breakfast is always made from scratch using locally sourced products. Some of the meals prepared include French toast, pancakes, various kinds of omelets, and local bacon, in addition to always providing fruit, granola, and yogurt. When in season, they might also serve homemade apple cider and honeycomb. Dave and Scott try to cater to guests with special dietary preferences as long as they have ample warning beforehand.
Perhaps the most unique thing about Frog Meadow Farm is its culture. As stated above, the bed & breakfast is a men-only gay resort and the only one in the entire state of Vermont, according to Dave. When Dave and his husband Scott first established the B&B, Vermont was one of the only states that permitted same-sex marriage, and as a gay couple themselves, they wanted to emulate this. As such, they strive to provide a welcoming, non-judgmental, comfortable, and safe place for men to vacation and relax. They even host small weddings on their property—something they used to do in greater abundance before same-sex marriage was legalized in the entirety of the United States in 2015.
Dave talks about how, because of the unique culture as a men-only gay resort, guests come from many places in the United States and even the world to stay at Frog Meadow Farm. He went on to explain that the primary demographic of the B&B's guests is anywhere from 30 to 80 years old, and the couples vs. singles ratio is about 50/50. Dave and Scott say that their place "is like coming to visit friends in the country that have a beautiful place rather than just going to a hotel." They see this in action, Dave explained, as many of their guests interact, hang out, and vacation with one another, finding new friends and making new connections or strengthening existing ones. One guest said, "besides all the material reasons to favorably review this delightful getaway, an aura of friendliness and mutual respect pervades the space and creates an environment of warmth and congeniality."
The setting of the Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast is echoed by its name. Four miles from any paved road on 63 acres of woods and meadows, punctuated by various brooks and gardens, Dave describes the place as a "rural country setting"—"the kind of place where if a car goes by we look out the window to see who it is." Because of the setting and the many activities on the property visitors can participate in while staying there, he also described it as a "destination unto itself." Some of these activities include swimming, sunning, hiking, watching wildlife, hammocking, hot tubbing, playing board games in front of the great room hearth, doing yoga, and getting massages—all the while being able to socialize with Dave, Scott, and the other guys lodging at the B&B. Sometimes guests can even suit up and help the owners do some bee-keeping at the apiaries.
Because of these extensive activities and the culture of the B&B as a gay resort for men, Dave says that many of his guests remain on the property their entire stay there. Most guests stay for a few days, though it's not uncommon to have visitors stay for a week or two. One couple even stayed for four weeks. A review by a patron of Frog Meadow Farm reads, "It was quiet, charming, and everyone was friendly. It's perfect for couples and groups, even singles! The setting is ideal, with swimming, sunning, hot-tubing, hammocking, and hiking all on the property. The breakfasts were absolutely delicious, and there is tea/coffee available at any time."
An abundance of the men that come and stay on the property are repeat visitors. Dave mentioned they don't have to compete with any other businesses since they are the sole men-only gay resort in the area. Because of this, he says that they have been able to create "a very strong knit customer base"—so much so that at any given time, half of their guests are returning patrons, and they don't even have to run advertising. Many guest reviews mention that they are regular guests of Frog Meadow Farm or want to become so after staying there for the first time.
One of the primary ways men learn about Frog Meadow Farm is through word of mouth. But another prominent way is the all-inclusive, gay retreats and workshops they host on the property—held during the shoulder seasons and the winter. The activities at these events are meant to bring men together in a safe place to relax and connect with themselves and others. Though varied, these events include breathwork, yoga, and massage and often will have professional facilitators to guide the men through these practices. They also host two work camps a year in the spring and fall. Men who participate in these are able to stay for much cheaper rates during the workcamps as they help clean up the property and do various other projects at the B&B
For guests wishing to explore and do activities nearby, there is an abundance of attractions in the surrounding area. Vermont itself has a vast amount of outdoorsy activities such as hiking trails, fishing, biking, and scenic sightseeing. In particular, guests can explore the Appalachian Trail and the Green Mountain National Forest, which are both near the gay resort. The town proper of Newfane, only 10 minutes from Frog Meadow Farm, is a relatively small town where guests can explore the area's history. Also located there is the Four Columns Inn and the Fat Crow, which Dave recommends to his guests as "excellent" places to go and eat that follow the Vermont "farm to table" dining style. Nearby cross-country and downhill skiing becomes available in the winter for those who might want to participate in such an activity.
Twenty minutes away is the city of Battleboro, where guests of Frog Meadow Farm can experience the "counterculture" of Vermont while exploring the abundance of performing arts, visual arts, shops, antiques, galleries, and bookstores available—as well as a variety of dining options. Dave talks of how this city emulates Vermont's open-minded culture of "live and let live," saying, "it's a place where a gay couple can walk down the street holding hands and nobody will bat an eye." Close by Battleboro and Newfane, there is also a gay beach and nude water hole on the Rock River—a popular attraction for the guests of Frog Meadow Farm.
The property where the Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast was established was once the original Newfane village's location, founded in the 1700s. However, in 1820, the entire town moved off the mountain and settled where Newfane Village currently resides, leaving behind many historical buildings.
By the time Dave and Scott bought the property in 1995, all of these buildings had suffered major deterioration, leaving behind nothing but the stone fences and the foundations they had previously been built on—which now permeate the property. They built The Main House right on top of where one of these foundations stood, clearing out the trees and brush that had overtaken it.
Initially, The Main House was only meant to be their home, a purpose it served for 12 years. However, because of economic need, they opened their home as a bed & breakfast for men in 2007. Dave talks about how they did not want to go and get a job working for somebody else, so they started the Frog Meadow Farm business. Since then, they have made many improvements to their business and premises in order to reach more men—even going so far as to learn SEO—and fully plan to continue making advancements moving forward.
34 Upper Spring Hill Road
Newfane, Vermont 05345
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Scott & Dave
