For a serene view of nature, you don’t have to go outdoors. Step back into the 19th century at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in Vermont. The art gallery, the oldest in the United States still in its original form, also features paintings by noted Hudson River School painters Asher B. Durand, Worthington Whittredge, and Jasper Cropsey. The library is free; gallery admission is $5. 802-748-8291.

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