This story was Published in The New England Ski Journal Published: December 2006
By Heather Burke, Photos by Greg Burke

If you look up “New England ski town” in the dictionary, I think you should find Stowe. This Vermont ski town is soup to nuts when it comes to snow season spots, from the charming church-steepled village, leading to the Mountain Road of enticing shops, eateries and inns, to the time-honored ski terrain with sweeping Green Mountain views.

First and foremost, you have the Front Four – legendary trails that have been skied by all the greatest for half a century. The Forerunner high-speed quad opens early and pumps you up to this well pitched terrain till you beg for a cocoa stop in the mountaintop Octagon Lodge. Or you can lighten the tempo by skiing Stowe’s meandering mountainside runs like Lord, Sunrise, and the 3.5-mile Toll Road.

Then there’s a bright red gondola to elevate you to more scenic routes like Gondolier and my personal favorite Perry Merrill, on Vermont’s highest peak Mount Mansfield (4,395’). Skiers’ lunch is served atop in the Tyrolean-style Cliff House.

As a ski area, Stowe is gritty but genteel, earthy yet elegant. On one side of the lift line you have wool-wearing Vermonters queued up for their “10 by 10”, but you also see the beautiful people, wearing Bogners, making bravado remarks like “there’s always snow in Stowe you know.”

While Stowe embraces tradition, it is also transforming itself with a $300 million master plan, now in year 3 of 10. This season, the much anticipated transport lift from Mansfield to Spruce will connect the separate ski mountains into one big resort, like those in Europe. In the past, Spruce was the less-frequented distant cousin, but with a new quad last season, and the current construction of Spruce Mountain Lodge and a ski village, this other side of the resort will become the hub.

Spruce is home to several classic New England ski trails and the Children’s Adventure Center, so families are going to like the improvements being made here. To address Stowe’s previous lack of slopeside lodging, magnificent so-called “Cabins” and a monstrous hotel, The Spruce Mountain Lodge and Spa, are being built.

But Stowe is not, and never will be, just a ski area – it is the town of Stowe that has defined this resort community for over two centuries, long before lift service and Lincoln SUVs.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more delightful ski hamlet than Stowe, which dates back to 1763. Main Street downtown is unchanged by time and travelers, you can still shop at the century old Shaw’s General Store and you can trace the history of your favorite sport at the Vermont Ski Museum.

If Nordic skiing is your thing, Stowe has an impressive map of touring trails encompassing 150 kilometers of groomed tracks and 100 kilometers of backcountry trails. There are several Nordic Centers, the most famous being The Trapp Family Lodge - which was the first touring center in North America. This “Sound of Music” family’s settlement is now a phenomenal resort perched on a gorgeous hillside, with must-see scenery.

Stowe as a vacation destination straddles the gap between classic and latest/greatest. Driving through Stowe you sense the pride of innkeepers from their manicured properties to their pretty decorations. Owner-operated galleries feature homespun Vermont crafts, offset by upscale boutiques, cafés serving haute cuisine, and trendy spas, all dotting the Mountain Road.

There are more great restaurants and pubs, inns and resorts in Stowe than you could enjoy in a lifetime of ski seasons…but it would be fun trying, plying your way up the Mountain Road, staying at each romantic BnB, shopping each chic boutique, raising a Stein at each pub, and dancing at the Rusty Nail or the Matterhorn, saving just enough reserve to rise the next day for that foremost skiing.

Perhaps its because I worked at several Stowe establishments as a college gal, skied the steeps trying to impress my date, and was wed in the Stowe Church, that this vibrant Vermont ski town is locked in my heart. Give it a day or two; you might fall for the whole steeps to steeples scene yourself. You will at least understand why Stowe has acquired the name, Ski Capital of the East.

Lodging:

Stowe Area Lodging, 1-877-GOSTOWE

Stowe Mountain Resort, 1-800-253-4754,

Topnotch Resort and Spa - 4-diamond hotel and condo lodging on the Mountain Road. 800-451-8686

The Green Mountain Inn – The centerpiece of Stowe Village. 800-253-7302

Dining:
The Cliff House – At the Gondola summit, serving Continental cuisine topped with gorgeous views. Lunch daily, dinner certain evenings. 802-253-3665
The Shed – A Mountain Road staple for burgers and beer. 802-253-4364
Trattoria La Festa - fabulous Italian. 802-253-8480

Après Ski:
The Matterhorn - First stop as you descend the Mountain Road, bustling après scene.

Ye Old English Inn - Pickwick’s Pub for those in the know, serves pints authentic pub-style.
The Rusty Nail - Rocks till late with dancing and bands. 802-253-NAIL

Must do:
The Swimming Hole - Indoor swimming, waterslides, and fitness facility. 802-253-9229

Vermont Ski Museum - The historic 1818 Old Town Hall. 802-253-9911
Taste Vermont - Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Cold Hollow Cider, and Cabot Cheddar Cheese on Route 100, Waterbury.
 

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