One of the great things about New England is the abundance of year-round destinations within a 3-4 hour drive from Boston. This past weekend, we ventured to Stowe, VT, for a winter getaway filled with snowboarding and birthday celebrations. Although we’ve visited Stowe several times before, this was our first experience staying at one of the charming inns in the heart of downtown.
Day 1
We both took Friday off work and hit the road around 9 am. Compared to other New England resorts, driving to Stowe is relatively easy since it’s mostly highway until you reach Waterbury, VT. From the Boston area, it takes about 3.5 hours to drive to Stowe, but with a stop at Jersey Mike’s halfway, it was closer to 4 hours.
We went straight to Stowe Mountain Resort upon arrival around 1 pm to get a few hours of snowboarding in before the mountain closed at 4 pm. Fun Fact, parking at the Mansfield Parking Lot (which is normal $30 for the day) is free after 2pm. On windy days, we prefer the east side of the mountain, where the Sunrise and Forerunner Quad lifts are, as it’s usually less busy in the afternoon. We did a few easy blue runs on Lord and its offshoots, ending the day at the green Sunrise Glades. In total, we covered a little over 7 miles across 5 runs.
We called it a day just before 4 pm and drove about 15 minutes to the Green Mountain Inn, our home for the weekend. Built in 1833, the inn is packed with rich history, art, and charm—exactly what you’d expect in Stowe, VT. The parking was easy, which was a relief after a long day of travel and snowboarding. The inn consists of 8 buildings with various room sizes. Since it was just the two of us, we chose a modest Queen bedroom in the main building, conveniently located near check-in and dining. Our room was simple but charming, with a 4-poster queen bed, small refrigerator, TV, ample storage space, and a surprisingly well-done bathroom for such an old place!
After dropping off our stuff, we quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed straight to the outdoor heated pool and jacuzzi. What better way to end a cold day on the slopes than a hot tub? Typically, we stay at an Airbnb when visiting Stowe, but the inn was fun because we met many people over the weekend at the shared pool and hot tub. On the first night, we met a nice couple from New Hampshire and ended up staying in the hot tub way longer than we probably should have! After that, we went to the sauna, located just past the pool.
From there, we headed back to our room to shower and get ready for dinner. I highly recommend making dinner reservations when traveling to Stowe, as it gets busy almost every weekend of the year. The inn conveniently had a restaurant in the main building called The Whip, so we made a reservation there for 7 pm ahead of time. I dressed up a bit too much for the restaurant’s vibe, but it was my birthday, so it was all good. I suggest a casual jeans and sweater type of vibe. The menu was excellent—Chad got the Prime Rib, and I had the Gorgonzola-Crusted Filet Mignon, which was delicious. We also split a bottle of wine.
After dinner, we wandered around the inn, admiring the beautiful historic artwork on the walls and picking our favorites. Then, we headed to bed to rest up for day two of snowboarding!
Day 2
After a restful night, we woke up around 6:15 am to gather our gear and grab some breakfast in the lobby. I recommend getting to-go sandwiches from the bar area at the entrance of the breakfast dining because the service can be a bit slow if you’re aiming to hit the mountain before 8:00 am. To avoid traffic, it’s best to leave downtown Stowe around 7:00 am.
Stowe offers a free shuttle with several stops along Route 108 up to the resort, which we’ve used in the past. However, with the dicey weather this weekend, we decided to drive so we could have backup goggles and leave our packed lunch in the car. The shuttle is convenient if you want to avoid the hassle of parking, save some money, or enjoy a beverage at the base of the mountain, but expect delays during rush hour with the frequent stops. Even though we arrived at the mountain around 7:45 am for the 8:00 am opening, the free toll road lot was already full, so we paid the $30 for parking. The toll house road lot is great because you can get on the Toll House Double chairlift right away and head up the mountain. At the end of the day, you can take the toll road route back to the parking lot, which is a relaxing way to finish.
We found a parking spot close to the Mansfield Lodge, walked up to the Forerunner Quad lift, and started our day. We began with a few easy blues and then ventured onto the Liftline and Nosedive runs. We snowboarded through lunch until around 1:30 pm, then headed back to the car for our packed PB&Js. Packing lunch saves us a lot of money compared to buying food at the lodge. We sat on the back of Chad’s truck and got too comfy, so decided to call it a day and head back to enjoy the spa.
We returned to the inn around 2 pm, only to find that the outdoor jacuzzi and pool didn’t open until 4 pm. We spent about 20 minutes in the sauna before heading back to our room for an hour-long nap. Very unlike me, but hey, we were on vacation. At 4 pm sharp, we headed back to the pool. The only downside to our stay was that the outdoor hot tub took forever to warm up. It was more like a warm bath, so we opted for the indoor hot tub instead. Inside, we met two other young couples and chatted for over an hour. Once we were all pruney from the hot tub, we exchanged numbers, showered, and met up in one of the couples’ rooms for drinks before dinner.
We didn’t have any dinner plans, but one of the couples invited us to join them at Plate, a modern and upscale restaurant right across the street from the inn. It was reasonably priced, though I might be desensitized after living in Boston. I had the Shrimp Fettuccine, which was amazing, and we split a bottle of white wine. It was a spontaneous and fun evening meeting new people and enjoying a night out. After dinner, we headed back and went straight to bed, aiming to catch the first chair on our final day!
Day 3
On our final day, we woke up around 5:45 am. It might seem a bit early for being just 15-20 minutes from the resort, but with 5 inches of fresh snow overnight, we wanted to make the most of it before heading back to Boston. We packed up, loaded the car, and were out the door by 6:50 am. A handy tip we used was ordering extra breakfast sandwiches the day before and wrapping them in tin foil to eat the next morning. We always travel with a cooler, so we stored our breakfast and lunch for the weekend in the car.
We jammed out to music and ate our breakfast sandwiches on the way, arriving early enough to park right by Mansfield Lodge. We justify paying for parking since we have the Epic pass and don’t pay for lift tickets—girl math, as they say. We got in line at the Forerunner Quad lift to start the day on Nosedive, aiming to enjoy the fresh snow and avoid the ice at the top for the first few runs. We did a couple of runs on Nosedive and Liftline, then checked out Rimrock and the Nosedive glades, which were stunning with fresh snow on the pine trees.
For the first time that weekend, we headed over to the Gondola. We don’t usually go there because you have to unhook from your board, and the line is often long. The runs are good, but in my opinion, not worth the extra wait. After two runs, we went back to the east side of the mountain. We snowboarded from 8 am until around noon, then headed back to the car to start our drive home.
Price Outlined:
Gas: $ 130
Lodging: $760 (2 nights)
Food and Alcohol: $480
Parking: $60
TOTAL: $1,430
