Zand
Well-known member
I thought of this while driving to and from Stratton yesterday. We all know anywhere within 30 miles of Brattleboro is hippie haven, and Route 30 must have the most hippies in 40 year old Subarus going 20 mph under the speed limit per capita. Stratton is slightly closer to the highway than Killington, but it just feels like forever between the slow drivers, lack of passing zones (which aren't necessary in VT with the double yellow laws but Route 30 is too curvy to even try in most spots), and the fact that there's like 7 small villages on the way through. At least on 103/100, most people maintain speed and you only have to slow down for Chester, Ludlow, and Plymouth so that hour from the highway doesn't feel so bad.
I feel bad for people that approach Killington from the east, as the only thing worse than Route 30 is Route 4. Otherwise, I can't really think of any other areas in VT that are that bad. Rt 9 to Mt Snow is nice, lots of truck lanes and no towns to slow down for other than Wilmington which is actually a real town unlike Harmonyville, West Townshend and whatever else is plopped down on Rt 30. Sugarbush only has Moretown, Stowe only has... Stowe, and Burke only has Lyndonville. The drive to Jay from 91 is fun and rarely has traffic. Getting to Smuggs sucks but I discovered that going around the backside of Mansfield via Richmond is easier than going through Morrisville.
Elsewhere in New England, obviously Cannon is by far the easiest from the highway. Loon is pretty close too. Waterville isn't far from 93 but 49 is the second biggest speed trap after Route 4 in Bridgewater/Woodstock. Never tried driving to Wildcat from the south but have heard horror stories about Route 16 on some weekends. Sunday River and Sugarloaf are a long haul from 95 but lots of passing zones going to both since Maine is a bit flatter. In NY, Gore and Whiteface seemed to take forever to get to but not much traffic to get stuck behind. Plattekill was also a long way but most of the ride was 55+.
Obviously, out west has even bigger challenges. While some places like Loveland and Copper are like Cannon, you have the A-Basins and Winter Parks that require getting over a 12,000+ foot pass. And that's after getting down that giant CF that is I-70 west of Denver. The canyon roads to the Cottonwood ski areas are friendly on dry weekdays, but can take hours on snowy days or weekends.
What are some of your favorite/least favorite drives to ski areas?
I feel bad for people that approach Killington from the east, as the only thing worse than Route 30 is Route 4. Otherwise, I can't really think of any other areas in VT that are that bad. Rt 9 to Mt Snow is nice, lots of truck lanes and no towns to slow down for other than Wilmington which is actually a real town unlike Harmonyville, West Townshend and whatever else is plopped down on Rt 30. Sugarbush only has Moretown, Stowe only has... Stowe, and Burke only has Lyndonville. The drive to Jay from 91 is fun and rarely has traffic. Getting to Smuggs sucks but I discovered that going around the backside of Mansfield via Richmond is easier than going through Morrisville.
Elsewhere in New England, obviously Cannon is by far the easiest from the highway. Loon is pretty close too. Waterville isn't far from 93 but 49 is the second biggest speed trap after Route 4 in Bridgewater/Woodstock. Never tried driving to Wildcat from the south but have heard horror stories about Route 16 on some weekends. Sunday River and Sugarloaf are a long haul from 95 but lots of passing zones going to both since Maine is a bit flatter. In NY, Gore and Whiteface seemed to take forever to get to but not much traffic to get stuck behind. Plattekill was also a long way but most of the ride was 55+.
Obviously, out west has even bigger challenges. While some places like Loveland and Copper are like Cannon, you have the A-Basins and Winter Parks that require getting over a 12,000+ foot pass. And that's after getting down that giant CF that is I-70 west of Denver. The canyon roads to the Cottonwood ski areas are friendly on dry weekdays, but can take hours on snowy days or weekends.
What are some of your favorite/least favorite drives to ski areas?