VT Road Trip Suggestions

[billski]

If you do Sugarbush or Bolton, stop by Flatbread Pizza in Waitsfield. It's fun and you'll have a good story to tell!

 

[billski]

Given your preference for flea bag lodging, I don't know if Okemo and Stratton are going to be up your ally. Somehow, I suspect that the folks that enjoy these mountains most appreciate creature comforts. That said, they both have a crap ton of intermediate groomers. If you don't mind the resorty atmosphere, you'll enjoy the terrain for sure.

Good luck with the lodging, there ain't a lot of cheap options even mid-week. Some hostels if you are into that sorta thing (Trojan at Okemo, Turn of River for Killington/Pico, Grampa Grunts for Jay).

Stowe:
Morrisville, about 10 miles from $teaux has some some hotels with reasonable rates. Morrisville is where a lot of locals live, not many tourists hang around, just pass through.

Consider Londonderry (around the corner from Magic) for reasonable lodging - you could hit Stratton (half an hour) or Bromley - about 4 miles or even Okemo. If you really want to go rock bottom basic, with a great owner, consider Motel in the Meadow ($69), if you don't mind driving a little out of your way in Chester Vt (near Londonderry). Snowdon motel,$85+
The Lodge Vermont has gotten much more expensive these days ($129+). Consider Blue Gentian ($85 midweek) or Magic View($62-$109).

In Warren, The Golden Lion Inn ($91 to $124). Mike gives AZ'ers a discount, I forget how much... or in Waitsfield, the Mad River Barn, $90 midweek (negotiable, shh!).

I've stayed in most of these.

 

[Abubob]

You could always check out the B&B's http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/vermont.html

 

[HowieT2]

my 2 cents.

I'd skip Jimminy and head straight to okemo. probably about the same drive time for you but okemo is better and puts you significantly closer to your next destination. then go to pico instead of killington because of what others have mentioned. rte 100 between killington and sugarbush is one of the nicest drives you can do anywhere. you might even want to stay between the two.
I'd go to stowe instead of smuggs since the added drive time is not worth it if your doing groomers and the lift situation is better at stowe.
As for lodging, if you are interested in a hostel there is one right by the sugarbush access road called hostel tavere or something like that. never been but Ive heard good things and its cheap.
As far as flatbread goes you should do it if you can but it is only open friday and saturday nights, they dont take reservations over the phone, only in person starting at 4 pm and the line begins to form around 3:30. that being said, it is more than worth it.

 

[C-Rex]

I stayed with my (now ex) wife at the Vermont Inn the last time we went to Pico. It's a really nice place and just down the road. They have great restaurant and bar, and an outdoor hot tub.

 

[Razor]

If you're looking for cheap lodging, we know of what we speak. For Mt. Snow and Stratton, we stay at the Motel 6 in Brattleboro. Plenty of eating spots nearby and about 45 minutes from each area. Around Killington or Pico it's the Econolodge in Mendon, 2 minutes to Pico and 15 from K. At Sugarbush you can't go wrong with the Golden Lion. Good breakfast included, 3 minutes to the mountain. Not that far from Stowe either, maybe an hour? Ask for the AZ discount. Near Burke the Lynburke in Lyndonville is a good choice, only 10-15 minutes from the hill. Burlington is definitely worth a night regardless of skiing, a neat town. One caveat: we always bring our dog, so all the places mentioned are pet-friendly.

 

[Ski the Moguls]

I stayed with my (now ex) wife at the Vermont Inn the last time we went to Pico. It's a really nice place and just down the road. They have great restaurant and bar, and an outdoor hot tub.

I heard there are new owners now.
http://www.killingtonzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33239&p=455491

 

[40Berg]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. There's a ton of great stuff in here, so we'll likely be fine tuning the trip a bit. Here's what we're thinking about:

• Skipping our first "drive" day, as well as Jiminy Peak. Sounds like VT is the place to be, so we'll head straight up to Mount Snow, Stratton or Okemo.
• Burke is going to be added to the list. We'll be up in that area on a Saturday, and it seems like that's the place to be on the weekend.
• Never heard of Cold Hollow Cider Mill until now, but it'll be added to the list on our lazy day. May stay in Burlington that day to check it out.
• We'd consider Pico over Killington, but it looks like they're closed the day we're going to be up there (Wednesday). Looks like we'll be braving Killington.

I'm also going to look into each of the hotels suggested to see what works for us. Thanks again everyone - it's been hugely helpful.

 

[Smellytele]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. There's a ton of great stuff in here, so we'll likely be fine tuning the trip a bit. Here's what we're thinking about:

• Skipping our first "drive" day, as well as Jiminy Peak. Sounds like VT is the place to be, so we'll head straight up to Mount Snow, Stratton or Okemo.
• Burke is going to be added to the list. We'll be up in that area on a Saturday, and it seems like that's the place to be on the weekend.
• Never heard of Cold Hollow Cider Mill until now, but it'll be added to the list on our lazy day. May stay in Burlington that day to check it out.
• We'd consider Pico over Killington, but it looks like they're closed the day we're going to be up there (Wednesday). Looks like we'll be braving Killington.

I'm also going to look into each of the hotels suggested to see what works for us. Thanks again everyone - it's been hugely helpful.

The zone comes through again

 

[trackbiker]

Looks like you'll be going over a weekend but just a mention on the lodging; instead of staying in a "cheap" motel you may want to check out some of the midweek ski and stay deals at some of the larger resorts mentioned like Okemo, Stratton, or Mt. Snow. You can often get a better deal when you factor in that lift tickets are included. In fact the ski and stay package midweek usually isn't much more than the price of two full price lift tickets. You may want to hit Berkshire East on the way up then head up to VT on the 1st day. It's alot closer to VT than Jiminy. Lots of good information on this thread.

 

[nelsapbm]

For Burke you may want to consider staying at the Comfort Inn in St. Johnsbury. They have some good deals that include room and tickets.
http://www.vermontvacationland.com/html/burke-mountain-ski-pkg.asp

 

[MadPadraic]

I'd put Stratton on the must do list mainly because they have a lot of intermediate glades and a decent faux village. Check out the Liftline Lodge (walking distance from the Village, which is/was crazy cheap ($59 midweek)). We also liked the Inn at Magic (mentioned elsewhere in this thread). In Mansfield there is a cool B&B with tunnel between buildings, but I can't remember the name.

If you are determined to take a day off from skiing, visit Burlington. They have good eats, coffee shops, music, theater, and a cluster of budget motels.

Also a shout out for Nye's Valley Farm in near Smuggs. They are well priced and have a petting zoo.

 

[abc]

instead of staying in a "cheap" motel you may want to check out some of the midweek ski and stay deals at some of the larger resorts mentioned like Okemo, Stratton, or Mt. Snow. You can often get a better deal when you factor in that lift tickets are included. In fact the ski and stay package midweek usually isn't much more than the price of two full price lift tickets.

Definitely worthh looking into. Sometimes, some absolutely fantastic bargain can be found.

For Burke you may want to consider staying at the Comfort Inn in St. Johnsbury. They have some good deals that include room and tickets.
http://www.vermontvacationland.com/html/burke-mountain-ski-pkg.asp

When comparing package prices, there's a wild card.

With liftopia.com, I had seen Burke lift ticket consistantly going for $25-35. At that price, the Comfort Inn is not that cheap.(granted, it's quite a nice hotel) That changes the equation when comparative shopping.

 

[40Berg]

Trip was a Success!

Thanks again for all the suggestions. We just got back from our trip and had a great time.

Despite our best intentions to do a sampler of a bunch of VT mountains, we decided to just focus on two due to the less-than-ideal snow conditions. Both Killington and Stowe were reporting some of the best numbers, so we decided to focus on them and catch the others during weekend trips when conditions improve.

It wound up working like this:
Day 1-3: Killington
Day 4: Lazy Day
Day 5-6: Stowe

Killington: Opened with a lot of ice during our half day (afternoon) on Monday, but conditions improved significantly on Tuesday and Wednesday. Had a great time making the long runs to Bear and back (unfortunately, there really wasn't much open on Bear while we were there, so we focused on the other side of the mountain). Ran into some rocks and thin coverage at points, but still had plenty of terrain to keep us occupied for 2.5 days on the mountain. Had a solid stay at Turn of River after booking a ski/stay through Killington.com. I can't imagine how fantastic this place is once they are fully opened up - very excited to get back here later this year.

Lazy Day: A slow start to the day with a scenic morning drive to Stowe. Unexpectedly caught some sad sightseeing with all of the homes that were washed out by the flooding, but it looks like great progress has been made on the roads based on all of the activity we saw along the river on Rt. 100 & 107. Made our long anticipated stop at Ben & Jerry's and Cold Hollow Cider Mill before an early dinner in Stowe (after buzzing past the mountain to whet our appetites). We got a great rate at Sun & Ski Inn through Expedia ($77/night) and picked up a 2-day lift ticket through liftopia (only saved 7 percent) for Friday and Saturday.

Stowe: Not sure what it was exactly, but we found the overall appearance of the mountain to be incredibly impressive when pulling in. Maybe it was the feeling that it almost wrapped around the Spruce parking lot and you were surrounded by ski-able terrain? Anyway, we had an amazing day on Friday - the best day of the trip - as the snow accumulation over the week must have done wonders. Wife and I loved Spruce Peak as she could focus on the beginner terrain and I could goof off a little higher on the mountain (Upper Smugglers to the Main Street Headwall was my favorite run of the trip) and meet up with her toward the bottom. Also enjoyed cruising Toll Road as it was basically deserted. Saturday was going great - crowding was not bad and I never waited for a lift - but the rain started to come down after lunch. We gave it another run but figured we had enough fun for the week and returned our RFID "Evolution" lift tickets.

Overall, we had a fantastic trip and can't wait to head up again. In retrospect, it was probably best that we only skied two places as we were able to really explore each mountain rather than a quick hit-and-run. Looking forward to a weekend trip to one of the southern mountains (Stratton, Mt. Snow, etc.) later this month to make up for skipping them on this trip. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Abubob]

Thanks for the report. Glad everything worked out despite our best efforts. :wink:

 

[larsoze]

agree on the b&bs

You could always check out the B&B's http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/vermont.html

Maybe I'm a snob, but I have to agree, the B&Bs are hard to beat, particularly in Vermont. There's just something to be said to coming home to a place that feels more like "home". The above link is a good one, I also tend to use ones from this site pretty regularly, as it's not straight advertising the places are hand picked to be listed, so in my experience you always get top notch lodging - http://www.selectregistry.com/reg/bed-and-breakfast-inns/VT-Vermont.asp