OT: New England Snow Resorts - Where to Go?

[Monthly Payment]

Little help please. I think there's a New England contingent here, and some boarders and skiers. So can you guys let me know where I can take the wife and parents?

Sick slopes isn't as high on the list as having access to restaurants/ good food, and good vibe is. I took the family to Ludlow/Okemo, and it was great, but they would like to see somewhere new. Somewhere similar would be great. Thinking about Stratton, been to Mount Snow, but I'm sure I'm forgetting about 1000 places. Coming from South Jersey, so southern Vermont would be preferable. Right now, I'm leaning towards staying in Brattleboro, so we're close to Keene, NH.

Thanks!

[CNY rider]

If you can stand to drive a little further Stowe (northern Vermont) has great skiing as well as some good restaurants and nice places to stay.
Pretty pricey area but I always enjoy visiting there.
If you have a rest day during skiing you can also go check out Burlington which has an interesting downtown and more good restaurants.

[duke]

Day in day out Killington has the best conditions in New England. It can, and sometimes does, get crowded on weekends due to its southern Vt location. Great restaurants, apres ski and night life. It's a huge area with tons of varied skiing.
duke

[Karin Kirk]

Lake Placid would get my vote. It's a charming town and is as close or closer than southern VT. In addition to the cute downtown, there are cool Olympic venues like the bobsled run, Nordic skiing, ski jumps and ice rink. You can even buy a ride on a bobsled!

Stratton and Manchester would be another good choice, although is that getting overly crowded and touristy these days? There is lots of shopping there if they are into that.

[Tom]

go to Lake Placid.

Southern Vermont is Disneyland, which is fine if you're into that kind of thing.

[marle]

If you can stand to drive a little further Stowe (northern Vermont) has great skiing as well as some good restaurants and nice places to stay.
Pretty pricey area but I always enjoy visiting there.
If you have a rest day during skiing you can also go check out Burlington which has an interesting downtown and more good restaurants.

+1 Also, The 'Shed' micro brewery has awesome 'Mt Ale"

[csm]

Lake Placid is nice but the conditions can be dicey.
We've hit Stratton for the last few years. Stay at the Long Trail House.

[Steevo]

Lake Placid is great for off slope restaurants and a full range of winter sports activities. Good restaurants, plus skating, XC skiing, bobsled rides, etc. Whiteface is a great mountain when conditions are good, probably one of the more challenging mountains in the east. Conditions can be iffy though (as mentioned above). Its the real deal for a full winter sports experience.

Stratton has a manufactured village at the base of the mountain and can get quite $$$$. Decent intermediate mountain, with proximity to Manchester shopping, dining & lodging.

As mentioned above, Killington has the consistently best conditions and widest variety of terrain. Really great skiing. No town though - just the access road of hotels and restaurants. Lacks charm IMHO.

Stowe area has great skiing and quaint NE charm, plus proximity to Burlington. Good stuff all around.

[ti_boi]

Top Notch in Stowe, VT. You can even take your dogs with you...I did.

Was lucky enough to be there for a 30 inch dump a few years back.

[Hardlyrob]

Another vote for Stowe - great place, and a cool town. We'll be there in Jan.

Lake Placid / Gore / Whiteface is fantastic skiing, and LP is a fun little town. Keep in mind that this is about the coldest place in NY - the Old Forge weather station is consistently frigid - I've skied Gore at -40 air temp with a wind chill of -80 - YIKES!

Again, if you want to drive a little further north from the Mt. Snow / Okemo / Stratton neighborhood, consider Sugarbush, and neighboring Mad River Glen - SB is a great up to date resort, and MRG (Ski it if you can) is a throwback to the earlier days of Vermont skiing. The town isn't as cool as Stowe or the town near Killington, but really good restaurants, and a great mountain (Sugarbush).

Cheers!

Rob

[beungood]

I like the Stowe area as well. My step brother lives there and we have had a blast every time we have gone up there. Killington is also high on my list, we used to rent a house there and found it pretty affordable. The resteraunts on the acess road are pretty decent with the outback pizza fun with a conveyor belt shuttling out beer mugs into the outside and bringing them back in ice encrusted, wobbly barn is also good, the charritys for the wings after skiing...

I hear smugglers notch in not a bad place for family to include kids..

Are you limited to mid or southern VT?

Jack

[Monthly Payment]

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate them all.

I was being lazy, and didn't want to drive all the way past southern/mid VT. I have been to Lake Placid for the 2000 Goodwill games and I agree - its a cool town but the few times I've been, Whiteface has been icy more often than not. But a really cool town. Love that the ice skating rink is outside the HS. Love outdoor Olympic venues like the diving/swimming pool from Barcelona but that's another thread topic.

Love Killington as well, but I had only been there with a bunch of college buddies - imagine ten 25 year old guys taking over a house with a keg on the porch. I remember closing the Wobbly Barn, but didn't recall it being particularly great food wise on the Killington access road.

My parents are retired, and they just love seeing new places. They got into skiing last year, and I enjoy facilitating them getting out. They won't go on their own though.

I have heard awesome things about Stowe, and Jay Peak but I am way too lazy to drive there. All great places I'm sure though. Definitely on the list of places to hit up. I think the massiveness of Killington will really impress the parents as well. I'm guessing its worth driving a little more north, but all this talk is just softening me up more and more to drive further north need be.

Thanks again for the replies. Keep them coming!

[Karin Kirk]

Do your parents like the hustle and bustle of a busy, fancy place or would they rather go to a laid back, quiet place?

If the latter, consider Bromley. I used to really enjoy the quaintness of that place. If they like the hustle and bustle, then Killington or Stratton. Personally, Killington never did much for me other than being huge.

Gore wins for proximity, and they have some new terrain, I just read.

Too true about Whiteface being brutally cold and icy at times.

[Oakely-Erik]

This is not in New England but Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia is fantastic. I am not sure how much farther it would be away from the other places but the snow is great and the food/hotels are very nice as well.

[VTCaraco]

I live, work and ski in southern VT and agree with most of what folks are suggesting. Burke is one that hasn't been mentioned that has great snow and a nice pitch. Jay's conditions are top notch, but it's up there from a drive point of view. I like the restaurants and such in Burlington, and find both Burke and Jay to be ski destinations only.
Stratton is reliable for conditions but fairly upscale in feel. I don't see that as a plus (I get a season pass for them through a work responsibility) and try to leave it to the out-of-town folks on holiday weeks and Saturdays. For me, the spending is just over the top.

I'd give a second vote for Bromley. To me, it's got a much more genuine feel.

For a parent-focused adventure, I'd consider Killington if keeping Woodstock as the base camp. It's the quintessential VT town ~ great bakeries, spectacular homes, good restaurants, and some of the very best sandwiches at the farmer's market on the right as you head into town (from Killington).

For those that haven't been to Killington in the last year, bear in mind that they changed ownership and are quite different from everything I hear. I wasn't a big fan between the beginners snowplowing in front and the hot-doggers flying from behind (and recreating more than I like ~ I've actually witnessed the excess substance-experimenting and the skiing that results while at Killington). I heard lots of good comments about their conditions this past year with the new owner's less is more sort of mentality on crowds (his focus is on providing the best on-mountain/snow experience with a hope that happy customer is a repeat customer). The hoopla is such that I'm curious again and will probably give it a shot.

Truth is, if the snow is decent, you can't go wrong.
They all have merit.

[Karin Kirk]

Excellent point about Woodstock, what a lovely and comfortable town.

That's good news about Killington, that's just the type of makeover that would benefit them.

We're suffering through a cold snap here. It's -19 right now and the last time it was above zero was Saturday morning. So I've taken a few days off from skiing and now I'm jonesing for a fix! Tomorrow is looking warm again, so we'll be back at it.

I hope everyone has fun with their early-season skiing! :)

[Gothard]

One more vote for Stowe. I like its non-big resort atmosphere.

[fireball]

As someone who used to live in Burke and now is unfortunate enough to work in Stowe, my vote is for Burke. Fantastic little mountain with a great New England feel.

My bias, however, runs so deep that my fiancee are getting married there this summer. (not at the mountain though)