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Vermont Skiing: Breathtaking, fun for all ages and so easy to get to

Vermont > State > Winter Activities > Ski Areas

The mountains of Vermont are home to dozens of Alpine (downhill skiing and snowboarding) and Nordic (cross-country) ski area. Green Mountain state ski areas have a wide range of personalities, from smaller, family-run, mellow areas to giant resorts with many trails, international visitors, extensive lodgings, and special events. Many resorts offer opportunities for ice skating, snow tubing, snowshoeing, and horse-drawn sleigh rides. Book a room at a mountain resort and stay awhile. For additional information please contact Ski Vermont, the state’s ski marketing group.

Vermont Snow Conditions

Check out some ski experience stories at Explore New England.

Ski Areas in VT

Cross-Country (Nordic) Ski Areas

Cross-country skiing is a somewhat quieter and calmer way to enjoy the outdoors in winter, but also a terrific workout for the body and heart. Vermont has many Nordic ski resorts; Below is a sampling. Find more information on our Cross Country Skiing & Snowshoeing page.

  • Trapp Family Lodge -- Nordic Ski School offers daily lessons, equipment rentals and terrain for all abilities.
  • Topnotch Resort & Spa -- The Nordic Barn Recreational Center rents out gear and clothing for both downhill and cross country skiing.
  • Rikert Nordic Center -- Programs at Rikert allow parents of young kids to do cross-country skiing and to take the children along on Mom’s Monday and Toddler Tuesday.
  • Woodstock Inn and Resort -- The inn’s Nordic Center has two mapped trail systems of 37 miles around Woodstock for cross-country skiing and snow shoeing. Weekday inn guests receive passes to the Nordic Center.
  • Mountain Top Inn & Resort -- Trail grooming at the Nordic Center at The Mountain Top Inn & Resort offers ski trails that satisfy both first-timers and competitive skiers.
  • Alpine resorts with Nordic options include Bolton Valley, Burke Mountain Resort, Jay Peak Resort, Mad River Glen, Okemo Mountain Resort, Quechee Ski Area, Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Stowe Mountain Resort, and Stratton Mountain Resort.
    • Cuple Skiing Woodstock Inn & Resort Woodstock Vermont
    Woodstock Inn & Resort

    Fourteen The Green Woodstock, VT, 05091 Phone: 802-457-1100 Toll-Free: 800-448-7900

    Snow sports for every level and interest

    Decades of excellent service and continuous improvement have made the Woodstock Inn’s Suicide Six ski area a recognized and respected name for skiers of all abilities. With 30% beginner, 40% intermediate and 30% advanced slope ratings, there's a perfect trail for the skier and rider. Nearly a third for the 24 trails are rated for beginners, and experts love the long, one-mile run. Snowboarders flock here to enjoy one of the first ski resorts to allow snowboarding, site of the first National Snow Surfing contest, in 1982. Private skiing and snowboarding lessons are available throughout the day at the Snowsports School, one of the oldest continually operated schools of its kind in the country.
    Killington Ski Area

    4763 Killington Road Killington, VT, 05751 Phone: 802-422-6200

    140 trails; 16 glades; 6 terrain parks; tubing trails; 752 skiable acres; 3,050-foot drop; annual snowfall 21 feet; 80% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- Killington’s nickname in parts of the skiing world is The Beast of the East. It is the biggest ski resort in New England, and it encompasses seven peaks, 200 trails, and five terrain parks. Vertical drop is 3,050 feet. Natural snow averages 250 inches a year, and artificial snowmaking covers 600 acres of skiable area. Naturally, with such vast spaces and resources, Killington offers a big variety of ski trails, from easy learning areas to steep gladed trails and everything in between.
    Everything Else -- Killington can be expensive. The resort has a village with skiing and boarding lessons and rentals; shops and a post office. Ice skating, sleigh rides, pool and hot tub, child care, dog sledding, spa, snow tubing. Full day care is available. The Killington area has scores of restaurants and bars, live entertainment at night, snowmobile tours and other winter fun.
    Stowe Mountain Resort

    5781 Mountain Road Stowe, VT, 05672 Phone:

    116 trails; 6 glades; 3 terrain parks; 485 skiable acres; cross-country skiing; 2,160-foot drop; annual snowfall 28 feet; 80% snowmaking; night skiing

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- This is a high-luxury ski area, with plenty of trails, glades, snowboarding, and Nordic skiing for people of all abilities. Among its other lifts, a gondola transports guests between Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, creating lots of interchange between these ski areas. This standing gondola spans Route 108. Stowe Mountain Lodge is a luxury hotel and spa, with all the finest amenities. Expensive
    Everything Else -- Luxury lodgings; child care; lots of dining on the mountain and in town; shops; ski rentals and lessons; sleigh rides; dog sledding; ice and rock climbing. Live entertainment at the Performing Arts Center at Spruce Peak.
    Mount Snow Ski Area

    Pisgah Road West Dover, VT Phone:

    80 trails; 0 glades; 10 terrain parks; 588 skiable acres; snow tubing; snowshoeing; 1,700-foot drop; annual snowfall 13 feet; 80% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- Mount Snow is an easy weekend drive from cities like New York City, Hartford, and Boston. This ski area is a big one and has lots of skiing and riding, along with snow tubing, snowmobiling, dog sledding, and snowshoeing.
    The Main Face has intermediate terrain with wide open trails. The North Face offers difficult terrain on trails and glades. Sunbrook, facing south, is a great place to tackle the spring moguls. Carinthia is the top terrain park in the East.
    Everything Else -- Lots of lodging, including the Grand Summit Resort Hotel & Conference Center, with a spa and health club, outdoor heated pool, Jacuzzi, restaurant, and retail store, Mount Snow Sports. Snow Lake Lodge has condos. Plenty of restaurants on the property.
    Suicide Six Ski Area

    14 The Green Woodstock, VT, 05091 Phone: 802-457-6674

    24 trails; 1 glade; 1 terrain park; 100 skiable acres; 650-foot drop; annual snowfall 10 feet; 50% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- This resort is located in the gorgeous Vermont town of Woodstock and it has a close relationship to the comfortable Woodstock Inn and Resort. It is very welcoming to families. Twenty-three trails with a vertical drop of 650 feet are served by two double chair lifts and a J-bar. One hundred skiable acres; 10 feet of snowfall annually. Snowboarders are welcome. Trails are rated 30 percent for beginners; 40 percent for intermediates, and 30 percent for advanced skiers, so there is enough variety of challenges on the slopes for everyone in the family. Fifty percent snowmaking. Rentals and lessons offered.
    Everything Else -- The nearby Woodstock Inn & Resort is a sweet spot for lodgings and it has a health and fitness center for getting fit or recovering. Also: ice skating, sleigh rides, and spa. The town and area is filled with fine dining, arts, shopping, and seasonal events like its famous Wassail Weekend at Christmas, and many more.
    Okemo Mountain Resort

    77 Okemo Ridge Road Ludlow, VT Phone: 802-228-5222

    121 trails and glades; 46 miles of trails; 667 acres of terrain; 2,200-foot vertical drop; 20 lifts, including quads, chairs, and surface lifts; annual snowfall 200 inches; 98% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- Located in southern Vermont, Okemo Mountain Resort is a family-operated, four-season, playground. Owners Tim and Diane Mueller also operate Crested Butte Mountain Resort, in Colorado, and Mount Sunapee Resort in N.H. Winter sports enthusiasts love southern Vermont's highest vertical drop and vast trail network over five alpine areas. Terrain features include Okemo Superpipe, The Zone, Tomahawk Park, Hot Dog Hill Terrain Park, OMS Crazy Train Progression Park, Robbins' Nest, Bounder Park, Broken Arrow, and NASTAR Race Arena. There also is Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, a mountain coaster attraction and snow tubing.
    Everything Else -- Accommodations include slope-side condos, the Jackson Gore Inn, Adams House, Bixby House and other area lodging. The mountain has six places to dine. There is a Ski + Ride School and racing programs.
    Jay Peak Ski Area

    4850 VT Route 242 Jay, VT, 05859 Phone: 802-988-2611

    Downhill and Cross Country skiing; 76 trails; 24 glades; 4 terrain parks; 385 skiable acres; 2,153-foot drop; annual snowfall 31 feet; 75% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- Way up near the Vermont/Canada border (or “just a bit south” if you’re reading this in Quebec) is Jay Peak, a big, vast beauty of a ski area with fantastic slopes and trails, excellent glades (not only for advanced skiers), and lots of natural snowfall. Jay has an aerial tramway and seven more lifts to 76 trails. This ski area has the most beginning and intermediate skiing in tree-lined glades in the East. The Zone learning area features 80 acres of wide terrain and glades for newcomers. Affordable.
    Everything Else -- Fantastic, big, and modern Pump House Indoor Water Park open year-round; also child care; spa; ice skating; sleigh rides
    Sugarbush Ski Area

    1840 Sugarbush Access Road Warren, VT, 05674 Phone: Toll-Free: 800-537-8427

    111 trails; 21 glades; 3 terrain parks; 578 skiable acres; 2,600-foot drop; annual snowfall 22 feet; 70% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- This sweetheart of a ski area has many fans. Its centerpiece is Lincoln Peak, with many trails leading to Lincoln Peak Village. The village has a hotel and other residences aside the slopes, a store, various restaurants, children’s day programs, and a ski and snowboard school.
    Sugarbush is known for its great woods and back country with natural snow in the Slide Brook Wilderness Area. Terrain is rated 20 percent beginner, 45 percent intermediate, and 35 percent advanced. Sugarbush also includes Mount Ellen, a more casual site with an excellent terrain Park.
    Everything Else--The large day lodge has a food court, the Castlerock Pub, an outdoor patio and barbeque area. Timbers serves upscale food year-round. Also: ski shops, rentals, lessons, child care, pool and hot tub, spa, ice and rock climbing.
    Mad River Glen Ski Area

    57 Schuss Pass Waitsfield, VT Phone: 802-496-3551

    46 trails; glades; no snowboards allowed on lifts; annual snowfall 25 feet

    Skiing -- Mad River Glen, opened in 1948, prides itself on its old-fashioned values: the sport of skiing is king, and all other activities (like spas and parties and slope side condos) are secondary or just not to be found here. (Mad River has the last in-use single chair lift in the country.) The ski area’s famous motto is, "Mad River Glen Ski It If You Can." Despite this motto, the mountain’s 46 trails include beginning and intermediate trails. Nonetheless, Mad River Glen is home to some of the most difficult skiing in the East, with natural snow, plenty of bumps, and narrow gladed trails. Snowboarders are banned from lift, but they may hike up to slopes if they wish.
    Everything Else -- Base lodging covers basic needs, but the Mad River Valley generally has plenty of lodging and dining; ski area has lessons for all levels, child care; nature programs, rental shop, and a retail store. The ski area is a cooperative; people can own a share for an initial payment of $2,000
    Middlebury College Snow Bowl

    Route 125 Middlebury, VT, 05753 Phone: 802-388-4356

    The Middlebury College Snow Bowl is conveniently located on the newly rebuilt Route 125 midway between Route 7 to the west and Route 100 to the east. The Snow Bowl offers skiing and snowboarding to all ability levels in a friendly, family atmosphere. Although owned and operated by Middlebury College and home to the nationally competitive Panther ski team, the Bowl is open on a daily basis [except Christmas day] to the general public.
    Stratton Mountain Ski Area

    Stratton Mountain Road Stratton Mountain, VT, 05155 Phone: 802-297-2200

    97 trails; 15 glades; 5 terrain parks; 625 skiable acres; cross-country skiing; snowshoeing; 2,003-foot drop; annual snowfall 15 feet; 95% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding -- Located on the highest peak in southern Vermont, Stratton offers a Great Snow Guarantee: credit toward another day if you are not happy with your first hour of skiing or riding. Eleven lifts include a gondola to the summit and four high-speed chairs; this is considered the fastest fleet of lifts in New England. Readers of Ski magazine rate Stratton in the Top 10 for every aspect of the sport that you can name.
    Everything Else -- Stratton Village has a variety of lodgings, including luxury condos; shops and restaurants; a remodeled lodge; child care; sports center with tennis and pool, fitness classes and massage. Lots of outlet shopping in the nearby town of Manchester.
    Magic Mountain Ski Area

    495 Magic Mountain Access Road Londonderry, VT, 05148 Phone: 802-824-5645

    43 trails; 5 glades; 1 terrain parks; 190 skiable acres; snow tubing; 1,700-foot drop; annual snowfall 13 feet; 70% snowmaking

    Skiing & Snowboarding--This is a 50-year-old small, local Vermont ski area with real connection to the local people and community. In other words, not a big, corporate ski mill. Trails for all abilities are available, but Magic is know for its expert trails and off-piste glades -- true black diamonds with real obstacles. The Red Chair offers accessibility to woods and unmarked skiing. Snow tubing offered.
    Everything Else-- Family atmosphere; local people are friendly and they pitch in to help clear and maintain trails. One restaurant and one bar on the property. Social life at Goniff’s Den.