I know this isn’t news but I LOVE Vermont. We try to get down there once a year to spend some time in Burlington and Stowe.
Stowe is the cutest little town in northern Vermont. It’s overlooked by Mount Mansfield, known for its trails and ski slopes. We used to take annual snowboarding trips for our anniversary there but we have been visiting in the summer in recent years and have started taking the family.
Our first stop is always Black Cap Coffee & Beer to get a coffee for our touring around.
We then walk over to Stowe Mercantile. There is the cutest women’s clothing store upstairs that has awesome accessories and downstairs is an old school general store filled with all kinds of home goods, souvenirs and delicious goodies.
We then head over to the high end artisan shop called Stowe Craft & Design. They always have the coolest stuff but our favourites are always the stained glass kaleidoscopes.
We then head back to the car and head up towards the mountain to stop in at the Matterhorn Bar & Grill for food. This is the #1 spot for apres ski. It always seems to have a great blend of locals, tourists and even celebrities. We got to hang out near Harvey Kietel and his family there one night during the holidays. Not only that, but the food is outstanding. It has a mixture of sushi, wood oven pizza and other bar foods. I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite as they do it all very well.
During the warmer months we take a ride up the winding and narrow mountain road to get to the top which has trails, gorgeous trees and huge rocks.
After coming down off the mountain we usually head to the Trapp Family Lodge. The Lodge is quite impressive but the view is stunning! They seem to be growing all the time as they have tons of activities you can do and also have a bakery and brewery. This is where the famous von Trapp family (from the Sound of Music) settled in the early 1940s, after fleeing Austria and touring the US as the Trapp Family Singers.
No trip to Stowe can be complete without a stop in to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour & Shop. It isn’t in Stowe but it is just minutes away in the town of Waterbury.
One last recommendation, while you are in Waterbury and if you are looking for a special place to have dinner, I highly recommend Hen of the Wood. The food is delicious and they usually have a pretty good beer selection as well.
So, there you have it, our favourite go to places in Stowe. There are many other things to do while there and I haven’t added any places we’ve stayed, but if you ever have any questions or need recommendations, do not hesitate to get in touch!
