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New England General Stowe (Town and Mountain) Questions

Miller

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
Posts
145
We, two families with kids ages 9-15, are headed to the town of Stowe in two weeks 1/28-1/30. We are planning to ski Stowe at least one day and possibly two. Other ski days may be at Sugarbush, MRG, and Bolton Valley. I haven't skied Stowe in over 20 years and I know things have changed in the days of Epic and Covid. We are staying at the Mountainside Resort, which is super close to the Alchemist. So here are my questions:

Town of Stowe:

Any good options for grab and go Breakfast near us or on the way.

Suggestions for places to eat dinner. Post ski casual? Eat in or Carryout are fine.

Stowe Mountain:

What time should I plan to leave to avoid the rush traffic on the road? I have examples of hour long traffic jams between the town and mountain.

Is there a place to boot up and drop a bag? Have a cup of coffee while doing that. Or possibly eat breakfast?

Any suggestions on a good and easy place for lunch? It looks like some places require a reservation.

Place to warm up during the ski day. Knowing my luck, it will be below zero everyday.


Thanks for the help. I want to make this trip as good as possible, but not be over complicated.
 

ELDoane

Gravity Fed, Beer Cooled
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Posts
215
Location
Exiled from VT, trying to ski off the Capitol Dome
Town of Stowe:

Any good options for grab and go Breakfast near us or on the way.
The Bagel is right by there. Pretty good.
Suggestions for places to eat dinner. Post ski casual? Eat in or Carryout are fine.
Rimrock tavern is great. Get the half chicken or pulled pork. They smoke it on site. Video games and TVs abound for kids. Good beer selection.
Stowe Mountain:

What time should I plan to leave to avoid the rush traffic on the road? I have examples of hour long traffic jams between the town and mountain.
Early. Real early. If there is snow, even earlier. Parking is a mess and the weekends are a nightmare. I'm parked and in the lot by 7:30 most days. Go early, pack breakfast and eat in Lot B or D. Better than traffic.
Is there a place to boot up and drop a bag? Have a cup of coffee while doing that. Or possibly eat breakfast?
Midway lodge opens at 7:30. No services except on weekends. Free lockers on the Spruce side and plenty of room to hang out and boot up, but it's on the other side from Mansfield and the good skiing. I generally drive to that side, drop my kids, and then park and meet them over there.
Any suggestions on a good and easy place for lunch? It looks like some places require a reservation.
No reservations for the Great Room and the cafeteria on the Spruce side unless you have 6 or more. It's not hard to grab a table. Solstice is a good restaurant at the base as is Skinny Pancake. Vaccine proof required for all. Skip the Cliff House unless it's for drinks. The waffles are great though. Hardcore skiers grab a beer and chili at the Octagon at the top do Fourrunner and call it good.
Place to warm up during the ski day. Knowing my luck, it will be below zero everyday.
Octagon. Cliff House requires reservations. All kinds of room on the Spruce side.

You'll be fine, Stowe hasn't changed that much. Crowds are bigger, but it's really just the lifelines that suffer. 8-12 inches coming in the AM, should open up more terrain by the time you visit.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Miller

Miller

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
Posts
145
Thanks again for the advice. It was a cold weekend up there and being able to get ready in the Midway lodge made the mornings so much better. A lot of people were taking breaks from the cold, but was able to find a place to warm up in Octagon without too much of a wait.

Had dinner to go from Piecasa and had a good meal out at the Backyard.

Snow was decent on Friday and a bit more firm on Saturday. Headed to Bolton Valley to do something different on Sunday.

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