Okemo Jackson Gore Inn

Impeccable grooming is one of the numerous reasons why Okemo Ski Area in Ludlow, Vermont, has continued to thrive. Through the ingenuity of powerful snowmaking machines and all-night grooming that churns ice into a skiable surface, skiers and boarders are able to ply their trade. Novice skiers feel like Olympic downhill champions as they cruise the long boulevards.

Last season, Okemo attracted more than 500,000 skiers, making it the third-most popular ski area in New England. The majority of skiers are families, who return year after year, originally lured to this 3,344-foot peak when all they had was a system of pomas (tow rope-like devices that you stick between your legs to pull you up the mountain) and narrow trails.

Thankfully, when Diane and Tim Mueller took over as owners of the resort in 1982, they replaced the rest of the pomas with high-speed lifts that intricately link this broad-shouldered peak. In 2003, seven additional trails on adjacent Jackson Gore were opened, appealing to the more advanced skiers, who congregate on narrow, gladed trails like Quantum Leap or Vortex.

This was the first phase of a major expansion Okemo has undergone this past decade. The expansion also included a new fitness area, skating rink and slopeside hotel called the Jackson Gore Inn. The Muellers spent more than $50 million to create the 177-room ski-in, ski-out resort, one of the finest lodgings in New England, for folks who like to be at the base of the mountain.