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Grab your heated snow boots, skies, and boards from the storage room on the first floor of the resort, then head out the back door and turn left to reach the new base lodge, Spruce Camp. The spacious interior rises three stories to a post-and-beam octagonal roof. Ski school meets in a small building less than 30 yards away and ski lessons for adults are just outside the doors.
Children aged 13 months to 3 years can be dropped off at Cubs Day Care, also at Spruce Peak. The licensed day care center will keep the children entertained with arts and crafts, story time and dress up, among other toddler-friendly activities. Three-year-olds can also sign up for a 2-hour semi-private lesson, then spend the rest of the day at Cubs. Four- to 14-year-old children can opt for the 2-hour semi-private lesson or spend the whole day on the slopes with top-notch ski instructors.
The best beginner slopes are located on Spruce Peak, though there are intermediate cruisers like Sterling, a gem of a run after a fresh coating. For solid intermediate and advanced terrain, take the Over Easy gondola to the base of Mount Mansfield (the resort's main mountain), transferring to the Lookout Double. Blue runs like Sunrise, Standard and Tyro are found on the western end of Stowe. Far more challenging terrain is waiting at the legendary Front Four: Goat, Lift Line, National, and Starr. These double diamonds plummet down Mount Mansfield, teaching cocky young skiers the meaning of the word respect.
Afterwards, kids head to the outdoor fire pit set between Stowe Mountain Lodge and the ski school to make s'mores. Parents can grab a drink and listen to live music at Spruce Camp. Everyone will want to hit the outdoor tub at Stowe Mountain Lodge. Relax in the hot waters as you look up at Mount Mansfield, realizing with throbbing muscles that you earned this soaking.
We love to head to Stowe year-round. In summer, we climb to the top of Mount Mansfield. It's a steady ascent that rewards you with views of Lake Champlain in its entirety, and the highest peak in New York, Mount Marcy. There are many ways up Mount Mansfield, but families should opt for the more gradual Long Trail south from Route 108. A little steeper is the Laura Cowles and Sunset Ridge Trails from the backside at Underhill State Park. If you're feeling lazy, drive the toll road or hop in a gondola, which leaves you on the Long Trail, a short distance from the summit.
An easier hike and a perfect place to have lunch if you remember to bring sandwiches is Sterling Pond. The 1.3-mile hike on the Long Trail starts from Smuggler's Notch, one of the most majestic sights in all of New England. From the mountainous cliffs above, sheer walls of quartzite and mica drop down to the large boulders resting on the floor below. Follow the white blazes to reach the Sterling Pond shelter, a small lean-to at the edge of the pond maintained by the Green Mountain Club.
Popular with walkers year-round and bikers in the warm weather months is the Stowe Recreation Path. A little over five miles, the paved trail starts behind the Stowe Community Church on Main Street and weaves back and forth over the Little River to the foothills of Mount Mansfield. Gradually, the trail becomes more rural, venturing over rolling pasture where cows graze. Never far from the restaurants on Mountain Road, you can have lunch and then make your way back to town.
Even leaving Stowe can be fun for families as they make their way south on Route 100. The Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory is located on a hill just north of the I-89 interchange in Waterbury. Learn how childhood buddies Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield took a $5 correspondence course from Penn State University and soon became the Vermont ice cream kings. All tours have free samples of the ice cream workers are creating that particular day (all employees get to bring home three pints of ice cream a day). Several miles north of Ben & Jerry's is Vermont's largest producer of fresh apple cider, Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Sample the cider and fresh baked doughnuts, and then stock up on other Vermont goodies like maple syrup, apple jellies and honey mustards. Save room for the Cabot's Cheese store, located across the street.
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