36 Hours in Stowe, Vermont (2025)

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• Spruce Peak is a luxury mountain resort at the base of Mount Mansfield where you can shop in its Village center, listen to live music at the WhistlePig Pavillion, dine on Vermont produce at Alpine Hall or just chill outdoors by the fire pit.
• Smugglers’ Notch Scenic Highway, known locally as “the Notch,” zigzags through Mount Mansfield with stunning views of the surrounding forest.
• Sterling Mountain Farm offers horse-drawn carriage rides through its maple forest while educating guests on the processes behind maple sugaring.
• Sterling Forest Lodge is a boutique wellness lodge at the end of a dirt road that offers retreats, spa sessions and mindful forest experiences on the property’s trails.

• The Prohibition Pig Brewery, around the corner from its sibling restaurant, is loved for its beers and delicious smoked meats.
• Von Trapp Brewing Bierhall is an Austrian-inspired taproom with an outdoor patio and is the best place in town to try Austrian favorites like bratwurst, schnitzel and pretzels.
• The Alchemist is a beer cafe that offers tours of its attached brewery, where the cult Vermont beer Heady Topper is made.
• Stowe Cider offers hard cider that has no added sugar, with one exception: its cider-doughnut-flavored brew, a fall special.
• Idletyme is a brewery and restaurant off Stowe’s Mountain Road with fun lawn games that both adults and children can enjoy.
• At Plate, try California-inspired, farm-to-table dishes made by the chef Aaron Martin, who trained with Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif.
• Woodland Baking & Coffee makes delicious pastries using organic flour from Elmore Mountain Bread, a local mill.
• Butler’s Pantry serves the fluffiest pancakes for breakfast in a cozy, down-home setting on Main Street.

• Cold Hollow Cider Mill, on Route 100 between Waterbury and Stowe, has specialized in all-things apple cider since 1974.
• The Gondola SkyRide brings visitors near the top of Mount Mansfield, which has an elevation of 4,393 feet, and offers stunning views of Lamoille County and the surrounding areas.
• Percy Farm Corn Maze offers a new labyrinth, mowed by the Percy family, to escape from each year: Visit before the corn gets harvested in mid-October.
• The Stowe Recreation Path is a roughly five-mile paved trail that runs along the West Branch River and connects Stowe Village to Top Notch Resort, a luxury resort and spa near the base of Mount Mansfield.
• Moss Glen Falls is Vermont’s tallest waterfall at 85 feet and can be reached via a short, scenic trail.

• Vermont Flannel factory store in the town of Johnson is where you can buy a soft, cotton flannel shirt or blanket at a discounted price.
• Stowe Mercantile is a country store on Main Street that offers souvenirs, local goods and all the maple products you can think of.
• Remarkable Things sells handmade arts and crafts from artisans around the world but with a particular focus on American makers.
• The Northwood Gallery is a locally owned gallery that exhibits and sells work by Vermont artists.
• The Stowe Farmers Market takes place every Sunday (until Oct. 20) and features local produce and craft vendors.

• Edson Hill is an exquisitely designed inn that offers private guest houses with wood-burning fireplaces, and has a restaurant and tavern onsite. Weekend fall rates start at $700 and include breakfast.
• Outbound Stowe is a modern hotel that opened in July right on Mountain Road, and has direct access to the Stowe Recreation Path. Weekend fall rates start at $209.
• The Stowe Village Inn is a family-owned inn just a stone’s throw from Main Street with fall weekend prices starting at $249 per night.
• For a short term rental, look in Stowe proper or some of the surrounding areas, like Morrisville or Waterbury Center, where you may find cheaper rates.

• Stowe is walkable by small-town measures, especially with the Stowe Recreation Path that connects Stowe Village to the mountain area. But for ease, and to truly explore the area, you’ll want a car. Rentals are available from the Burlington International Airport. Ride-hailing services, including taxis and Uber, are available but limited.

4 p.m. Taste fall with an I.P.A. and a cider doughnut

There’s no dearth of breweries in Stowe: Over a weekend you can drop into the von Trapp Bierhall, the Alchemist, Idletyme and Stowe Cider. But before you even get into town, take Exit 10 off I-89 and turn into Waterbury Village. There, stop at the Prohibition Pig Brewery, behind its sister restaurant beloved for its smoked meats. Order the guava sticky ribs ($18) to pair with an I.P.A (vegetarians can order the smokehouse nachos with a mushroom substitute, $15). Continue to Stowe on Vermont Route 100. A stop along the way at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is obligatory. Cut the savory with something sweet and grab a cider doughnut ($1) for the last bit of the drive.

7 p.m. Wind down at the Peak

Spruce Peak, a luxury mountain resort with dining and shopping at the base of Mount Mansfield, is its own destination in Stowe. Start at the Village, an outdoor center in the heart of the resort, where you can shop markets, listen to music at the WhistlePig Pavilion, relax in an Adirondack chair on the green, or warm up next to a fire pit. When the chill kicks in, head inside to Alpine Hall, a modern restaurant and bar that opened in 2022. Order some small plates that feature local Vermont ingredients and produce, like roasted carrots with sesame granola and Barr Hill honey ($16) or crispy brussel sprouts topped with feta fondue and drizzled with Runamok’s smoked maple syrup ($17). Or skip straight to dessert: The six-inch-tall chocolate gateau ($20) is a staple.

A horse-drawn carriage ride at Sterling Mountain Farm.

9:30 a.m. Start the day on a sweet note

Woodland Baking & Coffee, easily overlooked in an unassuming plaza off Stowe’s central Mountain Road, was opened in 2021 by Matt Carrell, a self-taught baker. His popular baked goods are made with organic, stone ground flour from Elmore Mountain Bread, a local mill. Try a flaky and buttery cinnamon bun that uses croissant dough ($5.25), or a gluten-free buckwheat tahini brownie ($5). Don’t have a sweet tooth? Opt for a burrito with egg frittata, smashed black beans, cheddar and housemade hot sauce ($8.75). Grab a seat at one of the wood-top tables and watch the bakers roll dough and turn out fresh pastries from the open kitchen’s oven.

11 a.m. Tour an enchanted sugar forest

Take a 30-minute scenic drive to Johnson, a nearby rural town. On the way, stop at Moss Glen Falls, Vermont’s tallest waterfall at 85 feet and accessible via a short hiking trail. Continue on Vermont Route 100, taking in sweeping mountain views and pastures, once home to many dairy farms, which have dwindled in recent years. In Johnson, wind up a mountain road to Sterling Mountain Farm, a property full of towering maple trees and owned by Rob Maynard and Deb Ravenelle. Take a private horse carriage ride ($50 per adult, $20 per child) with Deb and her two work horses, Charlotte and Champ. On the tour of the sugar forest, Deb explains the process of maple sugaring — from sustainably tapping maple trees to boiling the sap in the sugarhouse, which you can tour for an additional $25. Book ahead.

1 p.m. Zigzag through a mountain notch

Loop back toward Stowe, making time to stop at the Vermont Flannel factory store to procure an organic cotton flannel shirt or blanket at a discounted price (about $89 each). Continue onward, passing maple syrup outlets and the ski resort Smugglers’ Notch, to reach the scenic highway locals call “the Notch.” The 3.5-mile, two-lane road travels through Mount Mansfield and awes with views of mesmerizing foliage and giant rock outcroppings. The road is narrow, so heed the warning that vehicles over 40 feet in length will get stuck. For more expansive views of the autumnal colors, soar up Mount Mansfield with the Gondola SkyRide ($26 for children ages 5 to 12; $40 age 13 or older). Grab a warm, made-to-order waffle at the top until Oct. 20.

3:30 p.m. Find your way out of a maze

Keep your tour of the outdoors going with a walk on the Stowe Recreation Path, a roughly five-mile paved trail that can be picked up at Topnotch Resort — a secluded luxury resort and spa near the mountain — and continued all the way into Stowe Village, the town’s center, passing West Branch River, a horse farm, parks, and many restaurants. One stop on the path is the Percy Farm Corn Maze, which stays open until mid-October, when the corn fields are harvested. Every year, the owner Paul Percy mows a unique labyrinth that typically takes anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes to complete. For those who get lost, there’s a number to call. (Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. The farm accepts cash, checks or Venmo, but not cards.)

6 p.m. Experience California on a plate in Vermont

Pickling is a passion for the chef and co-owner Aaron Martin of Plate, a restaurant in a quaint white building that, interestingly, used to be Stowe’s funeral home. Inspired by farm-to-table California cuisine, a salad on the weekly menu may come with local blueberries, preserved in their summer prime, or foraged chanterelle mushrooms, jarred in the restaurant’s cellar. There are enough options for a range of appetites: Try the vegan crab cake starter, made with hearts of palm and a cashew aioli ($16), or the burger made with beef cold-smoked in house, that tastes like it's been cooked over a campfire ($25). The About Last Night cocktail ($15) is Vermont in a drink, made with WhistlePig rye, local apple cider and spiced maple syrup, and finished with bitters from Urban Moonshine, a Burlington producer.

Stowe’s 1850 Spear Barn.

9 a.m. Eat fluffy pancakes

Let the coziness linger into your morning. Feel at home in Butler’s Pantry, a family-owned-and-operated restaurant and inn in an 1830 brick house. Serving bottomless cups of coffee and known for its fluffy, buttery pancakes (in classic buttermilk or savory jalapeño cheddar, $18) the restaurant can draw long lines at breakfast, but it’s worth the wait (no reservations, but there’s a waitlist you can join online). The toasted housemade biscuits doused in maple-sausage gravy (or mushroom gravy, for vegetarians) also don’t disappoint ($17).

10:30 a.m. Shop for local goods and artworks

Stroll Stowe Village’s Main Street, dotted with historic buildings like the white steepled Community Church. Pop into Stowe Mercantile, a home goods store with all the maple products you can think of, including jams, hot sauce and dog treats. Just off Main Street, Remarkable Things has a global selection of artisan goods, including fine jewelry and ceramics, but with a particular focus on American makers. Just past the church is the Northwood Gallery, which displays and sells works by Vermont artists. Look for Jess Polanshek’s surrealist illustrations that marry fairytale-like characters with the natural world (also available to buy as cards). Stowe also has a Sunday farmers’ market (until Oct. 20) on Mountain Road. There, discover more local crafts, including handmade jewelry, inspired by the maker’s Ghanaian culture, and knitwear made from New England wool.

12 p.m. Bathe in nature before hitting the road

Wind down an active weekend by sinking into a wood-fired sauna or hot tub with mountain views at Sterling Forest Lodge, a wellness retreat that opened in 2022 and is a short drive from Stowe Village. The lodge opens on Sundays, when guests can purchase a communal 90-minute spa session ($40), which they can follow with a cold plunge in a cedar tub. Add a Sanctuary Pass ($15) for access to the trails and time to relax in the lodge by a crackling fireplace with tea. To really connect with nature, and all of your senses, book a 90-minute guided mindful forest walk ($200 per group, up to eight people). Participants are taught to observe the forest elements and sounds by walking slowly and silently (barefoot encouraged) along a trail that passes a pond. Guests can pluck their own pine needles that are then steeped for tea to have at the end of the walk.