Great place to take little kids to see if they really are going to take to it! Good value, close to Boston, variety of conditions during the season. Cool New England towns all around the area.

A three-day trip to the snow rich Mad River Valley with two days at Sugarbush and a middle day at nearby Mad River Glen could make for a skier’s dream scenario. (Snowboarders will have to keep to Sugarbush as Mad River Glen has the distinction of being the sole “skiers only” resort in the East.)


Sugarbush has a wealth of trails for the expert and the lover of glades with a plethora of intermediate trails snaking across two separate mountain playlands---Mount Ellen and Lincoln Peak. There are close to 600 acres of mountain serviced by 11 lifts with a vertical drop of over 2500 feet. Wedged between the two main peaks is what they call Castlerock. Here the trails traverse in and out of the woods with hidden stashes of snow around every corner. These are my personal favorites. Moguls abound with vistas of treed terrain that are a hearty challenge for the adventurous.

John Egan of Warren Miller fame is the High Mountain Guru at Sugarbush. John has enjoyed a long tenure at Sugarbush and knows the woods better than the bears.

He has personally designed some of the upper terrain which has been rated Numero Uno in the East by Ski Magazine and now serves as Director of Mountain Recreation and hosts the select high mountain rendezvous of dinner and skiing on Saturday nights. For those with a taste for skiing after dinner, join the lucky few who take the after-dark ride up the mountain on the Sugarbush Snowcat Limo to Allyn’s Lodge. There, way up on Lincoln Peak, they enjoy a gourmet candlelight feast and a colorful set of fireside ski stories. After dinner, the guests don their skis and their headlamps and make their way down from the Lincoln Peak to their hotels like skiing fireflies in the night. John leads the way to an unforgettable ski experience.

The on-mountain accommodations range from the Luxury suites at Claybrook to the affordable charm of the Sugarbush Inn. The amenities at Claybrook include an outdoor heated pool, a fitness center, boot and ski valet service, and a spectacular second floor Timbers Pub and Restaurant, just steps from you room. The ceiling at the Timbers soars to forty-feet in height and is a matrix of fine Vermont woodworking. The table seating is perched around the perimeter of the great round room affording views of moonlight on the mountain while drinks are served to the guests in the more informal center court. The food here is fabulous, the plates artfully prepared, the service attentive and polished--far afield from your standard lodge apres ski experience.


For those who have yet to venture out on a pair of skis, Sugarbush has come up with a super impetus program. It’s called “First Timers to Life Timers.” For $230 you get three lessons, three full rentals of Ski or Board equipment, and three full-day lift tickets. The bonus is, after your first three days, they gift you a season pass for the remainder of the season---that’s what I call motivation.

Sugarbush is about a dozen miles south of Interstate 89. You’ll travel through the Vermont towns of Waterbury, Waitsfield, and Warren. Check out the Waitsfield Wine Shop and The Warren Store where the charm of old Vermont lives and breathes.

The skiing and riding has always been world class here, but I've previously been unimpressed with the apres-ski and nightlife at Sugarbush until this year. Came down from Burlington on a Saturday night and was blown away by the improved Sugarbush Village. I had the dankest slice of pizza at Pizza Soul, and danced my face off at the Pine Tree Pub. When a local found out I'm a New York native they told me to go to Mutha Stuffas sandwich shop for Boars Head deli meats and some throwback east coast hip hop. Way cool!