Northern Vermont

Goodbye Slippery Slopes!

Had it with overcrowded trails, long snack bar lines, and grumbling kids? Northern Vermont will change your attitude about family skiing in the East.

This picture postcard region is home to 4,000-foot, snow-capped mountains, powdery slopes, and luxuriously long downhill and cross-country trails. You won't see any of those tacky neon signs and tourist traps common to most downhill areas. Log cabins and lifts are about as manmade as it gets.

More important, the skiing is top-notch. Mt. Mansfield, the state's highest peak at 4,395 feet, makes Stowe Mountain Resort the preferred destination of hotdoggers and snowboarders.

But here's a secret: It's great for families too, thanks in part to Smuggler's Notch, a world-class ski area that caters to kids on the other side of the mountain (if you have the right lift ticket, you can ski between Stowe and Smuggler's Notch).

In summer, Stowe and Smuggler's Notch are a Mecca for mountain bikers and hikers. Nearby Lake Champlain (at 278,400 acres, it's more a mini-ocean than a lake) attracts boaters, swimmers, and anglers. And in fall, the state plays host to the great spectator sport of leaf peeping.