Most people find Stowe in winter. They come for the skiing — Stowe Mountain Resort is Vermont’s most famous mountain, and Mount Mansfield is the state’s highest peak — and they leave when the lifts stop running. This is a reasonable choice that misses roughly half of what Stowe actually is.
In summer, Stowe is a different kind of exceptional. The alpine meadows above treeline on Mansfield are accessible by gondola or trail. The Stowe Recreation Path, a paved trail following the West Branch River, connects the village to the resort through five and a half miles of farmland and forest. The restaurants are as good as they are in February. And the event calendar — concerts, food festivals, farmers markets, outdoor cinema — runs through June, July, and August without slowing down.
It’s a 2-hour drive from Woodstock and Quechee, which puts it comfortably in day-trip range. As an overnight destination from an Upper Valley base, it’s a natural extension of a Vermont stay. And unlike the foliage-season crowds that define October in Vermont, Stowe in summer has room to breathe.
The Stowe Summer Concert Series
Stowe hosts an outdoor concert series through the summer months, typically held at the resort grounds or on the village green. The programming leans toward classic rock, folk, Americana, and the kind of acts that play well outdoors to mixed-age crowds. Bring a blanket, arrive early for good placement, and plan around the weather — Vermont outdoor concerts in August are excellent when the weather cooperates and complicated when it doesn’t.
The Stowe Performing Arts series — stoweperformingarts.com — runs separately from the resort’s events calendar and focuses on classical and chamber music programming in scenic outdoor venues. The summer chamber music festival is genuinely good and draws professional performers. Even if classical music isn’t your default, an evening outdoor concert with the Mansfield ridge above you is an experience worth the experiment.
Check both stoweperformingarts.com and the Stowe Mountain Resort events calendar for the current season’s schedule. The programming is confirmed in spring and popular shows sell out.
Gondola Skyride
The Stowe Mountain Resort gondola operates through the summer, carrying passengers to the summit of Spruce Peak (a subsidiary summit, not Mansfield’s true summit, but the views are comparable). The ride takes about eight minutes each way and delivers you to an elevation of 3,640 feet — above the treeline, looking across the Lamoille Valley toward New Hampshire, with Mansfield’s ridge above you.
The gondola is worth it purely for the ride and the summit views. At the top, a short walk along the ridge extends the perspective. Bring a layer regardless of valley temperature — summit conditions are typically 10–15 degrees cooler with wind.
In late summer and fall, the gondola provides access to the summit at a time when the alpine flowers have had their season and the mountain looks its most dramatic — nothing obscuring the horizon, nothing between you and the full extent of the Vermont landscape.
Hours: Typically 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Labor Day; check stowe.com for current operating hours and pricing.
Hiking Mount Mansfield
For the serious mountain experience, the Long Trail traverses Mansfield’s summit ridge — the “Chin” at 4,393 feet is Vermont’s highest point. Several trailheads access the summit:
Sunset Ridge Trail (from Underhill State Park, western approach): 3.6 miles to the summit, 2,700 feet of elevation gain. The ridge walk above treeline offers the most dramatic exposed terrain in Vermont. The exposed ridge between the “Forehead” and the “Chin” is alpine in character — fragile alpine plants, cairns marking the route, the full Vermont landscape visible in every direction.
Hell Brook Trail (from the resort side): Steep, direct, and unrelenting — 2,100 feet in 1.9 miles. One of Vermont’s most demanding ascents. Not recommended for casual hikers.
Long Trail from the Nose: A more moderate approach from Smugglers’ Notch, connecting to the ridge below the Chin.
Allow a full day for any Mansfield summit attempt. Weather on Vermont peaks changes rapidly; check the summit forecast before departing. The summit above treeline has no shelter; descend immediately if lightning is in the forecast.
The Trapp Family Lodge
The von Trapp family — the actual family, not the movie version — settled in Stowe in 1942 after fleeing Austria. They chose Stowe because the landscape reminded them of the Austrian Alps. The Trapp Family Lodge that Johannes von Trapp operates today is on the same hillside where Georg and Maria von Trapp first arrived, and it remains a working farm, brewery, and lodge complex unlike anything else in Vermont.
The Austrian Beer Hall at the lodge pours von Trapp Brewing beers — German-style lagers made with traditional methods on the property — in a setting that is entirely earnest and entirely Vermont. The views from the lodge terrace across the Stowe valley and up to Mansfield are exceptional. The bakery attached to the lodge makes Viennese pastries.
Whether or not the von Trapp cultural history interests you, the physical property is worth seeing. And if you do have interest in the history, the lodge has documented it thoughtfully.
The Stowe Farmers Market
The Stowe Farmers Market runs Saturday mornings through the summer season in a field just off Route 108, near the elementary school. This is a well-established market — over 60 vendors — with serious produce, Vermont cheese, maple products, artisan bread, fresh flowers, and prepared food. The Vermont standard for farmers markets is high, and Stowe’s reflects the town’s overall food culture.
Plan for an hour and arrive by 9 a.m. for the best selection. The maple products and artisan cheese vendors tend to run through their supply by late morning.
The Stowe Recreation Path
The 5.5-mile paved path from the village to the resort base follows the West Branch River through farmland and forest, with mountain views in both directions on clear days. It’s flat enough to be accessible to all ages and abilities, busy enough to feel lively without being crowded, and the surroundings — genuine working Vermont farmland interspersed with forest — are what you came to Vermont for.
Bike rentals are available in the village and at the resort. A one-way ride takes about 30 minutes; most people do the full out-and-back and stop somewhere in the middle for views.
The path passes within walking distance of several cafés and the Stowe Village center, making it easy to structure a morning: ride out toward the resort, turn around at the base area, stop for lunch on the way back.
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center, just south of Stowe on Route 100, is not technically in Stowe but belongs in any honest Stowe itinerary. They have been pressing cider on the property since 1974 using a rack-and-cloth press visible through the production windows.
The cider is pressed fresh through October; the cider donuts are a Vermont institution. The retail store stocks a range of Vermont specialty foods, maple products, and cider vinegar. Cold Hollow is genuinely local in a way that requires no curation or irony — it is what it appears to be, and it has been for fifty years.
Where to Eat
Stowe’s food scene is more developed than its size suggests — the town has attracted serious restaurant talent over the decades.
Hen of the Wood (Stowe location): The Waterbury original is a Vermont institution; the Stowe version delivers the same locally-sourced quality in a converted barn setting. Reserve well in advance.
The Bench: Wood-fired pizza and a thoughtful Vermont beer list. More casual, no reservations, reliably good.
Harrison’s Restaurant & Bar: Classic Stowe, been there for decades, solid food in a comfortable setting. Good for groups.
Von Trapp Brewing Beer Hall: Austrian-style lagers on tap in the lodge’s beer hall, with outdoor terrace seating overlooking the valley. The food is hearty and the setting is genuinely unique.
Cold Hollow Cider Mill (Waterbury Center, just south of Stowe): Not a restaurant, but a required stop — fresh-pressed cider, cider donuts, Vermont specialty foods. One of the most genuinely local food experiences in the state.
Stowe vs. Other Vermont Summer Destinations
For guests based in the Upper Valley who are considering a Stowe day trip versus other options:
Stowe is further than Quechee and Woodstock (which are right in your backyard) and roughly the same distance as Burlington — about two hours from either. What Stowe offers that the other options don’t is mountain scale: the Mansfield summit, the gondola, the alpine meadows, the Long Trail. If serious hiking or the high-mountain experience is the goal, Stowe is the answer.
Burlington, ninety minutes from the Upper Valley, offers the city experience — the waterfront, Church Street, the Burlington Brewers Festival in July, the Jazz Festival in June. Stowe and Burlington pair naturally as a two-day extension of an Upper Valley stay.
The Vermont Events Calendar lists what’s happening across all these destinations through the season.
Planning Your Visit
- Drive from Woodstock: ~2 hours via I-89 North and Route 100 North
- Concert series: stoweperformingarts.com; check for current schedule in spring
- Gondola: stowe.com; typically 10 a.m.–5 p.m., weather permitting
- Farmers Market: Saturday mornings, June through October
- Recreation Path: Free; bike rentals available in the village
- Best time to visit: July and August for warm temperatures and full event calendar; avoid major holiday weekends if crowds are a concern
Stowe in summer is a different Vermont than the Upper Valley towns most Stay Vermont guests experience. It’s worth the drive for a day or a night — and if you go once in August, you’ll understand why people who discovered it for skiing keep coming back in every season.