Jin and I took a trip to Stowe, Vermont to celebrate my last birthday! This was a super quick trip, because #PTOprobs, but was still packed with fun and sight-seeing over a weekend.
We stayed in Spruce Peak Lodge. The lodge it at the top of the mountain, about 20 min outside of downtown Stowe. The views up there are the best for fall foliage and close to the Gondola ride! The resort is quite large and has several stores, some restaurants, including a little market where you can get your free morning coffee. We booked a private room through VRBO, which I highly recommend for much cheaper rates than through the resort itself. Many of the rooms are privately owned and are rented out regularly through other sites for less.
We flew in on a Friday evening into Burlington, VT airport which is about one hour from Stowe. By the time we got our rental car and drove to Stowe, everything was closed. All of the restaurants at the hotel were already closed by 5 or 6pm, we couldn’t even find a McDonald’s or some other fast-food restaurant nearby! Fortunately, the outdoor heated pool had a water dispenser and we were able to pour ourselves cups of water and go up to our room. Don’t be like us. I highly recommend stopping in Burlington through a drive thru or grabbing snacks somewhere if you have a late flight, you’ll thank yourself later.
The Gondola Sky Ride entrance is right across from the Lodge. We booked our tickets a few weeks in advance which are good for the day. The Gondola is completely enclosed, but has the option to open some windows if you want a picture photo outside or some fresh air. We were thankful it was enclosed, because the closer you get to the top the more chilly it got! make sure you bring a good jacket and maybe even a hat! Once you get to the top, there’s a little gift shop, waffle eatery (which smelled amazing!) with hot chocolates, and a restaurant called the Cliff House. I made our reservations for the Cliff House about 4 weeks in advance, but there were families who were able to get seated without them after a small wait. I still recommend making a reservation as those were prioritized due to limited space. We were able to get a table outside on the deck, it was a little breezy but worth the views! For food we opted for the burger and loaded fries. Both were good, but the price was a little steep for the quality – $80 for two entrees and an appetizer. If you don’t want to eat there, you can always opt for a drink at the bar! They offer hot chocolate and cider (which was delicious!) with an option to spike it with rum. We decided not to spike ours lol and just grab one for the go to go back down the Gondola Ride.
After the Gondola ride we walked around the lodge a bit and then took a much needed nap! Naps are crucial when Jin and I are able to get away for a bit, if you have a little one at home too you know what I mean 🙂 . If we weren’t napping, we could’ve rented bikes or taken a hike! There are so many biking and hiking trails in vermont, even one up to Mt. Mansfield where the Cliff House is if you’re looking for a good hike before a lunch.
After our nap we got ready for dinner. I really wanted reservations at Harrison’s which is an upscale restaurant in downtown Stowe. I tried to get reservations a month in advance, but they were completely booked! So, if you want a fancy dinner night at Harrison’s make sure you book far in advance! As sad as I was about not getting to eat at Harrison’s, we found a cute pizza place called Piecasso that had great reviews. The pizza, salad, and atmosphere were all fantastic. We especially loved the crust on the pizza, so crisp and fresh! It was also our cheapest meal of the whole trip, only $36 for the two of us including two alcoholic drinks! Such a steal.
After dinner we went back to the lodge in search of drinks. We went to one of the bars upstairs and discovered we could take two drinks to go if we were guests :). We grabbed our drinks and changed into our swimsuits to finish the night in the outdoor heated pool and hot tub area. It wasn’t very crowded and the water felt great, really a nice a relaxing way to finish the night.
The next morning we got up early and made our way to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill which was about 30 minutes from the lodge. We got there right when they opened at 8am. The smell of fresh doughnuts and cider hits you in the face as soon as you walk in the mill. As you walk through the store you can see the doughnut operation right in front of you, pour some fresh vermont maple coffee, and shop for fresh spices, packaged bread mixes, pies, you name it! At the counter you can order hot cider, cold cider, or even cider slushies!
Across the way is the Cider Restaurant . I had already read about their cheddar biscuit breakfast sandwiches and my mouth was drooling before we even arrived. We both got the “core” sandwich which was a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese with cold hollow cider jelly. It was absolutely delightful. Jin was actually mad that we didn’t come the previous morning! haha. The biscuits were cooked to absolute perfection. It was our favorite meal of the trip by far.
After breakfast we went back to the lodge to pack up and get our luggage to check out. Once we were all packed, we made our way to downtown Stowe to explore for the day before our evening flight. There are lots of locally owned stores to explore. Our favorite was the Yellow Turtle which was a locally owned children’s store. We picked up a few items for our girl and made our way down to Doc Ponds for lunch. Doc Ponds is a well known, and very popular, restaurant in downtown Stowe. There was a line already at the door before it opened. The food was very tasty and they had plenty of beers on tap. I highly recommend the pie of the day, which is different every day.
Once we filled our bellies, we made our way back to Burlington to be close to the airport before our flight. We had a few hours to kill and searched around for things to do in the area. We parked on Church Street down by the water. There’s a brick paved road that’s closed off just for pedestrians. There you can find lots of coffee shops, shopping stores, and cafes. We made our way down to the water where it was very breezy but the views were worth it!
