Stowe/Smuggs Area

Details

Stowe rhymes with snow, and for good reason. It’s a classic ski town, with all the requisite restaurants, shops and hotels. That said, the general ambiance is more Zermatt than Park City. The downtown is charming and walkable — there’s a covered bridge right in the middle of it. And happily, a bike path has humanized the sprawling Mountain Road that leads to Stowe Mountain Resort...

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Biking

Stowe Bike Path

It’s easier to negotiate Stowe on a bicycle than in a car, and the popular year-round bike path is a welcome alternative to the congested Mountain Road. The 5.3-mile trail starts next to the Stowe Congregational Church and crosses the West Branch River 11 times as it meanders north past shops and restaurants.

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Restaurant

Santos Cocina Latina

There's nothing New England about Santos Cocina Latina — except that it's located on the main ski-town strip in Stowe. Inside is a different world: one more sexy than serene, more spicy than sweet. Keep reading...
Photo: Matthew Thorsen

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Boating

Green River Reservoir State Park

With 653 acres, Green River Reservoir is the largest “quiet” lake in Vermont. No gas-powered boats are allowed on the water, which makes it perfect for paddling. And you need a boat — and some muscle — to get to every one of the 28 remote campsites tucked in along the 19 miles of undeveloped shoreline; Some spots are as far as two miles from the launch. Parking is limited, and the park is considered “full” when the lot is.

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Arts & Entertainment

Helen Day Arts Center & West Branch Gallery

The Stowe area is a visual-art Mecca, and it has the fine art and craft galleries to show for it. Many, such as the Helen Day Art Center, are traditional indoor exhibition spaces. The West Branch Gallery and Sculpture Park incorporates outdoor elements. Check out the native cedar “goddess” totems in the woods. Pictured: "Red Note," by David Stromeyer at West Branch Gallery

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Attraction

Smugglers' Notch Scenic Byway

You can’t get through the narrow pass that connects Stowe to Smugglers’ Notch in winter; it’s closed to traffic. But in summer, the Smugglers’ Notch Scenic Byway — the official name for Route 108 — is a gorgeous drive through a rocky, alpine landscape, with 1000-foot cliffs on either side. You can have a picnic up there, or camp at the state park, knowing Vermont’s earliest “entrepreneurs” — aka bootleggers — once did the same.

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Attraction

Vermont Ski Museum

Vintage posters of pink-cheeked skiers. Prehistoric bindings. Old accounts of ski adventures along Route 100. The Vermont Ski Museum chronicles the history of going downhill fast with a large collection of skiing artifacts and memorabilia. Vermont’s famous Cochran family figures prominently. Special exhibits this summer include, “From Schussing to Shredding: The Evolution of Ski Technique.” The museum is open every day but Tuesday.

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