Stowe, Vermont
Stowe is a tiny, picturesque town — complete with a white church steeple — that sits in a valley flanked by the Worcester Range to the east and the Green Mountains to the west. No matter what time of year, people bring their meetings and events to Stowe for the setting, said Zak Bergmann, assistant sales manager for the Stowe Area Association.
“Everything in Stowe is beautiful; it all depends on the season you come because it changes drastically,” Bergmann said. “Winter is amazing because it’s a winter wonderland; spring and fall — fall especially — because you have all the colors.”
One of the town’s major attractions is the Stowe Mountain Resort ski area, which has a total of about 56,000 square feet of meeting space in several different venues, including Spruce Camp, the resort’s base lodge; the 420-seat Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center; and Stowe Mountain Lodge, the resort’s new luxury hotel.
Attendees can also take a gondola ride to Cliff House Restaurant at the top of Mount Mansfield. The restaurant, which has an observation deck, is available for private events during nonbusiness hours, although the gondola is closed for refurbishment and will reopen in the fall, Bergmann said.
The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe is a European-style mountain chalet built by the real von Trapp family that inspired “The Sound of Music.” The lodge’s three meetings rooms can host as many as 150 people for a reception or small groups for fireside sessions.
Umiak Outdoor Outfitters offers guided canoeing, kayaking, standup paddleboarding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing tours. Mountain View Tours provides group tours that showcase historic landmarks, local food and fall foliage in Stowe and other Vermont locations.
