Mount Snow Area - Vermont's Most Accessible Mountain Escape

The name is a bit of a give away. The Mount Snow area in Carinthia is Vermont's home for winter sports, located in the Green Mountains. Near Dover, this is the nearest mountain escape to many of the cities including Boston and New York. Just over 200 miles from JFK and three hours from Boston, even closer to Wilmington, this is a winter retreat for city dwellers and draws visitors from all over the world.

The north face of the mountain reaches up to 3,600 foot and boasts over five hundred acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain. Twenty ski lifts are capable of transporting over 30,000 visitors every hour of every day through the winter. There are green, blue and black runs suiting every level of skier from beginning to expert. This resort is comfortable even for those who don't respond well to altitude and the winter sports and right on your doorstep. Even if the snow stays away, which is unlikely with almost 160 inches a year, there are snow-making machines that cover at least eighty percent of the runs. And the ski tracks are kept impeccable by a whole fleet of snow cats. These guys really do take pride in perfection.

Not everyone is a skier or snowboarder and Mount Snow does its very best to cater to those who prefer to stay off the slopes. There is childcare available for those from just six weeks old, camps and ski schools for the toddlers and amazing facilities and a hundred-acre playground for the tweens and teens. The whole family however can take to the slopes under expert tuition.

You can also enjoy snow tubing, which is suitable for all ages. For those new to this fun pursuit, it basically involves sliding down the shallower slopes in an inflatable ring. The Mount Snow slope is one of the longest and is nicknamed the magic carpet, giving a smooth ride down. You must be old enough to control your tube but other than that, everyone is welcome. All year round there are also a series of tournaments and festivals celebrating everything to do with the great outdoors. These range from endurance contests to reggae music concerts. Find out more at http://mountsnow.com/events/event-calendar/

When you are choosing a place to stay, there are lots of different options. There is a two-hundred room hotel, a one-hundred room lodge and a great range of condominiums. The valley as a whole can offer over ten thousand beds, suiting every budget and taste. Check out the nearby valley towns of Woodford, Jacksonville, Whitingham, Readsboro, Marlboro, Dover, Halifax and Wardsboro for more vacation rental options and you are sure to find a good deal. Restaurants are similarly diverse and there really is no need to leave the resort to find something to satisfy your appetite. In the main base there are no less than eight restaurants offering all kinds of fare, from italian cuisine to quick snacks, hearty breakfasts to a bar and grill. Of course, there are as many options for apres-ski entertainment. There are also dining options at the summit, down in the valley itself and at the Carinthia and Sundance bases.

If you want to wind down and relax after a day careering down the slopes, there are excellent spa facilities at the Grand Summit. Here you can enjoy holistic treatments and even go for a complete retreat. Of course there are massages and other therapies but the spa also embraces the great outdoors: enhancing your fitness and well-being with mountain walks and other gentle outdoor pursuits.