Snowboarders and skiiers have a wide choice of trails at Killington
We found one good thing about this year’s endless winter: It’s prolonging the spring skiing season. Sunny April is a great time to enjoy the winter sport; there’s no shivering or dreading icy patches. Out in the bright sun you skim down the hills in a lightweight jacket, your face slathered with sunscreen. For those of us in Connecticut, the slopes of Vermont are mere hours away, and Killington and Okemo are two mid-state resorts with a lot to offer this time of year.
Killington—the largest ski area not only in the state but in the East—embraces seven mountains, a region so vast that with almost 150 trails and 23 lifts, it’s nicknamed “The Beast.” Trails that stay open through April are noted daily on the website. Besides downhill skiing and snowboarding, there’s cross-country, snowshoeing and dog sledding.
From K-1, the main mountain lodge, visitors can ski across the bridge to the Snowshed or Ramshead sections of the mountain. And after skiing, the lodge offers a spa and an outdoor pool for people who like to swim surrounded by snow. —www.killington.com
Okemo’s Mountain Coaster is an outdoor thrill ride
Nearby Okemo encompasses five areas including Vermont’s highest vertical drop and takes pride in its snowmaking and masterly mountain grooming. A family-oriented area, Okemo offers award-winning programs for children and a popular hill for inner-tube coasting.
Children also love the frog slide in the two-level Spring House aquatic and fitness center, which also provides a sauna and facilities for racquetball and Walleyball. The pride of Okemo is its Mountain Coaster, a half-mile-plus “roller coaster” ride that loops and twists up and down the mountain.
Apres ski, the comfortable lounge of the new Jackson Gore resort, with a cozy bar at one end and a fireplace at the other, fills up with children toasting marshmallows while their parents sip on the local Long Trail beer. Evenings, a snow cat takes diners up the hill to a five-course prix-fixe meal at the isolated mountainside Epic restaurant.
And if this season’s snow ever melts, in a few weeks we can go back to the same resorts for hiking, biking and golf. —www.okemo.com
Photo on left: Apre ski is a family affair at Okemo
