Romantic Escapes in Vermont

By Robert and Patricia Foulke

Where to eat, where to stay and what to do are covered. The Foulkes also throw in tidbits such as tasty regional recipes, a bit of poetry by Emerson and a love letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Chicago Daily Herald. "[The] captivating prose invokes the spiri

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Dec 7, 2009
• ISBN: 9781588438584

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Vermont

Stowe

The very name, Stowe, sets up tingles of anticipation dating back to its reputation as a very romantic place where you were bound to meet a special someone on a ski vacation. Stowe still has that romantic aura for us, both as an extraordinary ski town and as a place for a relaxing holiday at any time of year.

It is preeminent as a center for both alpine and nordic skiing in winter. But at other times of the year Stowe offers mountain hiking and biking, less strenuous walking on a streamside path, dramatic auto touring, a spa, an abundance of fine accommodations, gourmet dining, festivals and, always, the chance to stroll through 95 individualized shops and boutiques that are not part of national chains.

Hikers can explore 30 trails on the mountain, including a section of the Long Trail that winds along the backbone of Vermont. Mountain bikers can ride lifts up and roar down ski trails. Walkers can head for the 5.3-mile Stowe Recreation Path, which meanders beside a mountain stream toward Mount Mansfield, crossing 11 wooden bridges. From Memorial Day to Columbus Day, adventurous drivers can head for the Stowe Auto Road, a gravel road with some steep parts that winds up the mountain to a visitor center.

In February that same road is used for the most famous of Stowe's many festivals, the Stowe Derby, a 10-mile combined downhill and cross-country race from the top of Mount Mansfield to the village historic district. The mountain is also the site of many ski and snowboard competitions each winter, as well as a series of torchlight parades.

Other annual events include the flower festival in June, a food and wine exposition and a balloon festival, both in July, a Mozart festival and an antique and classic car rally in August. Those interested in art exhibits, lectures, and concerts will find them throughout the year at the Helen Day Art Center, located in a restored 1863 Greek Revival building.

Stowe has been welcoming guests in other seasons for more than a century, and we were surprised to learn that the skiing capital of the East has more visitors in the summer and fall than in the winter.

The dream of the von Trapp family will always be there, not only in the magic of The Sound of Music, but knowing that a real family settled on land that looked very much like their native Austria. The surviving family members are around the lodge every day.

During our last visit to Stowe we spent an evening with Maria von Trapp, who told us stories of her youth, laughing with twinkling eyes as she remembered amusing events. The children in the family had such a good time together and they really did sing for fun - on walks and at home. We could imagine their pre-war existence when we paid a visit to Zell am See in Austria and glimpsed the outside of the von Trapp's lakeside summer home, surrounded by high meadows and mountains.

The von Trapp family

When the family came to Stowe in summer after a heavy schedule of concert tours, they luxuriated in the view and found a home. As described by Maria's stepmother in The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, they longed for surroundings that resembled the Austrian landscape they loved: Then we were on top of the hill; and when we got out of the cars, we knew: this is the place. What a panorama! Three valleys lay open before us, and as many as nine mountain ranges we could count stretching into the blue distance.

Soon they had decided to buy that farm on Luce Hill above Stowe village, and later to build a lodge on the site. It took a lot of hard work to build the first lodge - even the girls mixed cement and poured the foundations. Maria and one of her sisters slept in a tent on the property during construction. When that lodge burned down in 1980, they built the larger replacement that stands today.

In July 1997, the Austrian government commemorated the decision of the von Trapp family to escape from the Nazi oppression by sending the entire 89-member graduating class of the Austrian Theresianum Military Academy to Stowe. Johannes von Trapp, Maria's brother and the youngest of the 10 children, said that the celebration was an honor to the family and helped bring closure to their involuntary exile. Maria von Trapp walked from the ceremony at the family graveside on the arm of Major General Felber, an Austrian commandant.

Maria von Trapp

Johannes, who has managed the lodge for a quarter of a century, created the first commercial cross-country ski center in the United States there in 1968. By then downhill skiing was well established, but cross-country skiing was still in its infancy in terms of equipment, facilities, and trail networks. Johannes saw the opportunity in his high, rolling land, both open and wooded, and began by cutting a single trail and purchasing 50 pairs of rental skis. Now the network surrounding the Trapp Family Lodge has grown to 55 kilometers of groomed trails and an additional 45 kilometers of back-country trails, attracting 30,000 skiers annually.

Smugglers' Notch lies in a gap between Mount Mansfield and Sterling Peak. These rocks developed about 400 million years ago and the resulting Notch Road is spectacular indeed. You can drive through in summer, but in winter only hikers, snowshoers or skiiers find their way to the top. Recently, a Stowe/Smugglers' Notch connection from one ski area to the other was completed. The area is also known for its natural habitat for wildlife and rare plants.

Smuggler's Notch

The route was popular with smugglers, who carried contraband and other items to Canada, hence its name. Slaves had trailblazed this escape route to Canada, and during the 1920s liquor somehow found its way through the Notch.

Where to Stay

Trapp Family Lodge

42 Trapp Hill Road, Stowe, VT 05672

800/826-7000, 802/253-8511, fax [phone]

E-mail [e-mail]

Web site www.trappfamily.com

93 rooms. $-$$$$

The Trapp Family property is on a hillside leading down through meadows perfect for strolling or taking a sleigh ride in winter. The lodge, rebuilt after a fire in 1980, is contemporary, but maintains the style of an Austrian chalet with its wooden balconies. In summer, hanging baskets of flowers add color just as they do in Austria, where they overflow almost every home.

Inside the lodge you will find comfortable chairs and sofas beside fireplaces. The walls are lined with photographs, including a