To me, the best hidden skiing is in the backcountry. Vermont boasts epic runs in the woods, near Jay Peak in the Northeast Kingdom and down throughout the Green Mountains—especially around the state’s tallest mountain, 4,400-foot Mount Mansfield. But if you’re looking for groomed slopes, a few small throwback resorts come to mind. All three tend to get overlooked by tourists, who opt for the glitzier resorts close by, but not by locals who like their lift tickets cheap and their trails empty.
Middlebury College Snow Bowl
Burke Mountain
Bolton Valley
Ski Vermont: Middlebury Snow Bowl
What are Vermont’s best hidden ski resorts?
This is my favorite small ski mountain in the state—and not just because of its $25 lift ticket. Owned and maintained by for nearly 80 years, it lies hidden in the Green Mountain National Forest, about 20 minutes from campus, and is almost completely empty during school days. Its 1,000-foot vertical and 17 trails may not sound like much, but the slopes are challenging enough that it’s hosting the 2013 NCAA Championships.
Ski Vermont: Burke Mountain
What are Vermont’s best hidden ski resorts?
Overshadowed by towering Jay Peak an hour north by car in the state’s Northeast Kingdom near the Canadian border, the smaller, homier is barely a blip on the out-of-state skier’s radar. And the locals are happy to keep its superb facilities, 2,000-foot vertical, 55 trails on 270 acres, and $52 lift tickets for Vermonters ($68 for everyone else) a secret.
Ski Vermont: Bolton Valley
What are Vermont’s best hidden ski resorts?
Does it seem like everyone in the base lodge at is from nearby Burlington and seems to know each other? Well, they are and they do. This small but ever-struggling-to-survive gem makes even out-of-towners feel at home in a way that nearby behemoth Stowe only wishes it could. Of course lift ticket specials—like the $46 weekday student deal, and the $46 afternoon adult pass—help. Bolton is served by two quad lifts and three doubles on a 300-acre area that’s crisscrossed by 70 trails and a handful of fantastic glades. The vertical is 1,700 feet. As a bonus, the Nordic center is one of the state’s finest.