Washington: Winter Trails, Culture and Excursions

Washington is well suited to a winter holiday that combines sporting activities, mountain scenery and culture. Barre Town Forest offers approximately 20 miles of well-maintained trails for hiking, skiing and mountain biking. The trails are accessible year-round; many are prepared for cross-country skiing and fat biking in winter. In addition, lift rides, mountain trails and the Long Trail are among the documented options around Sugarbush. When choosing accommodation, it is therefore important to decide whether you want to focus primarily on winter trails, mountain excursions, culture or a combination of these.

Winter trails, mountain rides and different day plans

In addition to the well-maintained trails, Barre Town Forest has a free public disc golf course with 18 holes and a par of 61. This means that a stay does not have to focus exclusively on winter sports. The Mad River Riders network connects more than 40 miles of designated mountain bike trails with Sugarbush’s downhill terrain. This information describes a separate trail and downhill offering; it does not automatically indicate a particular accommodation location or direct access from a hotel. At Sugarbush, panoramic lift rides take visitors to higher elevations without the need to climb. From there, you can explore mountain trails and reach the Long Trail. Access to the hikes includes the Long Trail system; trailheads are located at Lincoln Peak, Mount Ellen, Lincoln Gap and Appalachian Gap. The Grand Lookout in Gnome Man’s Land offers views from Lincoln Gap to Jay Peak. Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield lie between them. Lincoln Gap and Appalachian Gap also offer scenic mountain drives from Waitsfield. For your choice of location, you can also compare Warren.

Montpelier and Barre: Culture as a complement to winter sports

Montpelier lies at the confluence of two rivers and is protected by the surrounding hills. The Vermont History Museum is located downtown in the Pavilion Building. The Vermont State House preserves the oldest continuously operating legislative chambers with their original interiors intact. In 1899, John E. Hubbard bequeathed 125 acres to the City of Montpelier to create a park and preserve the wilderness for future generations. Barre offers another cultural focus. The Vermont Granite Museum is located in an authentic granite production facility dating from around the turn of the century and provides information about the geology, technology, history and art of Vermont granite. The Barre Opera House is a historic theater dating from 1899 and hosts approximately 50 public events each year. These destinations also provide structure for a stay when not every day is spent skiing or out on the trails.

Maple, farmers’ market and quiet trails

Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks was founded in 1966 as an agritourism business and informs visitors about the production of maple syrup. On the Maple Trail, the path leads through the sugar maple forest; you can also try maple ice cream there. Morse Farm is open every day year-round. The summer market of the Capital City Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from May through October at 133 State Street. It brings together people who grow food, produce meat, bake bread, make ceramics and create gifts. For a quieter outing, the grassy trails of the North Branch Nature Center run along the edge of the meadows and cross a bridge to additional sections of the trail network in Montpelier and East Montpelier.

For the overarching travel overview: Vermont.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Orleans County, Bennington County, Rutland County, Windham County, Lamoille, Windsor County.