There is still a beautiful nineteenth-century village at the heart of STOWE , with a white-spired meeting house and a green to stroll around, although a century's experience of catering to large crowds of skiers, summertime hikers, bikers and golfers, and autumn leaf-peepers has rather swamped the approach road to the main ski area with resort spas, equipment stores and sprawling condominium complexes. Nonetheless, the setting remains spectacular, at the foot of Vermont's highest mountain, the 4393ft Mount Mansfield .

Hwy-108 - Mountain Road - leads close to the mountain through the dramatic Smugglers' Notch , which is closed by snow through the winter. Weather permitting, you can get to the very top either by driving four and a half miles up the Toll Road , which itself starts seven miles up Mountain Road (mid-May to mid-Oct daily 9am-5pm; $14 per car plus $2 for each passenger), or by taking the gondola (mid-June to mid-Oct daily 10am-5pm; $11; tel 802/253-3500 or 1-888/253-4754, ) up to the Cliff House Restaurant , and hiking for another half-hour from there. There's also a skate park ($10 a day) that offers rollerblading lessons and rentals, plus a 2300-foot long luge-type ride known as the Alpine Slide ($9 a ride). What really made Stowe's name as a cross-country ski resort was its connection to the Trapp family , of The Sound of Music fame. After fleeing Austria during World War II, they established the Trapp Family Lodge on Luce Hill Road (tel 802/253-8511 or 1-800/826-7000, ; $160-250+). The original lodge, where Maria von Trapp held her singing camps, has burned down, and she herself died in 1987, but an equally luxurious building has taken its place; its Austrian Tea Room serves incredibly heavy Germanic cakes and pastries. Good hiking and cross-country ski trails lead out from the lodge.

The best of the plentiful accommodation includes the streamside Inn at Turner Mill , 56 Turner Mill Lane (tel 802/253-2062; $75-100); Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa at 1746 Mountain Rd (tel 1-800/253-7355, ; $100-130); the Riverside Inn at 1965 Mountain View Rd (tel 802/253-4217 or 1-800/966-4217, ; $50-75), where rates rise $15 or more in winter and during fall foliage; the small 1860 House (tel 1-800/248-1860, ; $75-100), a nationally registered landmark on School Street; and the central 1833 Green Mountain Inn at 18 Main St (tel 802/253-7301 or 1-800/253-7302, ; $100-130). The Gold Brook   campground is two miles south on Hwy-100 (tel 802/253-7683; $18 per site). There are plenty of places to eat in and around Stowe. Best for breakfast is McCarthy's up on Mountain Road (tel 802/253-8626); Gracie's Restaurant in the Carlson Building on Main Street (tel 802/253-8741) does a good job with sandwiches, burgers and salads. In the evening, the Shed Restaurant & Brew Pub on Mountain Road (tel 802/253-4364) has moderately priced dinners, while the Blue Moon Café , 35 School St (tel 802/253-7006), offers an innovative menu with prices in the $15-20 range. The always crowded Pie in the Sky , 492 Mountain Rd (tel 802/253-5100), serves relatively inexpensive pizza and pasta dishes.

The visitor center is on Main Street (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5pm; tel 802/253-7321 or 1-800/24-STOWE); for skiing information , contact Stowe Mountain Resort at 5781 Mountain Rd (tel 802/253-3500 or 1-888/253-4849, ), Mount Mansfield (tel 802/253-7311) or Smuggler's Notch (tel 802/644-8851 or 1-800/451-8752, ). Bikes can be rented from the Mountain Sports & Bike Shop on Mountain Road (tel 802/253-7919 or 1-800/MTBIKE4, ); an excellent biking trail climbs the mountain.

Stowe

• Stowe

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