Von Trapp Guide to Stowe

Fall in Stowe

A Three-Day Guide to Autumn at von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort

Day 01 Get to Know von Trapp

Day 02 Go See Stowe

Day 03 Back to the Mountain

The Best of Both

See Stowe. But don't forget where you're staying.

There's a temptation on your first fall trip to Stowe to try to see everything. We understand it. You have Smugglers' Notch on your list. You want to walk through Stowe Village, see the mountains at peak color, find a cider donut and probably pull over at more than a few scenic overlooks along the way.

Do those things.

But don't make the mistake of spending your entire stay driving away from the place you came here to stay.

Some of our favorite fall experiences happen right here at von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort: walking through the woods to a chapel built by the von Trapp family, visiting our Scottish Highland cattle, exploring the forest with our naturalist, hiking to our sugarhouse, or following a trail that ends with a cold lager at the Bierhall.

So if you have three days with us this fall, we'd spend them doing a little of both.

Stay Close to Home

Get to Know von Trapp

Once you've checked in, leave the car where it is.

At von Trapp

Start With the Story

Take some time to get your bearings. Step outside, look across the property toward the Green Mountains and wander a little. The resort spreads across 2,600 acres, so what you see from the Lodge is only the beginning.

If the activity schedule lines up with your stay, the von Trapp History Tour is a particularly good way to begin a first visit. The 90-minute experience separates some of The Sound of Music story from what actually happened and tells how the von Trapp family escaped Austria and eventually made its home here in Stowe.

Knowing that history changes the way you see the property afterward.

At von Trapp

Walk to the Chapel

If you'd rather begin outside, consider the Hike to the Chapel. The hike heads into the woods behind the Lodge to the stone chapel built by Werner von Trapp and other members of the family.

It's short but steep, and in autumn the walk through the changing forest is as much a part of the experience as reaching the chapel itself.

Tonight, you're already somewhere worth exploring.

Around Stowe

Go See Stowe

Now we'd grab the keys.

von Trapp → Smugglers' Notch → Stowe Village → Cold Hollow → von Trapp

Around Stowe

Start With Smugglers' Notch

If the seasonal road is open and conditions are appropriate, Smugglers' Notch deserves a place in a fall visit.

Don't treat it as something to drive through as quickly as possible. The road twists between Mount Mansfield and the surrounding mountains, with plenty of reasons to stop along the way. Fall makes the landscape particularly dramatic, but the experience is just as much about the narrow road, enormous boulders and changing terrain as it is about foliage.

Give yourself time.

Around Stowe

Spend Some Time in Stowe Village

Afterward, head back toward Stowe Village. Walk rather than drive from place to place if you can. Browse the locally owned shops and galleries, grab lunch or coffee, and enjoy being in town without turning the afternoon into another itinerary.

That's one of the nice things about staying where you do. You don't have to fit all of Stowe into a few hours.

Vermont Tradition

There's Probably a Cider Donut Involved

If Cold Hollow Cider Mill is on your list, this is a natural day to make the trip.

Fresh cider and warm cider donuts have become part of the Vermont fall experience for plenty of visitors, and we're not going to argue with that tradition.

Then we'd start making our way back. Because after a day exploring Stowe, there's something particularly nice about returning to the mountainside you've already begun to recognize.

Go Deeper

Discover the Vermont That's Already Here

By your third morning, we'd stay close to home again.

This is the day to look at the current activity schedule and choose something you probably aren't going to experience at another Stowe resort.

Meet

Highland Cattle

Explore

Learn the Forest

Taste

Maple Sugar Tour

At von Trapp

Meet the Highland Cattle

The resort's farmers lead guests across the property to visit our Scottish Highland cattle and share the history of the herd.

They're difficult to forget. And while you'll probably come home with photographs of mountains and fall foliage, don't be surprised if a shaggy Highland cow ends up being one of your favorites.

At von Trapp

Learn the Forest

Learning the Forest is a guided hike through the resort's woods focused on what makes the forest here unique and how it's managed sustainably.

That's a different way of experiencing foliage. Instead of simply looking at a hillside filled with color, you're walking through the ecosystem creating it.

Depending on the activity schedule, you may also find a Wildflower Walk with the staff naturalist or an early-morning Bird Watching Walk.

At von Trapp

Take the Long Way to a Lager

The Hike to the Bierhall begins at the Outdoor Center and makes the Bierhall the destination.

If you're exploring on two wheels, the resort's mountain-bike network includes eight miles of intermediate and expert singletrack and more than 20 miles of doubletrack. Lager Lane provides a route over to the von Trapp Brewery Bierhall.

We can't promise every hike should end with an Austrian-style lager. This one can.

Stay Another Day

If You Have Another Day

Now we'd make the decision based on what you've enjoyed most.

Keep Exploring Stowe

Moss Glen Falls & Beyond

Visit Moss Glen Falls or spend more time exploring the back roads and landscapes around Stowe. Pull over when Vermont gives you a reason to.

Stay on the Mountain

See What's Happening Here

Depending on the schedule and season, you might find a brewery tour, guided beer tasting, wine tasting, horse-drawn wagon ride, baking class, disc golf, yoga, rock climbing or another guided outdoor experience.

Make the Stay Part of the Trip

Stowe gives you plenty of reasons to explore. You don't have to leave von Trapp to find the next one.

Drive the Notch. Walk through the Village. Eat the cider donut. Find the waterfall. But spend enough time at von Trapp to understand why staying here is part of the trip rather than simply where you sleep between outings.

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