The first thing you notice coming into Stowe is the church. A tall white spire stands over Main Street, and on a clear day Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont, fills the sky beyond it like somebody arranged the scene for a calendar. Locals have seen that view about a million times. Visitors still pull over to photograph it.
Stowe has been selling that picture for a long time, and it has gotten very good at it. It is a real town with a real ski mountain, a 19th-century village, a family from The Sound of Music and one of the most hunted-down beers in America. It is also expensive, busy in high season and closed for business in more places than you would expect during the shoulder months. Go in knowing both halves, and it is a wonderful place to spend a few days.
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