New England strikes a pose for summer

Mountain biking at Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont. (Stratton Mountain Resort)

Vogue isn’t the outlet I would usually turn to for sage advice about skiing, unless it has something to do with Bogner’s latest lineup of outdoor accessories. However, the fashion and lifestyle magazine recently caught my attention when it highlighted why visiting ski resorts during the summer months has become such a popular vacation event.

“You have the ability to walk, swim, kayak, or canoe in some of the most picturesque areas where there is snow and ice in the winter months,” luxury travel company Abercrombie and Kent’s Europe product manager, Liam Dunch, told author Nicole Kliest, who goes on to highlight resorts such as the Engadin, Cortina d’Ampezzo, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 

Which is when I re-iterated to myself why I do not normally turn to Vogue for sage advice about skiing. 

It’s not like I expected Gunstock’s coaster or Sugarloaf’s mountain biking to make a list of international datelines that included the likes of St. Moritz, Megève, and Oberammergau. But New England gets the Vogue snub entirely; the only North American resorts warranting mention were Sun Valley, Telluride and Whistler. No Stowe. No Sunday River. No Bretton Woods. No Yawgoo. 

Then again, that’s kind of our job anyway. No worries, Vogue. We’ll take it from here. 

The snow may be gone, but the thrills keep on rolling at New England ski areas, where a wealth of attractions and activity awaits. From zip-lining to golf, mountain coasters to water parks, mountain biking to hiking and scenic gondola rides, our favorite resorts have plenty to keep us busy during the “off-season.” 

“Vermont is a year-round tourist destination already. So ski areas just kind of capitalize on that by having summer amenities and summer activities,” Ski Vermont marketing manager Travis Bobley said on a recent episode of New England Ski Journal’s Basecamp podcast. “You see it first with some of our bigger resorts like Killington, which has an entire adventure park and downhill mountain biking — one of the biggest parks in the country. And then you also see it at smaller resorts like Magic [Mountain] with an amazing disc golf course.” 

I was in Vermont one weekend in May for a charitable 5K that started and finished at Okemo’s Jackson Gore base. From there, you could catch a sliver of snow high above on Quantum Leap, suitable for perhaps one, maybe two turns if you were willing to hike for it. Probably not much chance of that happening with Killington, just up the road, still running the lifts to access the Superstar Glacier, something they managed to do until June 1. But that sliver of snow was the sort of thing I would obsess over each spring. I had difficulty letting go, ignoring the wealth of opportunity in other activities. 

Luckily, the resorts were on to this concept a lot quicker than I was. 

This summer, we will highlight some of the best activities to find at ski areas across New England, but will also venture elsewhere. We’ll tell you some of our favorite stops for ice cream, where to find kitschy souvenirs, and how to witness majestic views in ski towns and beyond. You’ll learn about a busy mountain biking calendar of events and family-friendly hikes to take, and we’ll even point you in the direction of some swimming holes off the beaten path. 

“We like to say in the business, ‘Vermont is New England’s best-kept secret’ because it is so much fun in the summertime and people don’t really realize it,” Bobley said. We have beautiful Lake Champlain on the west side of Vermont. We have tons of other lakes, mountains, hiking areas, wilderness areas for camping; all kinds of recreation. And then we have our ski resorts as kind of the crown jewels that are all scattered throughout Vermont with all these offerings.” 

They’re scattered throughout the region, really, and the calendar says it’s time to go out and start enjoying. 

See, Vogue? Was that so difficult? 

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