As part of our kids’ February break, we decided to visit a couple of the ski resorts in Vermont. Our first destination was Okemo Mountain Resort, which is known for its diverse range of terrain options and is a fantastic ski and snowboard resort for all ability levels.
While our day at Okemo was quite lovely, our plans for later in the week were thwarted by the weather. New England is famous for its cold winters and skiing in subzero temperatures is best avoided unless you are a true ski enthusiast.
Logistics
Location
Okemo Mountain Resort is located just outside the town of Ludlow. While staying near the mountain is much nicer, we booked accommodations quite late (Jeremy had just recovered from a bout with Covid) and ended up staying about a 45 minute drive away, in Lebanon. The plan was that this would make it easier to visit both Okemo and Killington, but in the end, we canceled Killington due to very frigid temperatures (expected -7°F windchill that morning).
Clock Tower Base Area: 77 Okemo Ridge Road, Ludlow, VT 05149
Jackson Gore Base Area: 111 Jackson Gore Rd, Ludlow, VT 05149
Hours
Hours of operation vary throughout the season, but at the time of our visit, the lifts were open from 8am-4pm for special school holiday hours. Check the website for more up-to-date information regarding dates of your visit.
Parking
The main parking lot is at the Clock Tower Base Lodge. This does fill up quickly, so if you arrive late, you may need to park at a different lot and take a shuttle. Check the website for various options.
Lift Tickets
At the time of our visit, pre-purchased lift tickets were $134 per day, with slight discounts for children. Do note that we booked a few days in advance and were only able to get tickets for Friday, the Saturday tickets were sold out.
If you happen to have an Epic Ski Pass, Okemo Mountain Resort is one of the resorts that is covered!
There are also options to rent gear and/or sign up for ski or snowboard lessons.
The Mountain
Okemo Mountain Resort has 20 lifts and 121 trails, slopes, and glades. Check out the trail map and base map for more information.
Conditions will vary, so check the snow and weather report closer to your visit. You will also want to check the lift and terrain status.
To get an idea of what the mountain looks like, you can also check out the mountain webcams!
If there are non-skiers in your group, or if you are staying in the area and are looking for other activities, consider looking into options for ice skating, snowtubing, snowshoeing, fat biking, cross country skiing, or riding the mountain coaster!
The App
If you are looking for a trail map, current lift times, and trail closures, download the Epic Mix app and look at the interactive map. We discovered that the main lift had 20-30 minute wait times, but if we chose the smaller lifts, the wait time was only 2-5 minutes.
Our Experience
The drive from our hotel ended up being a little longer than expected, mostly due to the fact that the McDonald’s that we stopped at along the way was very slow. Still, we managed to arrive at the main parking lot just before opening at 8:00am. There were still plenty of spots, but once these go, you will be directed to the Blue Lot and instructed to take a shuttle.
On arrival, picking up our pre-purchased lift tickets was quite simple. Jeremy and the boys headed off to the lifts, while I went to pick up rental skis – Jeremy has his own skis, while the boys have season leases – I really need to think about buying a pair of skis.
The best way to get to Sunburst Six the main lift up the mountain, is to take the South Ridge Quad A or Quad B lift up the mountain.
Then, you simply ski down to the correct lift. Sunburst Six is a delightful lift. What is not to like about heated seats and a pull-down bubble that protects you from the wind?
Once on top, I chose to take the easiest trail down the mountain: Easy Rider to Mountain Road to Green Link to Lower Mountain Road. It was quite fun and I spent most of the day on this. Jeremy and James were a little more adventurous and explored greens all over the mountain. John was even more adventurous and spent most of the day exploring the blues, blacks, and forests.
While the Sunburst Six had fairly long lines, the trails were quite pleasant and didn’t feel crowded at all. Once we learned to mostly take the smaller lifts, even the wait times for the lifts were quite negligible. Use the Epic Mix interactive map to make a reasonable plan for your interests and skiing ability.
For lunch, we met at the Sugar House Cafe, which was close to the Sunburst Six lift. It was nothing fancy, but they had some good chicken strips! There are plenty of other dining options around the mountain.
Setting out again, we thought about staying together, but since I am likely the slowest skier on the mountain and John is much more adventurous than the rest of the family, once again, we split up.
Jeremy and James eventually decided to stop at the Waffle Cabin for hot chocolate and a waffle.
At one point, Jeremy and James popped into view at an intersection right in front of me. We cut over to the Solitude Express Quad, took that up the mountain and skied down the Roadhouse Run trail together.
Feeling tired, I headed towards the Sugar House Cafe for coffee. Jeremy and James joined me and we checked out the weather for the next day. Below zero with a dreadful windchill on top of it! We quickly looked up the cancellation policy at Killington Ski Resort and found it to be quite generous – apparently, we could get 90% of our money back if we cancelled before 4pm the day before. It was just about 3pm – not wanting to ski in sub-zero temperatures, we felt the pull of being inside a nice, warm house. We called to cancel, and that worked out. Sometimes everyone is happier with cancelled plans, rather than sticking it out and being miserable.
John met us at the cafe and the three boys headed out for one more full run, while I headed down the mountain to return my rental gear.
I walked around the base a bit, then decided to wait in the main ski lodge, which was bigger than the Sugar House Cafe, but much more crowded.
Eventually, the boys made it down the mountain and we headed back towards our hotel in Lebanon. Next time, I really want to stay slopeside!
Keep reading our travel blog for more mountain adventures:
Adventures of the 4 JLs 