When the mountainsides of Vermont are ablaze with fall colors, it’s the perfect season for a driving tour along the state’s country roads. If a romantic getaway for two is in your family travel plans, Stowe is the place to head.
Stowe’s idyllic downtown invites strolling, browsing shops and craft galleries, admiring outdoor sculptures and sitting on a bench to watch the world go by. Stop for coffee and a flaky croissant at Black Cap or lunch at Piecemeal Pies, a British-inspired meat pie shop and cider bar.
Right in the center of town, Green Mountain Inn makes a perfect base for a getaway, with spacious rooms in the historic main inn or in one of the newer Annex buildings. These buildings sit amid gardens, where you can relax around the firepit on a crisp fall evening.
Choose a deluxe room for the extra comforts of a fireplace and a Jacuzzi. All rooms have Vermont hand-crafted furnishings and supremely comfortable beds. Elegantly upholstered wing chairs are just right for sitting in front of the fireplace.
Reserve a corner table for dinner at Whip Bar & Grill, the inn’s cozy restaurant, with paneled walls and subdued lighting. Begin with a Vermont Old Fashioned, flavored with maple syrup, while choosing from a menu of stylishly updated New England favorites.
While it would be easy to while away an entire day in the village center, couples find a lot more to do in Stowe. The wide Stowe Recreation Trail, a cycling and walking path, leads from behind the church on Main Street, along a brook and through woods and meadows to the base of Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s tallest mountain. There, ride the Gondola SkyRide above the treetops to the summit for foliage-painted views extending to the Adirondacks in New York and New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
While strolling or biking the Recreation Trail, stop near Thompson Park to play hide-and-seek in the Percy Farm Corn Maze. Return to Mountain Road in the evening for a romantic sunset ride in a horse-drawn Victorian carriage for two, with Gentle Giants.
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