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Hotels in Stowe, Vermont

The Lodge at Spruce Peak

You can stay right in the heart of the mountains at The Lodge at Spruce Peak. This four diamond luxury property has a variety of guest rooms, studios, suites, penthouses, and residences in addition to several on-site restaurants, a spa, fitness center, and a salon. This is a great option if you want to be right in the heart of the action during the summer, spring, winter, or fall. But in the fall? Wow, imagine peaking out that window during peak fall foliage!

Outbound Stowe

Another popular hotel is Outbound Stowe, located a few miles from Mt. Mansfield and offering access to Stowe's Recreation Path. You can stay in more classic king or queen bed rooms, depending on your needs — or you can even rent out cabins, suites, and pool-side rooms. This property offers on-site dining and has pools and fire pits to sit around on those brisk autumn evenings.

Bluebird Cady Hill Lodge

Last but not least, Bluebird Cady Hill Lodge is located less than five miles from Vermont's highest ski mountain and offers access to backcountry trails to be one with nature. The property has 53 rooms and is filled with amenities including indoor/outdoor pools, fire pits, a game room, and a bar. At the bar, you'll notice they utilize the Bartesian to create quality cocktails and mocktails in seconds. All you have to do is select the pod you want and the machine does the work for you. It's such a neat concept that'll give you an affordable, premium-quality drink in minutes.

Attractions in Stowe

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

If you're in the mood for delicious cider donuts, apple cider, and fresh-baked sweet treats, then you'll definitely want to make a pit stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Not only can you see a cider press in action, but also donuts being made in house. Aside from pastries, you'll also find an assortment of jams, jellies, honey, tea, condiments, and spices on the shelves that come from local vendors in Vermont.

Ben & Jerry's Factory

Ice cream lovers will rejoice when they visit the Ben & Jerry's factory. Technically, the factory is in Waterbury, but...it's only a 20 minute drive from Stowe — close enough to have it on this list! The factory is home to exclusive merchandise, a scoop shop, photo opportunities, and a guided tour for guests. Tickets for the guided tour are available online and in person, however, it's highly recommended to purchase ahead of time since they tend to sell out quickly. The tour provides a glimpse into the history of the company with a short video, followed by a look at the production line, and a tasting opportunity.

Stowe Gondola SkyRide

Unless you're afraid of heights, then you'll want to take a trip on this gondola that provides views of Stowe from the top of Mt. Mansfield. On top of the mountain, you'll find a gift shop and a few restaurants including The Cliff House and The Waffle. It's open daily from June 15 to October 20 and is $40 per adult and $26 per child. Tickets are available online and in-person, but it does sell out quickly.

Other attractions you'll want to check out while in Stowe include the Noyes House Museum and Green Mountain Distillers for tastings and unique opportunities you won't find anywhere else.

Shopping in Stowe

The Country Store

Located on Main Street, The Country Store has kitchenware, gadgets, home decor, bedding, and other trinkets that you can pick up while in the green mountain state. You'll find brands including Geometry, Jellycat, Matouk, Pom Pom London, and Casafina at this store located two doors down from the Stowe Community Church.

The Fly Rod Shop

The outdoorsy folks will want to make a stop to The Fly Rod Shop which is home to everything and anything fishing related. Aside from gear and tools, they also offer guided tours and trips including ice fishing, fall boat tours, fly tying classes, and even free casting clinics.

Transportation in Stowe

While downtown Stowe is walkable, you'll need a car to get just about anywhere and everywhere else. Uber and Lyft are very unreliable in the area so you'll want to consider transportation ahead of time. Go Stowe has some options for reliable car services and travel companies in the area.

The Vermont Explorer

I highly recommend Gary from The Vermont Explorer. He offers rides to and from Stowe's most popular tourist attractions, airports, and anywhere else you could possibly want to visit. He also does tours of some of the local breweries, a fall foliage tour, and a mountain tour. He's extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and offers fair prices for her his services.

Additional Taxi and Car Services

Other travel services include Patriot Transport, Sub Zero Taxi, GOGO Charters, Neil’s Wheels. I can't speak directly on these services since I haven't used them, but they are recommended by Stowe's tourism board.

Dining in Stowe

Tipsy Trout

The Tipsy Trout offers guests with a menu filled with fresh seafood and an extensive wine list. Not only is the food sustainably sourced, but the restaurant has breathtaking views of Mt. Mansfield so you can eat in a picturesque environment. Some popular menu items include crab cake sliders, seared scallops, lobster agnolotti, and salmon poke.

Harrison's Restaurant

Open Wednesday to Saturday, Harrison's Restaurant is a family-owned restaurant that has local and seasonal offerings for customers. As soon as you walk in, you'll get a very woodsy, home grown feel — exactly what I'm looking for when I need a cozy meal on a fall evening. The menu has an assortment of fish, meat, pastas, soups, and salads plus kid-friendly options, too.

Cliff House Restaurant

If you decide to take the gondola, then you'll definitely want to stop by Cliff House Restauranton the top of Mt. Mansfield. This restaurant is very popular and encourages a reservation (although walk-ins are welcome) and gives customers a one-hour window to eat. I mean, just imagine these views come October!

Does Stowe, Vermont have a downtown?

Yes, Stowe does have a downtown area. It's pretty walkable and has a few well-preserved historic buildings and many entertainment, shopping, and dining offerings for visitors.

Is Stowe a walkable town?

Downtown Stowe is walkable, however, to get to different places you'll either need to have a rental car or utilize a car service. Be sure to plan ahead the distance between attractions you're looking to visit so you can time everything accordingly.

How many days do you need in Stowe?

The amount of days you need to spend in Stowe depends on what you're trying to see and do. For example, if you want to check out several hiking trails and ski, then you may want to stay closer to five days. On the other hand, if you want to peruse the downtown area, look at the autumn foliage, and get a general feel for the town, then two or three days is definitely sufficient.

There's so much to love about Sonoma — which is just a 1.5 hour drive from SFO — from the small town charm around the plaza to the hiking trails at the Sonoma Overlook to the friendly walk-in wineries that rival the more posh ones in nearby Napa. With acclaimed restaurants like Valley Bar and Bottle, Cafe La Haye, El Molino Central, we have amazing food options, making the city-to-country swap much less of a sacrifice. The weather is also fantastic for summer-lovers through October, when the six-month dry season ends.

Wineries host everything from live music to Broadway theatre to yoga and meditation too. OK, enough with my hometown boast. Here's how to spend a perfect girls weekend in Sonoma this harvest season and beyond.

Day 1: Spa Day

The Lodge at Sonoma is one of my favorite spa experiences in the town of Sonoma, with a relaxing pool and sauna area, plus cozy private reading pods that you can lounge in before you get your treatment. Stay and/or book your spa treatment here to start your girls weekend (you can book a yoga class beforehand too). You can have lunch poolside or toss on a sundress and hop over to nearby MacArthur Hotel (another favorite) for lunch at their darling outdoor restaurant Layla.

After your leisurely lunch at Layla, stroll around the Sonoma Plaza for shopping: Jak Z for home decor lovers; The Loop, KJB, Wildeflower, and Perlé for fall fashion; and Chateau Sonoma for your Francophile fix. After picking up your next fall read at Readers' Books, grab a scoop or two at Sweet Scoops, homemade ice cream sourced with local ingredients like lemons, peaches, berries, and even wine!

The Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa is another must on my visitor list — cozy outdoor fire pits are perfect for grabbing a bite and a cocktail in the evening. You can stay overnight here too, and they have a great spa with mineral pools, but you can definitely take advantage of their amenities and Santé restaurant (a good brunch spot) without an overnight stay.

Day 2: Wine Tasting

Harvest season is a beautiful time to visit Sonoma with rolling hills of lush vineyards that start to change color toward late fall. I suggest a day trip to Healdsburg for your second day in Sonoma County. Drive up scenic Highway 12 toward Santa Rosa and visit the French-inspired chateau at Jordan Winery, a scenic Alexander Valley estate with oak and olive trees, a 2-acre garden (it's the largest winery pollinator sanctuary in the country), lakes, and the perfect grapevine backdrop for your IG stories.

Book Jordan's Paris on the Terrace Harvest Lunch or Pizza Cooking Class & Luncheon in October, or dress up for a magical Halloween tasting experience with fall-inspired hors d’oeuvres made by Michelin star-rated chef Jesse Mallgren.

Another favorite wine tasting experience is taking a drive up to Reeves Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Sip small production wines in their open air veranda, surrounded by craggy oak trees, grapevines, and a Great Pyrenees named Guy.

Healdsburg has its own town square with boutiques, galleries, a bookstore, and gourmet restaurants like the plant-based Little Saint, Valette (the Day Boat Scallops en Croute are a must table experience!), and Barndiva.

Day 3: Bike Ride

Back in Sonoma, grab bikes at your hotel or home stay, or rent them, and ride along the Sonoma city bike path that cuts straight through the town, along Montini Open Space Preserve, the Train Museum, and country roads lined with vineyards and berry bushes. Ride to the Sunflower Caffe at the downtown plaza (it has a darling garden in the back) or grab fresh paninis at Sonoma's Best, which also has a cute garden in the back with a few cottage stays.

The bike path leads to Bartholomew Estate Winery, where you can grab a picnic table and a bottle of wine and enjoy your al fresco lunch from Sonoma's Best. Next door is also California's first winery, Buena Vista Winery, built in 1857. There are a bunch of local wineries that are also worth driving to, including Scribe Winery (members only tho), Hamel, and Ram's Gate. Or you can pop by tasting rooms downtown like Pangloss Cellars, Three Sticks, and Roche.

Wrap your long weekend with a dinner at Valley Bar and Bottle and a cocktail at the speakeasy-style Beacon Bar next door, both on the plaza, and come back and visit us soon!

What does a texturizing spray do?

A texture spray offers texture, hold, and volume to flat or thin hair. We'd recommend saving it as the last step in your hair routine (after you've dried it or applied heat). Just hold it about a foot away from your hair and spray it directly into your strands! You can apply it normally, or flip your head upside down for even more volume, and I like to run my fingers through my hair afterwards.

What is the difference between texture spray and hairspray?

Hairspray has always been used to hold hairstyles (and flyaways) in place for a perfect, shiny finished look. Texture spray is a little more flexible and gritty. And sometimes you strike gold by finding a texturizing hair spray!

Is texturizing spray the same as volumizing spray?

Yes, volumizing spray and texturizing spray can be used interchangeably.

This texturizing spray has totally transformed my hair. I just add a little bit to the middle and ends of my hair in the morning, run my fingers through it, and I'm good to go! It gives my hair shape and hold it's literally never had before.

This texturizing spray both gives your hair volume and soaks up oil and impurities. The best part is that it's lightweight so your hair will feel as well as look effortless.

Not only is this bottle super cute, but this hair product features a clean ingredient list AND is cruelty free. And not only does it offer volume, but it protects your hair from heat too!

Whether you use it in the morning or in between work and happy hour, this spray will refresh your hair no matter what time it is! The citrus, fruit, and warm woods fragrance makes us smile almost as much as the fact SGX never tests on animals.

Any beach kid will tell you the best your hair will ever look is right after you come out of the ocean. Recreate some of that magic (and make summer last all year long!) with this sea salt texturizing spray. This trio is on sale for $16!

Get your own at-home blowout when you use Drybar's texturizing finishing spray on your 'do. It's sulfate-free and works on every single hair type.

You don't have to worry about dry or crunchy hair with this texturizing spray, thanks to its nourishing pro-vitamin b5 and aloe vera.

If you want a two-in-one hair product, opt for a texture hairspray. This pick promises to give your hair beautiful shine and movement without any of the build up or flakiness you might find with other products. Yes, please!

This spray is great for thin hair AND thinning hair. Its 4-star rating caught my eye (especially since it has almost 2 thousand reviews) as well as the fact it'll instantly give your hair 40 percent more volume!

One of the frustrating parts of having straight, thin hair is how easily clips, ponytail holders, and ribbons slide out. But with a nice dose of texture spray, that problem goes away!

Not only does this product provide your hair with sexy texture, but it also doesn't cloud your hair color, meaning your style can be as vibrant as it deserves!