Spring Into the Season: Two Mountain Escapes Worth the Drive
Spring has sprung, but Vermont and New York’s fifth season – mud season – tends to linger until early May. That’s no reason to stay home. Topnotch Resort in Stowe and High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid both make a strong case for leaning into the thaw, with maple traditions, spa escapes, waterfalls, and group packages designed to make the trip easy to actually pull off.
Topnotch Resort, Stowe, Vermont
Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., and Maple Open House Weekend (March 21–22) is one of the best ways to experience the sweetest season of the year. More than 90 sugarhouses and maple-loving businesses across the state (including Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm in Stowe and Sugartree Maple Farm and Wyckoff Family Maple in nearby Jeffersonville) open their doors for pancake breakfasts, maple donuts, craft cocktails, live music, guided tours, and plenty of tastings.
Back at Topnotch, breakfast chef Lucas makes pancakes that have become something of a resort legend — fluffy, crispy, and built for Vermont’s liquid gold. The recipe lives on Topnotch’s website, but they taste considerably better at Topnotch with Mount Mansfield in the distance.
The rest of mud season is well-occupied with a variety of activities both indoors and outdoors. The paved Stowe Recreation Path runs 5.3 miles from Topnotch into Stowe Village, past woods, meadows, farms, and 10 foot bridges – ideal for birdwatching, wildflower scouting, or a fat tire bike ride (or guided bike tour) courtesy of Mountain Ops Outdoor Gear, located on property at Topnotch. Spend the afternoon on a brewery and cidery tour, or if fishing is your passion, trout fishing season opens April 11. Topnotch Tennis, ranked one of the top 10 U.S. tennis resorts, offers year-round tennis and pickleball lessons and court time for those looking to brush up on their game.
The Rejuvenate: Off Season is Spa Season package offers the best spa value of the year (and the best excuse to relax, refresh and reconnect), including accommodations, one 50-minute treatment per person per night at the Topnotch Spa (choose from massages, body treatments and facials), and daily lunch (one entrée and one juice per person from the Roost lunch menu, gratuity included). Valid for travel dates April 1 through June 4.
High Peaks Resort, Lake Placid, New York
Spring unfolds slowly in the six-million-acre Adirondack Park, with snow holding on in the high peaks while the valleys green up below. High Peaks Resort matches that pace, featuring a Great Camp-inspired lobby with cozy nooks, warm lighting, and a social atmosphere that makes it easy to linger before deciding what the day holds, or unwind after a day of adventure.
Outside, guests will enjoy a range of seasonal activities, both on and off property. March is still prime time at Whiteface Mountain, with soft snow, sunny skies, and shorter lift lines. A short walk away from High Peaks Resort is the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, showcasing the destination’s legacy as a two-time host of the Winter Olympics. Fat tire bike rentals through High Peaks Cyclery make it easy for beginners and seasoned cyclists to gear up and explore scenic forest trails still blanketed in snow. Adirondack Maple Weekends bring a beloved regional tradition to life throughout the month of March, with local sugarhouses open for tours and tastings. Visitors can tap trees alongside the pros, watch sap boil down in the evaporator, and sample fresh syrup over pancakes or ice cream.
Come May, the trails take over: Henry’s Woods, Heaven Hill, and John Brown Farm offer easy low-elevation hikes through wildflowers, while High Falls Gorge delivers thundering snowmelt waterfalls at their most dramatic. Guided Adirondack Riverwalking and Forest Bathing rounds out the spring calendar for those who want something more immersive and unhurried.
For groups, High Peaks’ The More the Merrier package delivers. It includes a $50 per night credit per room for groups under five rooms, or $100 per room per night for five or more, a welcome beverage, a gift bag from Adirondack Fragrance Farm (candle, muscle rub, and bug repellent wipes), morning coffee, afternoon refreshments, and access to two indoor pools and a 24-hour fitness center. It’s the package that makes the trip everyone kept talking about finally come together.
Spring may be mountain travel’s best-kept secret, and nowhere is that more evident than in Stowe and Lake Placid, where Topnotch Resort and High Peaks Resort have everything in place for travelers to make the most of the season.