If you’re planning a quick fall getaway, a Thanksgiving trip or a pre-Christmas escape, we have two ideas: Topnotch at Stowe in Vermont’s Green Mountains and High Peaks Resort in New York’s Adirondacks. Both know how to maxx a stay.
Days are getting shorter and colder in Stowe, Vermont, and Lake Placid, New York, two charming towns 2.5 hours apart by car. Both belong to the locals now. The leaves fell weeks ago, tour buses are parked, and the ski lifts at Stowe and Whiteface won’t spin for a few more weeks. At Topnotch and High Peaks, rates are down and the holiday lights are going up.
Either resort makes a good base for exploring the region, with dozens of scenic routes for mini road trips. A year-round ferry (weather permitting) links Charlotte, Vermont, and Essex, New York. The 30-minute ride promises vistas of both mountain ranges as you cross Lake Champlain — views you won’t find anywhere else. In Essex, detour to Ausable Chasm and stay past sundown for the Festival of Lights. The Instagrammable half-mile, self-guided celebration of nature and light runs Thursday through Sunday evenings from Nov. 19, 2026 to Jan. 10, 2027.
Maxxing a Family Getaway at Topnotch at Stowe
Those in the know choose Stowe for its picture-perfect village of galleries, an exclusive mercantile and gourmet delis. Topnotch is one of the town’s style setters: a classic 68-room mountain resort on 120 wooded acres at the foot of Mount Mansfield. With a first-class new restaurant, Maxwell’s, plus other fine dining, a spa, stellar recreation facilities and ongoing expansion, Topnotch is cementing its place as a luxury leader.
Easy Outdoors for All Ages
The Stowe Recreation Path starts right behind Topnotch and is a favorite with residents and guests. The 5.3-mile paved trail is mostly flat, so little legs, wagons, bikes and strollers handle it easily. It winds past meadows and woods, over arched wooden bridges and along the river before ending in Stowe Village, where lunch and some shopping await. Mountain Ops Outdoor Gear, at Topnotch, rents bikes (including e-bikes) and helmets for all ages in the family.
Dining and Thanksgiving Dinner
Topnotch will host three seatings of Thanksgiving dinner at Flannel, at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. The menu features Misty Knoll turkey and slow-roasted prime rib with au jus, plus stuffed acorn squash and appetizers (soup, salad and cheese). Family-favorite sides include mashed potatoes, sweet potato soufflé, cranberry sauce and roasted Brussels sprouts. Dessert is pumpkin pie, pecan tartlet and apple galette. The price is $95 for adults and $50 for children 10 and under, plus tax and gratuity.
Seasonal Deal: Cut Your Own Christmas Tree
At Topnotch, Thanksgiving weekend can cover both the turkey and the holiday tree. In nearby Morrisville, Vermont, the Paine family has raised Christmas trees for more than 60 years. The O’Christmas Tree Package (bookings Nov. 14–Dec. 26, two-night minimum) pairs a stay with a trip to Paine’s Tree Farm to pick out a 6- or 8-foot tree to take home, plus a keepsake ornament from the farm. Rates start at $284 per night, including fees and the tree, before tax.
Maxxing a Fall Getaway at High Peaks Resort
High Peaks Resort sits in the heart of Lake Placid, across the street from Mirror Lake and a 2-minute drive from the Olympic Center. The Olympic Jumping Complex is a few miles away, and the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center is about 15 minutes by car. Where Topnotch is a 68-room retreat at the foot of a mountain, High Peaks is a larger, in-town base: 177 cozy guestrooms with refrigerators and flat-screen TVs. In addition to the bar, there’s the casual Dancing Bears Restaurant, with its classic artwork of frolicking bears. Two indoor pools and a 24-hour fitness center round out the amenities.
Outdoors for Active Families
The paved 2.7-mile loop around Mirror Lake is right across the street from High Peaks. Like Stowe’s Recreation Path, it’s easy and family-friendly, at about half the length, and it keeps you close to Lake Placid’s amenities. Older kids (and adults) with energy to burn can pick up the Adirondack Rail Trail, a historic railway corridor recently transformed into a multi-use path. It runs more than 34 miles from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake, site of The Wild Center, a must-experience science and natural history museum.
Dining and a Thanksgiving Buffet
Lake Placid, site of two Winter Olympics (1932 and 1980), draws plenty of tourists, which means plenty of hungry visitors. Guests are surprised to find that the variety and quality of dining just outside the resort rivals much bigger towns. After a long day, though, a casual resort meal is a great option, and High Peaks goes all out for Thanksgiving with a Thanksgiving dinner buffet featuring turkey, ham, salmon and all the sides your family expects, with no kitchen cleanup required. At Flannel, it costs $86 per adult, $34 for ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and under eat free, plus tax and gratuity.
Seasonal Deal: Lock In Winter Rates
Book High Peaks Resort’s Countdown to Winter Package by Nov. 16 to lock in the season’s best rates and save up to 20% on stays through March 31. Stays include complimentary snowshoe rentals, admission to the Whiteface Club & Resort Nordic Center for cross-country skiing, a welcome beverage, morning coffee and afternoon refreshments in the lobby, and Saturday yoga classes. Rates start at $122 per night, including fees, before tax. Topnotch’s package is built around a tree to take home; High Peaks’ is built around savings and winter gear. Because Topnotch’s rate includes the tree, the two nightly rates aren’t a like-for-like comparison.
Choose Topnotch for a mountainside retreat with a spa and a tree to take home. Choose High Peaks for an in-town base near the lake and the Olympic sites. By mid-December, both towns will belong to the skiers again, so come now, while the trails are quiet, dinner reservations are easy and the biggest decision of the day is whether the tree should be six feet or eight.
