At Stone Hill Inn we offer a variety of unique romantic activities including a chocoholics delight—our local, hands-on chocolate making experience at Laughing Moon Chocolates. During these workshops, guests try their hand at dipping Laughing Moon’s handmade centers such as Buttercreams, Truffles and Caramels, or dipping their favorite fruit, cookies, or pretzels. The possibilities are endless..bark and clusters to lollipops.

Chocolate and Romance – The Perfect Pairing.

The personalized chocolate making workshops at Laughing Moon Chocolates are one of our guests’ favorite activities, and our honeymooners especially enjoy it as part of the Honeymoon Package. Did we mention that guests get to take home what they make, too?!?!

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
― Charles M. Schulz

Order Laughing Moon Chocolates

Guests can also order these delicious local chocolates online while booking lodging. We’ll have them waiting in your guest rooms upon arrival. These local delights are also featured in our Romance Packages.

Explore our additional in-room Indulgences

Photo Credit: Laughing Moon Chocolates

Romantic Vermont Getaway

Stowe, Vermont is conveniently located for a quick city escape, or a longer romantic getaway. Our local airport is a 40-minute drive and Stowe is a short 3.5 hour drive from Boston and a 5.5 hour drive from New York City. Stowe is known for:

• World class skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Mansfield (9-minute drive from the Inn)
• Leaf Peeping — TripAdvisor names Stowe as #1 Leaf Viewing Destination in US!
• Great Food — Named one of the “World’s 10 Best Ski Towns for Foodies” by Fodors Travel

B3 Fest: Bikes, Bevs & Beats

FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY June 26, 27, and 28!

A celebration of Vermont Mountain Biking!

Featuring Vermont music, Vermont craft libations (beers, wines, spirits, ciders, root beer), and a celebration of Vermont mountain biking.

This is a town-wide event, with restaurants serving as the venues!

Area bike shops are hosting mountain bike group rides in town for the B3 Fest weekend, which will start and end at participating B3 Fest venues.

B3 Fest Kick-Off Party Friday, 4:30 downtown Stowe Village! Music, food and drink tastings from vendors including Alchemist, Green Mountain Distillers, Trapps Brewery, Crop Brewery, Stowe Cider, Sage Farm Goat Dairy, Mt. Mansfield Creamery and others. Beer, Wine, Spirits, & Cider Promos!

All weekend at Bikes, Bevs & Beats:

• Guided Group Mountain Bike Rides!
• Free Beginner Mountain Bike Lessons!
• 10 different restaurants participating
• Kids Rides + Free Popsicles!
• Pool parties & bouncey houses!
• BBQ’s, races & mini-golf!

Mary Chapin Carpenter:  July 2, 2015; 7:00pm  

Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center

Stone Hill Inn currently includes the Mary Chapin Carpenter as its latest Evenings! promotion.  (Two-night stay, tickets to the concert, and $50 off dinner before or after the show at Phoenix Table and Bar.  Click here for our website.)  Over the course of her acclaimed career, Mary Chapin Carpenter has recorded 13 albums and sold over 13 million records. With hits like “Passionate Kisses” and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” she has won five Grammy Awards (with 15 nominations,) two CMA awards and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012. Her songs speak to the most personal of life’s details and the most universal. She will perform in Stowe with her trio. Tickets: Prices start at $20. $45 & $55 regular, $65 premium.

Stowe Music in the Meadow:

Open air concerts  — bring your own chair! July 5th and July 12th

A long running tradition in Stowe, Vermont, the Music in the Meadow Concert Series is a favourite among both visitors and residents.

Stowe Performing Arts had its first concert in Whisker’s field back in 1976—this perennial summer series eventually became known as the Music in the Meadow concerts.

To audiences’ delight, The Trapp Family Lodge Meadow acts as a natural amphitheatre allowing concert performances to clearly project over the greens. The front half of the meadow is for blankets and low-back chairs and the rest is “picnic-style” on a “first-come, first-served basis”.

July 5th  Vermont Symphony Orchestra;  7:30pm

As if a summer’s evening in Vermont weren’t magical enough already…the VSO conjures up a dreamscape of enchantment. Wizards, witches, and trolls, oh my! Our musical sorcery spirits you to Middle Earth—and then safely back to your picnic spread. As always, concerts conclude with the spectacular 1812 Overture, marches, and fireworks.  $30 in advance; $35 at the gate.

July 12th A Far Cry

Founded in 2007 by a tightly-knit collective of 17 young professional musicians, Grammy-nominated A Far Cry stands at the forefront of an exciting new generation in classical music.  Take a look/listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUmxHXsxsug

According to The New York Times, the self-conducted orchestra “brims with personality or, better, personalities, many and varied.” A Far Cry was founded in 2007 by a tightly-knit collective of 17 young professional musicians, and since the beginning has fostered those personalities. By expanding the boundaries of orchestral repertoire and experimenting with the ways music is prepared, performed, and experienced, A Far Cry has been embraced throughout the world with hundreds performances coast to coast and across the globe.  $30 in advance; $35 at the gate.

Hot Air Balloon Festival. July 10-12, 2015

This 29th annual celebration will include live entertainment, delicious food, a beer and wine garden, hot-air balloon rides priced at $275 per person, plus tax — advanced reservations are recommended. Tethered rides on the hot-air balloons may be available for $10 per person

Festival Agenda:

FRIDAY, JULY 10th

• 4:00 pm: Gates Open
• Children’s Activities Begin
• Food, Beer & Wine Tent Opens
• Gift Shops Open
• Spa Tent Open for Chair Massage & Facials
• 5:00 pm: Live Music Begins
• 7:00 pm: Approximate Time for Sunset Launch!

SATURDAY, JULY 11th

• 6:30 am: Approximate Time for Sunrise Launch
• 4:00 pm: Gates Open
• Food, Beer & Wine Tent Opens
• Gift Shops Open
• Spa Tent; Open for Chair Massage & Facials
• 5:00 pm: Live Music Begins
• 7:00 pm: Approximate Time for Sunset Launch!

SUNDAY, JULY 12th

• 6:30 am: Approximate Time for Sunrise Launch

Growing up as a Marylander, my exposure to Alpine skiing was limited to ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay.  Scarce, however, would be a New England childhood without first-hand exposure to Alpine skiing.  And the name they invariably associate with the best New England skiing would be Stowe.  Even Stone Hill Inn guests who have been neither to Stowe nor Vermont, clearly associate Stowe with what it is best known for, skiing.  They assume that Winter must be our busiest season.

This is the Stowe that we all know.

So, the vast majority of nearly a million visitors that come annually to Stowe come in the Winter.  Right?

Wrong!

This is the Stowe you didn’t know.

Summer in Stowe, VT is by far the season that receives the most visitors!  Eh?  Why is that?

• Southern New Englanders along with those from PA, NJ, and DC seeking relief from heat and humidity are impressed when a hot day in Stowe is only 89 degrees with much more moderate humidity.
• For a town of only 5,000 permanent residents, it has over 50 restaurants and supports dozens of lodging establishments representing a wide degree of sophistication and price.
• Stowe is a strong supporter of the Farm to Table culinary movement and guests often praise the freshness and taste of its food, both at Stone Hill and at the local restaurants.
• As we mentioned in a previous blog, the Stowe area represents one of the most heralded centers for craft beer production in the U.S.
• Unspoiled is the word often associated with Vermont and its 300,000 acres of state-owned forests. Stowe, by itself, has 53,000 acres of beautiful forests for enjoyment via the C.C. Putnam and Mt. Mansfield State Forests.

But most of all, the reason for Stowe’s summer popularity is that it represents a summer full of fun things to do in Stowe, VT.  We are familiar with all of them and can make reservations for you before you ever arrive.  Some of these include:

• Ballooning – a 45-minute ride gives you a spectacular view of Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, and Stowe’s nationally known ski area — mountains Mansfield and Spruce.
• We’re members of the Stowe Mountain Bike club and have access to maps and suggestions for how you can enjoy the nearly 70 miles of single-track mountain bike trails.  In the third annual Vermont Rider’s Choice Awards, Stowe received three of the 11 awards including The Trail with The Most Flow.  Stone Hill Inn has hoses for bike cleaning and four garages to secure your bikes for you.
• We’re also members of the Green Mountain Club, keepers of the lauded Long Trail that runs the length of Vermont.  We can provide suggestions for easy, moderate, and more difficult hikes/climbs, and we have maps to help you explore and get the most from your experience.  If you like, we can arrange for local guides – experts in the area and techniques – to accompany you.
• White water canoeing. Try your hand at a guided Upper Gorge River Challenge in a canoe with Class I and II rapids.  It’s a six-mile trip through stunning scenery and rock formations on the Winooski River.
• Kayaking and Canoeing by yourself. Most of the local rivers are very tranquil yet offer beautiful views and a sense of peace for two or more hours.  Book directly through Umiak Outdoor Outfitters or Vermont Canoe and Kayak.
• Yes, even in the summer – it’s on wheels!  We love the Eden Mills location and its natural beauty, and you’ll love the dogs and this memory-laden adventure.
• Just 15 minutes away from us and you will spend 2.5 to 3.0 hours on eight different zip lines, two bridges, and two easy rappels!  Complete fun for all ages.
• Well, you probably figured there would be golf in Stowe, and there is via the Stowe CC (public; a mile from Stone Hill – 6300 yards) and the Vermont CC (about 20 minutes away, longer and tougher).  We list them because we like to play golf ourselves!

So that’s a sample of The Stowe You Didn’t Know and all the things to do in Stowe, VT during the summer that has made it more popular than Winter in Stowe! 

We look forward to hosting you!