stratton mountain

This could be such a great mountain if it wasn't for the crowds. Mid-week for locals this place is very nice, even special. The best grooming in Vermont, decent variety of terrain (except for a lack of bumps for beginners and intermediates), some nice glades which are no easy task to maintain, and a very nice village that can almost cater to your every need. But...On weekends, especially holiday weeks, it's the worst with long queues (lines) for the Amex 6-pack express, Ursa express, and gondola. Why? Because they allow more than 10,000 skiers on the mountain with only about 670 skiable acres. Compare that to Deer Valley, Utah with over 2,000 skiable acres and they limit the daily tickets to around 7500; add in ski patrol, instructors and staff and they have less skiers than Stratton. Compare and contrast the areas and you'll end up skiing more, eating better food and staying in a top resort without the hazards of people running into you because they're trying to get as many runs in as they can because Stratton's lift lines are sometimes 25+ mins long. Do get me wrong I really love skiing at the mountain. They have a great staff, reasonable accommodations, and probably the best programs for racing and ski school around. But the crowds detract from this reputation greatly. Additionally, the lodge is small and crowded too. You may have to eat standing up or wait, like the lift lines, for tables. It's so bad that lots of people leave someone in the lodge to hold tables further aggravating the already limited space.You want to ski Stratton? Ski it mid-week. You'll love it.TnR

Just returned from a great ski vacation at Stratton. The mountain crew does a fabulous job of grooming as we had at least six inches of fresh snow while we were there. The skiing was awesome - so much variety for all ability levels of skiers. Winter doesn't even begin to slow down in March at Stratton. So many great activities for the non-skiers in our group as well: dog sled rides, ice castles, and cross-country skiing. Also snow shoeing and snowmobile rides near-by. And new to us - fat tire or snow biking! Check it out.

Just a beginner but had a great time. They have plenty of trails so it's not too crowded like the slopes closer to NYC. We took a lesson from the ski school with Dave and it was great.

Stratton was packed! The mountain had all trails open, and everyone near southern Vermont was in attendance! Although the lift lines were long, patience was high, attentiveness of the staff was impeccable. The wind was up and some lifts as well as the gondola were on a delay. We had blizzard conditions on Saturday, a one foot snowfall, followed by sunshine and warmth on Sunday. Conditions were very good.

I'm sure we only scratched the surface - this resort is huge. Many runs to choose from. Nice facilities. Great alpine village to shop and great restaurants to choose from. Just beautiful - we can't wait to return.

The skiing at Stratton is always at peak perfection. i like the fact that they truly instill safe skiing/snowboarding tactics, and have seen young pass holders being escorted off the mountain for skiing too fast in slower skiing areas after being warned previously to slow down. this gives me a lot of respect towards management in keeping safety as a priority. Service is great no matter where you do on the mountain, and it also includes respectful and courteous employees who always go above and beyond.

We went to Stratton's Coca Cola tubing company. We had 6 kids between the ages of 10 and 16. The general consensus is that it was lame. It is very short and I would recommend it only for kids... maybe...7 and under. We live in Buffalo, NY and while the mountains here in Vermont dwarf the ones we ski at home, our tubing is probably 4 times higher than here. They have the potential, but are not utilizing it. Very disappointing.

There is no option to rate just the ice castle not attached to Stratton mountain so again, there are no issues with the skiing portion. The ice castles were beyond a stretch of the imagination. In no way did the ice in any way resemble any castle, sculpture or amazing skill worth paying for. It was like someone hung a hose in a tree and let the water flow slow enough to freeze in random blobs which had colored lights in the center. Even the "slide" that was created was a discrase that people had to scoot theirselves along on because it was made so poorly.

This was my first time skiing in Vermont, so I can't compare to other resorts up here, but coming from Pennsylvania, this mountain was a lot of fun! The trails were long and had plenty of snow, and the mountain wasn't too crowded. Only negative was some of the lifts were closed because of too much wind and they didn't do a good job of letting you know which ones were open. Other than that, we had a great time!!

TIP: if main carpark full, drive round to the 'sunbowl' - passes and ski-hire available here and you can access the slopes direct from the carpark on a pair of lifts- unlike the two other overflow carparks you'll be diverted to first.From the branding to the cute resort 'village' with decent equipment stores and restaurants Stratton is a rung or two above the production values of some of the more mom and pop east coast ski resorts. Nice logos only get you so far though and I'm pleased to say that for what it offers Stratton doesn't disappoint on the skiing either. The obvious investment in the infrastructure of the site means there are plenty of quick lifts, most without long queues, and a popular gondola to the top of the mountain for those who like their lifts minus the wind chill factor. There is also snow making equipment for pretty much the whole site so short of unseasonal warm spells or high winds, the snow should be good. The hill is not huge by European or West coast standards (I'm told) but is large for E coast and comparable to White Face for example with certainly enough skiing for a mixed ability group for a few days. Far less icy than some of the slopes further north but still pretty bitterly cold at the top of the resort, especially when the wind is blowing.We didn't try the peripheral activities (cross country, snowshoe-ing, etc.) but there seemed to be a lot on offer.

I made an error on name of VRBO property on previous Stratton Review! The condo we rented was called Mountain Watch, property 170471.

The only complaint I have is with the weather. It was quite warm for December and the slopes were slushy but they made enough snow and groomed so we still had fun skiing and riding. About half the runs are green and great for beginners or taking it easy. There is a good sized cafeteria at the base lodge with a small village with shops. If I find another free weekend this winter we may find ourselves on Stratton Mountain again!

As we do each year with number of Sking and Winter resorts, marketed as family destinations, we will review Stratton Mountain Resort in Southern Vermont and recommend or not recommend families to come here for 2014/2015 season. We provided similar guidance in 2013/2014 for Utah and Colorado resorts where we skied as a family and this year is dedicated to East Coast, with plans to review Stratton, Killington, Okemo and Tremblant (Canada). Reviews will be progressive and new review points will be added as fresh experience is gained.Initial observations: we arrived to Stratton on Dec. 26. Initial positives: resort staff attitude is friendly. However, resort does not seem well organized. Even simple things take hours and for families not connected to management (our educated guess) initial hurdles include not being allowed to park near base lodge even when full resort fees are charged. Restaurants need to be booked few weeks (!!!) in advance - this will make Stratton stand out even against most posh European resorts. Red flag for parents! You will likely need to cook - not much rest at Stratton for you. Ski and snow school for kids: this is literally step back into 1980-s. Resort is truly behind on all kids activities. Not much besides skiing, but skiing is not well organized either. Even calling ski school to enroll your child is often not realistic, phones appear to be often disconnected to push visitors to come to the site without being certain if enrolling is even possible. Ski school limits available spots to push people to private lessons ($339 for single child for few hour lesson). This makes one initial recommendation for Stratton: if you have little kids who are new to skiing activities your may be much better off at Tremblant or Smugglers Nudge. Stratton appears to be less kids friendly, although adults and elderly will find regular skiing activities here available for high fees and instructors available for them. Our initial feel is that resort is focused more on elderly - we spoke to few people and based on high end services and pricey reservation-only restaurants this appears to be resort's main target market.Quality of snow grooming: outright poor. Trails are icy even with very few snowborders making their marks. With multiple snow making machines, resort appears to go through tough times, saving money on power, and equipment is basically idled. We did not see a single piece of equipment working, even when many resorts in the East report that snow is being made to offset nature's shortcomings. Skiing fees at Stratton are very high, likely targeting uneducated one time casual visitor not likely to come back. Prices are close to Vail and Aspen levels, which we reported on last year, and where such fees are justified by high quality of food and excellent trails. We will continue reviewing Stratton, with fair look at both pros and cons.

During Columbus Day weekend, we backpacked into Stratton Pond and then, hiked up Stratton Mountain to the fire tower. The views were spectacular and the hike, though strenuous on the ascent, was well traveled and well marked. We would love to visit again in the snow! Looks like there are many trails for cross-country skiing and snow shoes!

Stayed at Mountain Valley Watch Hotel!! Unbelievable!! Open the door with your skis on and ski to the lifts!!