Why Go?
Killington calls itself ‘The Beast,’ and for good reason. It’s just about the biggest ski resort in the northeast. There’s a vast amount of skiing, with over 150 trails on 3,000 skiable acres. There are half a dozen peaks that top 4,000 ft and Killington even boasts a 3,000-foot vertical drop. This might be a Vermont resort, but it simply does its job and doesn’t try to be a traditional New England experience. It makes it stand out from the crowd.
The Skiing
Plenty for everyone, particularly beginners. One whole side of the resort, at the twin Snowshed and Ramshead bases, is given over to learners with long, wide green area and longer, steeper blues under the Ramshead Express Quad. And, while its accessible from other slopes, better skiers have to make the effort to be here, so they don’t. There is also lots of intermediate cruising throughout and excellent expert terrain, with double black diamonds on Killington Peak, as well as Bear Mountain, where the glinting moguls can put off anyone but the best skiers. There are six terrain parks including The Stash, an all-natural park with 50-plus features, and there’s a 500-foot superpipe with 18-foot walls.
The Resort
To be fair, Killington’s not a pretty place. It’s neither a quaint town nor a new resort village. There’s pretty much only the sprawling Killington Grand hotel by the slopes, while everything else drifts down the long Mountain Road. You have to work at après-ski and although there are free buses, the prospect of heading out to catch one to a restaurant can be daunting. The Grand, however, has studios and suites with kitchenettes and a dining area, so it’s great for families, but there’s little ski resort atmosphere outside. Attractions nearby include the near-mile-long Beast Coaster whooshing through the woods and there are mountain bike rentals, a floodlit tubing park, and sleighs pulled by snowcats.
Children’s Facilities
The Ramshead Family Centre features two Magic Carpet lifts in the Snowplay Learning Area, the Drop Zone slope side meeting place and warming hut and a network of novice and intermediate terrain. There is a variety of childcare options with full or half day options, including ski and skill lessons. Older children have the opportunity to move on to bigger runs and gentle glades. There are a series of Night Care events for ages two and up involving movies, ski/board-related indoor fun and arts and crafts, meaning parents can spend a night relaxing.
Getting Around
Killington is about a three-hour drive from Boston and a 90-minute drive from the airport in Burlington. There is a daily Amtrak rail service from New York City to Rutland, from where a Diamond Express bus costs only two dollars. Killington is a spread out resort with hotels, bars and restaurants all the way from Mountain Circle, at the bottom of the lifts, for several miles down Mountain Road. There are free shuttle buses, but you can find yourself in accommodation largely inaccessible to most things, difficult for adults and grueling if you have a young family. A car is useful for day-to-day movements and scenic excursions to spots such as the town of Woodstock, state capital Montpelier and little Waterbury, home to the original Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop, a fun tour, and gift store for the family.
Nick Dalton, a U.K.-based travel writer for newspapers, such as The Times, has visited nearly 90 U.S. ski resorts (and another 20 or so in Canada). When not skiing he’s also an expert on cruises, and his children, Georgia and Henry.