The Best Backcountry Skiing Routes in Vermont

More of an approach trail than a ski run. From the top of Spruce Peak, hike up about 20 feet from the top of the Sensation Quad. From there, you will see a fairly wide trail to your right heading northeast....

The Toll Road makes the summer driving route up Mount Mansfield, but in the winter it’s a remote-feeling green run at Stowe. The road snakes through deep woods and connects to only a few other runs at the south edge of the resort....

At Stowe you can skin uphill during resort operating hours, but only on this one designated route. It’s the green run beneath Toll House lift, which is rather isolated from the rest of the resort....

A long, nearly flat access road that is used to exit the Slide Brook glades. This brings you to the road where the bus will pick you up, and bring you to either Mount Ellen or Lincoln Peak....

Pico Mountain is a popular spot for uphill training and for starting backcountry tours around Killington. The resort allows all-day uphill travel on this and one other route on Pico, granting some nice options for inbounds touring....

Killington has several options for uphill access around the clock. This is the primary route in Killington’s main area (the other area is Pico Mountain). It goes up Header trail beneath Ramshead Express to the top of the lift, and an extension goes out Frolic trail to the top of Snowdon Mountain....

Killington’s main area and nearby Pico Mountain are both part of the same resort, but there’s no lift service in between them. There once was a plan to connect them, but this fell through and all that’s left is the interconnect trail....

The town of Stowe Vermont is very rich with ski history. Some of the first ski trails in the USA were cut on the wooded slopes of Mount Mansfield. Among those is The Nosedive....

The Hazelton Trail meanders through the valley between the Gondola and the Quad. It has many tricky sections that have very little room for turns. Despite its difficulty, the Hazelton Trail is a very popular route that many people ski each winter....

The Riverbed is no secret, in fact it’s one of the most popular unmarked glades on the mountain. But that doesn’t make it any less of a treat. As you ski down Chin Clip, look to skiers right....

Tomba’s is a small cut glade, leading two a chute with 2 icefall drops. After the first 20-30 feet of Upper Perry Merrill, look for tracks entering the woods. These tracks meander through the woods in a sort of slalom before cutting back to the left....

Angel Food is a wide hardwood glade that sees a lot of traffic. This wide swath of woods is usually the first place locals go on a powder day. From the top of the gondola, ski down Chin Clip....

The Bruce has been a Stowe favourite since it was cut in the 1930s. It twists, turns and dives throughout the valley like most classic New England trails, and it’s exceptional vertical will leave your legs burning....

Goat Glades is a go to powder stash next to Goat. After enjoying some turns on Upper Goat (or cutting in from Haychute), drop skiers left into the obvious entrance. This leads into some short but sweet evergreen woods....

The Butt Crack is a long drainage that drops into Smugglers Notch. While it’s not well known to the general public, locals will tell you it’s the place to be on a powder day....

This is one of those lines many people ski and few know the name of. It is also a testament to just how many unmarked glades there are in Stowe. You can enter almost any patch of woods and find good skiing....

Between Hackett’s Highway and North Slope lies Triple Treasure. This patch of woods may not be full of hidden powder or 2,500 vertical. But it’s still a treat. Triple Treasure can be hit in combination with either trail....

Another popular unmarked glade off the Triple. This is one of those glades that has a name that doesn’t make any sense. When you’re buddy says “let’s go ski The Ledges”, you probably picture something off Mansfield a big cliff line, rather than a sliver of woods off the Mountain Triple....

One of the most aesthetic lines on the Kitchen Wall. The journey begins on Upper Perry Merrill, when the trail hooks a left, continue straight into the woods. The traverse winds through the woods before rounding a bend, suddenly the dense woods open up....

Partridge refers to the patch of woods between Goat and Liftline/National. This patch of woods is very popular on powder days. Partridge begins right where Haychute connects with Goat. There is a somewhat discreet entrance into the woods, since these woods are just a sliver at the top, it doesn’t look like there’s anything there....