Trapp Family Lodge

The von Trapps fled Austria after it was annexed by Nazi Germany, unwilling to live under the regime, and came to the United States, where they became well known touring as the Trapp Family Singers. On the road, they searched for a place that felt like home.

They found it above Stowe, where the shape of the mountains and the roll of the meadows recalled the Austrian countryside they had left. In the 1940s they bought the hillside farm and began welcoming guests, sharing the setting that had drawn them.

The family's story, filtered through The Sound of Music, made them famous, but the lodge is the real place behind the legend, chosen for a genuine resemblance to the land they loved and lost.

The lodge and its buildings carry Austrian styling, from steep roofs to timbered details, and the grounds are laid out to make the most of the mountain views. Meadows sweep down from the buildings toward long panoramas of the Green Mountains, a landscape meant to be walked.

In winter, the estate is a celebrated Nordic destination. The family opened one of the first cross-country ski centers in the United States here, and its groomed trails through meadow and forest still draw skiers and snowshoers each season.

In the warm months the same trails become paths for hiking and mountain biking, and the meadows fill with wildflowers, so the estate offers something in every season for those who come to be outdoors.

Carrying the Austrian theme into the glass, the family added a brewery that makes lager in the traditional central-European style, served in a bierhall with mountain views. It has become a destination in its own right for those touring Stowe.

The lodge's dining brings a European sensibility to Vermont ingredients, and the combination of alpine setting and old-country food and drink is central to the experience. Even a stop for a meal or a beer comes with the view.

Between the brewery, the dining rooms, and the grounds, day visitors can taste the estate's character without staying overnight, though many come back to do just that.

Winter is the signature season, when the Nordic center grooms its trails and the meadows lie under snow beneath the Green Mountains, the Austrian scene complete. Skiing and snowshoeing here are a Stowe tradition.

Summer brings green meadows, wildflowers, and long views, ideal for hiking, biking, and lingering at the bierhall on a warm afternoon. Fall sets the surrounding mountains ablaze with color, one of the most beautiful times to walk the grounds.

Spring is the quiet shoulder, as the snow gives way to mud and then green, and the estate shifts from ski season to summer, a slower time to enjoy the setting before the crowds return.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.