Best Things to Do in Killington VT in the Winter

Vermont is one of the best winter destinations in the USA. Aside from the incredible skiing and snowboarding, there are several other outdoor activities, like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, where I loved being surrounded by tall trees covered in snow. And then there are those quintessential attractions that just scream Vermont, like maple tree tapping and maple syrup tasting.

I showcase how to spend an amazing week in Vermont in my 7 day Vermont winter itinerary. While many of these places are mentioned in that article, I’m focusing on the village of Killington in this blog post. Home to Killington Resort, this is the place to be if you love downhill skiing (even if you’re learning how to ski for the first time).

This guide highlights the best things to do in Killington, VT in the winter. While skiing is the obvious answer, I’ll go beyond the ski hills, detailing other outdoorsy activities in and around Killington. Plus, I’ll show you where to stay and the best day trips from Killington for things to do besides skiing and snowboarding.

Stay at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel

When you visit Killington, Vermont, plan to stay in the middle of all the action at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel. I stayed there for three nights. It’s conveniently located mountainside at Killington Resort, so you’re steps away from the ski hills.

This is a ski-in ski-out hotel that’s located a short distance away. Just cross the ski-bridge and you’ll be at the base of the chairlifts. It’s only a short shuttle ride to the K-1 Lodge and the K-1 Express Gondola that will transport you to the Peak Lodge. At the end of the day, there’s a complimentary ski valet service for all hotel guests.

Let’s talk about my room. My hotel room was very spacious with a large bedroom, private balcony, bathroom with tub and shower, and an additional separate sink and mirror area outside of the bathroom. The balcony offers scenic views that remind you of the winter wonderland that awaits outside.

As for food at the hotel, I dined at Preston’s for both breakfast and dinner, though they offer meals throughout the day. For vegan meals, there’s a vegetable risotto on the dinner menu, and I put together an assortment of side dishes for breakfast. I’d love to see a more protein-rich vegan option at Preston’s for both meals aside from grains, fruits and veggies. A tofu scramble for breakfast would be lovely, and adding some tofu or mock meats to some dishes at dinner would be great!

For coffee, I really enjoyed going to the Grand Cafe in the lobby. They serve Starbucks coffee and espresso beverages with plant-based milks like oat milk.

My room was spacious and comfortable with its own balcony offering scenic views. There is an on-site restaurant, Preston’s, serving all meals throughout the day, as well as a cafe offering Starbucks coffee and grab-and-go dishes.

I love that there’s complimentary transportation offered between Killington Resort and the village. Take a shuttle from the hotel to the restaurants and bars down the road. They’ll come and pick you back up when you’re ready to head back to the hotel. We were able to enjoy our apres-ski without needing to worry about getting to and from the hotel.

Outdoor Swimming Pool and Hot Tub

A great perk of staying at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel is the indoor and outdoor fitness area. Indoors, there’s a fitness centre that even comes fitted with Peloton bikes.

Outdoors, there’s an outdoor swimming pool and two hot tubs that can be enjoyed all year long. The swimming pool is heated, though not quite to the temperatures of the hot tub (let’s call it lukewarm). The hot tubs were especially perfect for soaking my muscles after a day on the ski hills.

Downhill Skiing at the Killington Resort

Killington Resort is a must visit destination for skiers in Vermont. It’s called the “Beast of the East” because it is the biggest mountain resort in the eastern USA with seven distinct mountain areas. Whether you’re an advanced skier or a total beginner, Killington Resort is a fantastic place to ski or learn the sport.

The highest peak is the Killington Peak (Summit) at 4241 feet. Killington Resort has 1509 skiable acres, 73 miles of trails, 155 trails in total, 21 lifts, and 3 gondolas. Killington Peak is the second highest point in the state.

They have advanced snowmaking technology on top of the 250″ of natural snow they receive each season. Now, that’s a lot of snow!

Pico Mountain is a sister ski resort to Killington Resort with 58 trails and 19 miles of trails. All Killington lift tickets are also valid at Pico Mountain, which makes for a lovely little day trip.

One Pass RFID Card

Killington Resort uses RFID Card technology for their One Pass cards. Pick up your lift tickets at one of the kiosks (Snowshed, Ramshead, K-1, Bear and Skyeship) or right inside the Killington Grand Resort Hotel.

All the lift tickets you purchased for the day (or multiple days) are loaded right onto that card. Keep the One Pass RFID Card in a secure pocket and it’s all you’ll need to access the lifts.

Ski Lessons for Beginners

The last time I went skiing was years ago. I had an amazing beginner’s ski lesson on my winter trip to Tremblant, I was in desperate need of a refresher course.

Thankfully, the folks at Killington Resort have excellent small group lessons for beginners. There were only about six or seven of us learning how to ski with a couple of experienced and knowledgeable instructors who helped us every step of the way (or should I say, every glide of the way?).

We started with some basic instructions and then added on some new skills, like stopping (form a “pizza” with your skis!) or turning left and right. Once we had mastered these basic skills, we set off to the magic carpet to ski down a small bottom portion of the hill.

Our ski lesson lasted a few hours and the instructors were incredibly thorough and patient. We went down that little bunny hill time and time again. Each time, they encouraged us and showed us ways to improve.

If you’ve never gone skiing in your life and you’re intimidated at the thought of putting on downhill skis, please do not worry. The instructors made the experience quite effortless. By the time I got on the chairlift and embarked on skiing down my first green run, I felt super confident and just went for it (albeit, slow and steady!).

Killington Tubing Park

Another fun winter activity you can try at Killington Resort is the tubing park. There are several tubing lanes all in a row. Fling yourself down the tubing hill on an inflatable tube. This one is pretty tame by comparison to other ones that I’ve tried in the past, like the epic tubing resort in Quebec, Village Vacances Valcartier. It’s still pretty darn fun!

One of the best parts that you won’t get at any ordinary sledding or tobogganing hill? You don’t need to walk back up the hill! There’s a conveyor system that transports you and your tube back up to the top. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Tubing tickets include one hour of tubing, tube rental and lift service. It’s great for kids and kids at heart. Children must be at least 36″ tall to go tubing.

Take the K-1 Express Gondola to the Peak Lodge

Everyone is welcome to take the K-1 Express Gondola to the summit of Killington Resort, whether you wish to ski down the mountain or not. Passengers can take the scenic gondola ride to the Peak Lodge, the highest point of the resort and second highest point in all of Vermont.

Since I am only a beginner skier and there aren’t any green runs from the top of the summit, I took the gondola as a pedestrian without my ski gear. I gazed out the window and simply enjoyed the ride. As we embarked higher and higher, the trees became more caked in powdery snow.

Once I reached the top of the mountain, I ducked into the Peak Lodge for some lunch. They have a great black bean burger and fries, as well as quite a few other offerings like ramen (sadly, no vegetarian option there).

It might be tricky to get a table for lunch as this is a popular spot, so you’ll need to wait your turn. If you can manage, get a spot near the window so you can soak up those magical snowy views while you eat.

Long Trail Brewing Company

Long Trail Brewing Company has a location in Killington. You’ll need to drive yourself over to this one as the complimentary shuttle service doesn’t go this far into the village.

If you don’t want to leave the property, it’s possible to sample the beer at the Long Trail Pub right on site at Killington Resort. This is a great lunch spot and also perfect for apres-ski.

I enjoyed a pint of Long Trail Ale along with a hummus platter. In the afternoon, sometimes there’s live music to listen to as you enjoy your food and refreshments.

Apres-Ski at the Wobbly Barn

The Wobbly Barn is the place to be on a Saturday night. Killington Resort owns the Wobbly Barn, so it’s easy to access via their complimentary shuttle service. It’s only about a five minute drive into the village.

There is a small cover charge for evenings at the Wobbly Barn, which is waived if you have dinner at their steakhouse. They have a long way to go for creative vegan options (it’s vegetables upon vegetables and that’s pretty much it).

I suggest dining elsewhere and paying the cover charge. The Wobbly Barn does have some delicious cocktails, as well as beer, wine and mix drinks. The live band is on all night long, playing everything from classic rock tunes to modern pop songs.

Things to Do in Killington: Dine at Yama Ramen

The best food that I had in Killington was at Yama Ramen in Killington, just outside of the resort. They serve up classic Japanese comfort food, which is ideal after a day of hitting the slopes. The shuttle driver will take you directly from the Killington Grand Resort Hotel to Yama Ramen, and he’ll pick you back up, too.

Yama Ramen supports local farmers and serves local, fresh produce when possible. They have quite a few vegan options on the menu and I tried just about all of them: edamame (remove bonito flakes), Thai peanut salad, magic mushroom bao, and miso ramen (ask for it to be made vegan).

There’s also a spicy version of the miso ramen, as well as tofu banh mi and veggie summer rolls. Everything was so flavorful and soothing on a cold, winter’s day. We had a little bit of a chuckle – they offer free tea to everyone at the front of the shop. Upon trying to figure out the flavor the tea and inquiring, we were told it was simply “Lipton’s”!

Things to Do Near Killington, Vermont in the Winter

Looking for a day trip from Killington, VT? There are plenty of other things to do in Killington in the wintertime aside from skiing. Some of these suggestions you can combine into the same day trip (Sugar and Spice, Manchester, Vermont Country Store) and you might wish to go cross-country skiing in the morning and maple syrup tasting in the afternoon.

Baird Farm (Organic Maple Syrup Farm)

Baird Farm is a fourth generation family farm in Chittenden, Vermont. They own 560 acres filled with 14,000 maple trees. On a good sugaring day, Baird Farm can collect up to 2000 gallons of sap per hour. Overall, one maple tree makes 25 gallons of sap in a season. This is boiled down to make maple syrup, whether it’s golden, amber, dark or very dark.

One of the owners, Jacob, led us on a tour of the sugarbush up near the main farm buildings. We had the opportunity to learn how to tap maple trees and try it out for ourselves. Essentially, you drill a hole into the tree, put in a little plastic spout, and hook it up to the line of tubes. Then, we toured the production facility with the massive vats that store the sap and other equipment to boil it down to syrup.

Then, the best part of the tour, the maple syrup tasting. We sampled eight different varieties of maple syrup. There are the four grades of maple syrup: golden, amber, dark and very dark. The grades of syrup all depend on how early or late the sap is harvested in the season. The very dark syrup can only be found in Vermont.

The other four flavors are infused maple syrup products: sumac infused maple, spruce tip infused maple, birch bark infused maple and mint infused maple syrup. I’d never tried anything like it! Let me tell you, this Canadian gal was impressed. Baird Farm also had recipes for the ways to use the infused maple syrup products, like cocktails and desserts.

Shop at the Vermont Country Store

When we read an online review that someone had travelled from four hours away just to shop at The Vermont Country Store, we had to see what was up with it. The Vermont Country Store is a massive shop (it is much larger than it looks from the outside of it) filled with nostalgia and everything under the sun. We visited their location in Weston on our way to Killington.

While The Vermont Country Store has locally made products, clothing, makeup, perfume, bath and body products, grocery items and so much more, it’s really all about taking a trip down memory lane. Where else can you still buy penny candy (that’s literally for one cent)? I saw so many toys and even stickers from my childhood – the ones you scratch and sniff.

You just never know what might catch your eye here. The Vermont Country Store is a worthy addition to any Vermont road trip, whether you’re visiting Vermont in the winter or any time of year.

Cross-Country Skiing at Mountain Top Resort

Cross-country skiing is one of the best things to do at Mountain Top Resort. While we spent a couple of nights at Mountain Top, it’s also possible to purchase a trail pass for the day to explore the cross-country skiing trails. They have equipment rentals at their activity centre, and you can also take XC skiing lessons.

It was my first time cross-country skiing, so I opted for the lessons. Their expert ski instructor, Maryanne, taught us everything we needed to know when XC skiing. Maryanne was very patient and knowledgeable, and I felt confident going skiing after my lesson with her.

Mountain Top Resort is home to 60km of ski trails that are open to the public. If you do decide to add a couple of nights onto your trip by staying at Mountain Top Resort, you can also go snowshoeing, enjoy their spa and hot tub, and dine at their on site restaurant.

Day Trip to Manchester, Vermont

One of the best places to visit near Killington is the town of Manchester, Vermont. It’s about an hour away from Killington and well worth the journey.

Manchester is home to Hildene, a historic home owned by the Lincoln family, specifically the son of Abraham Lincoln, Robert Lincoln. Robert and his wife, Mary, built this Georgian Revival mansion as a summer home. It stayed within the Lincoln family until 1975.

Nowadays, take a tour of Hildene with a guide that will tell you all about the history of the family and the home itself. There are some really interesting features, like the oldest residential pipe organ in America right within its walls.

Down the road from Hildene lies downtown Manchester with tons of shops and restaurants to check out. Don’t miss Northshire Bookstore, one of the largest independent bookstores that I’ve visited in a long time, as well as its book-themed coffee shop, Colburn Cafe. We had lunch at Thai Basil where we were met with delicious food, as well as responsive and fast service.

Breakfast at Sugar and Spice

About a 15 minute drive from Killington, Sugar and Spice is one of the most popular breakfast and brunch restaurants in the area. This family restaurant is situated inside an authentic sugar house and every meal is made to order using their own family recipes.

While they have just about every American breakfast food imaginable, the stars of the show are the pancakes and the waffles. To my delight, the gluten-free pancakes are also vegan!

Sugar and Spice has an extensive gift shop with products made locally in Vermont. If you didn’t manage to stock up on Vermont maple syrup from Baird Farm, there’s a nice collection of it at Sugar and Spice. Don’t miss picking up some maple sugar candies, too.