If you had to guess, what would you say is the busiest season for Sugarbush? With some pretty basic reasoning it’s safe to assume that the overwhelming majority of you would say winter. You would, of course, be right. We are a ski resort after all, and while we operate year-round in a number of ways, sliding on snow is our bread and butter.
So here’s another question: what season do you think is the busiest for all of Vermont? If you still said winter, I wouldn’t blame you given your likely passion for winter sports. That passion, however, doesn’t lead you to the correct answer. Summertime is the busiest time of year for tourism in our state. According to Vermont’s Department of Tourism, a third of the nearly 16 million visitors in 2023 came during the summertime months.
I too share that winter sports passion, and given that I’ve spent pretty much my entire professional career in the industry, I was fairly shocked when I heard that statement for the first time. Everyone and everything I know surrounds skiing from my circles of friends to the guests I chat with. Ok sure, in retrospect I think I might be caught in a bit of a ski-centric echo chamber.
Equipped with this knowledge, I’ve been looking at my state through a different lens. On my drives to and from work and school, on my morning runs around the golf course loop or up through the village, and even sitting on my deck at home. The visual transformation of Vermont through the seasons shouldn’t just be appreciated but celebrated. I’ve really been starting to see the differing shades of beauty throughout the year here. What an incredible feat of nature for the landscape to undergo wardrobe change after wardrobe change from the wintry whites to the rainbow flowers of spring to the vibrant greens of summer and finally the brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges of fall.
Each of these seasons is worth fully exploring, or at the very least taking a moment to soak in and reflect. Go take that walk. Enjoy a pleasure cruise. Get out for a bike ride. This recent bit of rain has caused what was tracking as a mild foliage year to transform into bright fall hues. Come experience the MRV how you might not have before. Check out Corinne’s blog on fall activities. If all these other tourists are enjoying Vermont in the warmer months, maybe it’s time we do too.
See you on the mountain.