Ten Acres Lodge - A Stowe Vermont Bed and Breakfast

A great tradition you should experience is the annual springtime ritual of harvesting maple sap.  If you come up to Vermont in late March you can learn the process of making maple syrup.  We serve maple syrup here (we call it liquid gold) and once you’ve had it, you never have the fake stuff again. 

You’ll learn a lot about how it’s made and of course, get to sample the fruits of the labor.  You’ll start to understand the reason behind the high cost since it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.  Please visit us at Ten Acres Lodge and see for yourself the magic of making maple syrup.  Click the link below for more info.

http://vermontmaple.org/open-house-weekend.php

Some people think that just because it starts to get a little warmer that winter is over…then Mother Nature reminds us who’s in charge and dumps a foot or two of snow on us.  Well, its looking like another reminder is coming with predictions of 8-16 inches of fresh white stuff on its way.  We have a pretty full house at Ten Acres this weekend so I’m sure that our guests will be pleased with their timing.  If you want to see what it looks like out our front door, have a look at our webcam…and watch the winter wonderland…

The oldest downhill cross-country race of its kind is back for a 65th year! The historical fun race starts at the top of Mt. Mansfield and winds its way some 16km further down, to the picturesque village of Stowe.

That’s how the web site describes the Stowe Derby.  Many of our guests here at Ten Acres Lodge like to cross country ski so this event is right up their alley.  You don’t have to be a world class skier to particpate.  The web site continues… 

The course follows the Auto Toll Road for the first 6km before briefly hooking up with existing cross country trails. The last 6km of the course are flat and follow the Stowe Recreation Path.

Choose between the freestyle or the classic race, or do both in the Derby Meister (for experts only)!!! A family friendly race is also available, the Short course. 6km of flat terrain for kids and their families and those who would rather avoid the descent…

You can check out more info at www.stowederby.com

Coming up on Feb. 6th is the 14th annual Snowshoe festival, sponsored by the Green Mountain Club.  The day is promoted as ” an invigorating day of free snowshoe demos, guided snowshoe hikes to local peaks and trails, workshops, nature walks, gear displays, raffle, hot chocolate, and more.”  This is a great organization that promotes hiking in the summer and snowshoe in the winter.  If you enjoy beautiful scenary, fresh air and good company, check this out.  Find more information at www.greenmountainclub.org

We still have rooms that weekend at Ten Acres Lodge so if you want to take in the festival, give us a call to book a room.  Still plenlty of snow on the ground with more on the way!

The annual Stowe winter carnival is around the corner.  It’s great fun for everyone and offers a variety of activities.  Snowvolleyball, snow golf, ice carving demos (this art form is truly amazing) kids activities, ski races and more.  It’s from Jan. 18 – 29.  Check it out and consider staying with us at Ten Acres Lodge!

Visit here for more info www.stowewintercarnival.com

We’ve been lucky to have hosted a couple of groups recently.  They are great fun for us and give us a lot of satisfaction.  I’m proud of the work we’ve done and thought I would share some recent reviews we have gotten for these two groups.  See below:

Review 1:  We held an annual staff retreat at Ten Acres Lodge. It was a laid back, relaxing atmosphere, staff were very helpful and accommodating. Frank and his team were willing to work with us on our team building exercise which helped our creativitiy and ultimately, our productivity. Ten Acres was like being away at a friend’s ski house; they let us take over but took very good care of us at the same time.

Review 2:  We celebrated my wife’s 50th birthday at Ten Acres Lodge. Most of my wife’s family hails from New Jersey. 15 or so people (men, women, children and dog) arrived in a gigantic rented RV while anther dozen or so family and friends came from all over new england. We descended upon the lodge on Friday evening and left on Sunday morning. We had wondeful breakfasts and enjoyed lovely rooms (we took most of the rooms in the Inn, the cottage and the building on the hill). Everyone loved their rooms-all of which were large and comfortable, were tastefully furnished and boasted big screen TV’s.
Frank and his lovely wife also catered a dinner for 30+ people on Saturday night. The food was delicious, served in a friendly manner and affordable. The sit down diner was enjoyed by all. We then partied into the night in the main lodge, enjoying the fireplace and the music. The big TV in the bar was a big hit with the teenagers in the group as they played Beatles Rock Band into the night. Everyone had a terrific time.
All in all we could not have found a better place nor could have had a better time than what we experienced at Ten Acres Lodge. The owners were gracious, constantly helpful and did everything they could to make us feel at home. We will be back.

This is a great place for holding a team meeting or to gather the family for a celebration.  Give us a call and let us know if we can help!

I call this picture “Dusk at Ten Acres”.  Its one of my favorite pictures of Ten Acres Lodge.  Some days during the winter, the sky can be so clean and pure and it shows up in all its glory at dawn and dusk.  A friend of mine, Jim Armstrong, took this picture.  He’s a pro and his pictures are also used on our site to show the rooms.

This picture has caught the eye of many people including a advertising firm which asked for my permission to use it in a nationwide ad campaign.  Needless to say, we were honored.

Stowe mountain has opened and is off to a great start.  The base is building up nicely and the skiing is great.  We’ve had about 18-24 inches of fresh snow in the last few days with more to come.  As one business person put it, “it’s white gold”.  Snow is so important to our little town and the winter Gods have seen fit to bless us with plenty of white stuff.  If you decide to come up, let me know and we’ll try and get a skiing package for you that fits your needs.

Yes, it’s true.  I am not a skier, yet I own a B&B in a ski town.  Why?  Because Stowe is so much more than a ski town.  As this article points out …

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/ski/2009-12-08-resorts-for-non-skiers_N.htm

You’ll note that Stowe is one of the few listed in North America.  It is also the only one on the east coast.  There is so much to enjoy during the winter, even you aren’t a skier.  Read the article and plan a great holiday getaway in Stowe and at Ten Acres Lodge.

Even though it may not seem like it if you live in the northeast, winter weather is coming…and fast.  For anyone who knows me, you know I’m not a big fan of snow and cold but even I’m ready for the white stuff!  The forecast for Stowe looking over the next ten days is more of a classic winter pattern with frequent snow showers.

If you are discouraged about the current conditions…fear not…snow is coming.

Soon, we’ll have a webcam set up where you can see out our front window so you’ll be able to check out the conditions for yourself.

Happy Holidays everyone!