Free & Cheap Things to Do in Stowe

Outdoors

An internationally celebrated 5.3-mile paved greenway that begins behind Stowe Community Church in the village and meanders along the West Branch of the Little River through meadows and woods to a covered bridge at the Topnotch Resort end. Mostly level — friendly for walkers, runners, bikers, strollers, and wheelchair users in summer; groomed for cross-country skiing in winter.

Address: Trailhead behind Stowe Community Church, Main Street, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free, year-round. Park free at Lintilhac Park behind Stowe Community Church, Chase Park on Luce Hill Road, Thompson Park off Route 108, or Topnotch Access off Brook Road. The path is groomed for free Nordic skiing in winter by Stowe Nordic. The covered bridge at the Topnotch end is the iconic photo stop.

Shopping & Strolling

A compact, walkable New England village built around the white-steepled 1863 Stowe Community Church — the single most-photographed church in Vermont. Independent boutiques, ski shops, and Vermont-made goods line Main Street, and the village is small enough to walk end-to-end in 15 minutes. The Stowe Recreation Path begins directly behind the church.

Address: Main Street, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free walking year-round. Free 2-hour parking on Main Street; longer parking free behind the church at Lintilhac Park. The Stowe Community Church is occasionally open for free quiet visits — check the bulletin board. The village is busiest during fall foliage (late September to mid-October) and ski season.

Parks & Nature

Vermont's highest peak (4,393 feet) capped by the largest stretch of alpine tundra in the Northeast. The Long Trail — the country's oldest long-distance hiking trail and the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail — runs over Mansfield's profile-shaped ridge (Forehead, Nose, Chin), all of it free hiking. The Chin summit views span four states on a clear day.

Address: Long Trail trailhead at Stowe Mountain Resort, Mountain Road, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free hiking year-round (snow conditions in winter). The Long Trail to the Chin is 5.3 miles round-trip with 2,837 ft elevation gain — rated difficult. The $60 Stowe Mountain Resort gondola and $25 Mt Mansfield Toll Road both bypass over $20 budget cap; the free hike is the budget route. Allow 5–6 hours.

Parks & Nature

A dramatic mountain pass climbing between the cliffs of Mount Mansfield and Sterling Mountain — the highest state park in Vermont, named for the early 1800s smugglers who used the notch to move goods to Canada during Jefferson's embargo. The road through the notch (Route 108) is closed to cars in winter, becoming one of the state's best free Nordic ski routes.

Address: 6443 Mountain Road (Route 108), Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: $5 adult / $2 youth day-use fee. Park open mid-May through mid-October for camping; the road through the notch is the main free attraction the rest of the year. Bingham Falls trailhead is 1 mile south of the park entrance. The notch road closes to vehicles November through April — perfect for snowshoes.

Parks & Nature

A 25-foot waterfall plunging into a clear emerald pool inside a narrow rock gorge — the most popular free swimming hole in Stowe. The trail descends about a quarter-mile from a Route 108 pull-off, steep at the bottom with some scrambling required. Multiple terraced ledges along the gorge offer different vantage points.

Address: Route 108 (Mountain Road), 6.4 miles north of Stowe Village, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free, year-round. Park in the dirt pull-offs on either side of Route 108 about half a mile past the Mt Mansfield Toll Road entrance. The trail is short but slippery — hiking shoes with good tread required. Gorge edges are unfenced; keep children close. Best swimming July–August.

Parks & Nature

A 125-foot multi-tiered waterfall — the second-tallest in Vermont — tucked into the C.C. Putnam State Forest north of the village. A short quarter-mile walk from the trailhead reaches the base; a steeper scramble up to the vista takes about 40 minutes round-trip. One of the most dramatic free hikes in the Stowe area.

Address: Moss Glen Falls Road, off Randolph Road, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free, year-round (closed during spring mud season, late March–Memorial Day weekend). Section to the upper vista closed Mon–Fri but open weekends. From Stowe Village, take Route 100 north 3 miles, right on Randolph Rd, right on Moss Glen Falls Rd 0.5 miles to trailhead. Wear hiking shoes with traction.

History & Museums

A small but charming museum on Main Street in the heart of Stowe Village tracing Vermont's outsized role in American ski and snowboard history — from the 1930s skimeisters who founded Stowe Mountain Resort and Mad River Glen to Jake Burton Carpenter and the birth of the modern snowboard in Londonderry. Vintage skis, lift gear, and a Hall of Fame round out the experience.

Address: 1 South Main Street, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free admission with suggested $5 donation. Open Thursday–Sunday 12pm–5pm. Allow 45–60 minutes. Located right in Stowe Village on the corner — easy to combine with a Recreation Path walk. The small gift shop has Vermont ski memorabilia.

Arts & Culture

Stowe's contemporary art center, housed in an 1863 Greek Revival schoolhouse that also holds the Stowe Free Library. Rotating exhibitions feature Vermont and national contemporary artists across painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. The center was known as Helen Day Art Center for decades; it rebranded as The Current in 2022.

Address: 90 Pond Street, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free gallery admission. Open Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–3pm; closed Sundays. Galleries occasionally close briefly between exhibitions — check the website before driving over. Combine with a Stowe Free Library visit in the same building, and Stowe Village shops a block away.

Family Fun

Ben & Jerry's flagship ice cream factory in Waterbury, 12 miles south of Stowe — the original 1985 production facility where the company started by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a converted gas station in Burlington moved when they outgrew it. Guided 30-minute tours include a 'MOO-vie' on the company's story, a viewing balcony over the production floor, and a tasting at the end.

Address: 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury, VT 05676

Tip: $6 adults / $5 seniors / $1 kids 2–12 — one of the best family attraction values in Vermont. Buy tickets 2 weeks ahead at benjerry.com — capacity is limited and busy days sell out. Allow 60–75 minutes. Free outdoor 'Flavor Graveyard' for discontinued flavors is worth a wander after the tour.

Quirky Landmarks

The Trapp Family Lodge brewery's casual Bavarian Bierhall on Luce Hill Road — the von Trapps of Sound of Music fame have been making German- and Austrian-style lagers here since 2010, with the timber-framed Bierhall opened in 2016. Free to enter, sit by the wood-burning fireplace, and watch the brew tanks; flagship lagers run $7 a pint and the menu is wood-fired pizzas and Bavarian classics.

Address: 1333 Luce Hill Road, Stowe, VT 05672

Tip: Free to walk in. Open daily 11:30am–9pm. Brewery tours have a fee for non-lodge guests. The hillside Bierhall view across the resort grounds is the iconic photo spot — drinks not required to enjoy it. Free parking just below the Bierhall.