Stowe: Stowe Mountain Gondola Experience (September 2018)

Stowe Gondola Skyride - A Nice Outing on a Fall Day
My spouse and I and a group of friends and family took a ride on the Stowe Gondola Skyride on a Saturday afternoon in late September 2018. We purchased our tickets onsite using a credit card; round-trip adult fare costs $29 each, with lower rates for children and reduced rates for families of four. The sightseeing gondola operates from late June through mid-October from 9:30 am until 4:00 pm. Weekday gondola and lunch packages are available. Consult the gondola website for winter skiing hours of operation.
If you stay at the Stowe Resort, you can take the smaller (“Over Easy”) gondola from the resort itself to the area where the larger skyride departs. Since we stayed at neighboring Smuggler’s Notch Resort, we arrived by car and parked in one of the dedicated gondola parking lots. You must cross through the lower gondola station to purchase tickets on the opposite side (where it meets the gondola from the lodge), but staff is on hand to provide direction. Portable restroom facilities are available near the ticket window.
The gondola ride to the (almost) top of Mt. Mansfield takes about ten minutes. Each car holds eight adults in a fully enclosed cabin, with guests seated side-by-side on two opposing bench seats. (We also had two children with us, who sat on the laps of their parents, so our car held a total of ten people.) Well-behaved pets might even be allowed, because we saw a few dogs at the summit (although it is possible that they hiked up).
The summit gondola station resembles a two-story Austrian chalet. Upon arrival, complimentary warm apple cider was offered, which was a welcome treat on a cool fall day. A gift shop is onsite if you need to do some souvenir shopping. At the summit, guests can also take part in an amazing zip-line adventure from a wooden platform. We visited not only to take in the view, but also to dine at the summit’s Cliffside Restaurant (see our separate review). The upper gondola building also contains a warming station and public restrooms on the lower level.
We enjoyed our ride on the Stowe Gondola Skyride. As others have stated, it is a pricey adventure, but we felt it was worth it. (Plus, the riding the gondola is so much easier than hiking up or down the mountain as we saw some adventurous folks do!)





















































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