Vermont Ski Resorts: Which One to Pick

For most visitors, the choice among Vermont ski resorts comes down to your pass. Killington, Sugarbush and Stratton take the Ikon Pass. Stowe, Okemo and Mount Snow sell the Epic Pass. Only Sugarbush (21 November) and Stratton (25 November) have a tentative 2026-27 opening date on the Ikon list we read on 14 October 2026.

The nine resorts in one table

Note: Pass and opening dates come from Ikon's tentative opening dates page (last updated 8 October 2026, read 14 October 2026, "subject to change without notice"), the resorts' own home pages, and Ikon's destination pages (read 14 October 2026). Distances are the ones those pages print. Where a page printed none, the table says so

The resort pages for Stowe, Okemo and Mount Snow all say 2026/27 passes are on sale. We did not find an opening date for them. Vail Resorts' 18 August 2026 release lists opening dates for resorts in Colorado, British Columbia, Utah and California, and none in Vermont. It says more dates "will be announced in the coming months".

How to choose

• You hold an Ikon Pass: Killington, Sugarbush or Stratton. Stratton is the closest of the three to Albany, at 75 miles by Ikon's printed figure.

• You hold an Epic Pass: Stowe, Okemo or Mount Snow. Mount Snow is the one with a printed distance from both Boston and New York City.

• You hold neither: Jay Peak, Smugglers' Notch and Mad River Glen sell their own tickets or passes. We did not check prices at any of them.

• You want the shortest drive from Boston: Stratton at 145 miles and Killington at 160 miles are the two printed Boston figures from Ikon. Mount Snow says 2.5 hours.

• You are flying in: Stowe says it is 40 minutes from Burlington airport. Sugarbush's Ikon page lists Albany first, at 141 miles.

We did not compare terrain, lift counts or snowfall, because none of those numbers were read on official pages for this guide.

Getting there without a long drive

Train to Rutland, for Killington

Hours: Ethan Allen Express timetable valid 14 September 2026 to 30 August 2027, built from Amtrak's public schedule data by juckins.net for the Rail Passengers Association (read 14 October 2026): train 291 leaves New York Moynihan Train Hall at 2:19 p.m. and arrives at Rutland, James M. Jeffords Station, at 7:35 p.m. It leaves Rutland at 7:45 p.m. and reaches Burlington at 9:26 p.m. Train 290 leaves Rutland at 11:06 a.m. and arrives in New York at 4:27 p.m. Both run daily. This is not an Amtrak document, so check amtrak.com for your date

New York to Rutland is 5 hours 16 minutes on that timetable. Amtrak's route page says the service runs "between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, by way of Albany". Stops include Albany-Rensselaer, Saratoga Springs and Rutland.

From Rutland, Marble Valley Regional Transit runs "The Bus" Rutland Killington Commuter. The route goes through Downtown Rutland, Green Mountain Plaza and Mendon to Killington. The single fare is $3.00 one way, or $1.50 reduced.

Note: The Bus's route page (read 14 October 2026) says the route runs seven days a week, from 7:15 a.m. to 7:05 p.m. The schedule file on the page is labelled "2026-RKC-Summer-Schedule". It lists no winter dates. It does not say whether the bus stops at the train station

So the train gets you to Rutland by evening, and the bus ends at 7:05 p.m. on the route page. A train that arrives at 7:35 p.m. will not connect on those hours. We could not confirm the winter bus hours or a Killington shuttle.

Vermonter to Waterbury-Stowe

Amtrak's Vermonter runs between Washington, DC and St. Albans, Vermont. Vermont stops include Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, White River Junction, Randolph, Montpelier-Berlin, Waterbury-Stowe, Essex Junction and St. Albans. Brattleboro is the stop nearest Mount Snow on the line. We did not confirm a bus link from there.

Stowe's site says the resort is "17 miles" from the train station, and tells guests to take Amtrak to the Waterbury station. It lists no bus from the station.

Hours: Vermonter timetable valid 12 to 30 October 2026, built from Amtrak's public schedule data by juckins.net (read 14 October 2026): the southbound train leaves Waterbury-Stowe at 10:10 a.m. and Brattleboro at 1:02 p.m., every day. The northbound train reaches Brattleboro at 4:56 p.m. and Waterbury-Stowe at 7:50 p.m. This is not an Amtrak document, and the winter timetable was not out, so check amtrak.com for your date

Stowe's free town shuttle

Hours: Rural Community Transportation's Mountain Road Shuttle page (read 14 October 2026): free winter shuttle bus from 27 November 2026 through 4 April 2027. The Stowe Reporter says RCT takes over the shuttle from Green Mountain Transit this season. It loops through town and up Mountain Road (Route 108) to Stowe Mountain Resort and Spruce Peak. We did not confirm 2026-27 hours or stops

This shuttle moves you between your lodging and the mountain. It does not run to the train station on that page.

What we checked and what can change

Checked on 14 October 2026: Ikon's tentative opening dates page (updated 8 October 2026) and its Killington, Sugarbush and Stratton pages. The home pages of Stowe, Okemo, Mount Snow, Jay Peak, Killington, Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. The Ethan Allen Express and Vermonter timetables from juckins.net (built from Amtrak data), and Amtrak's route pages for both trains. Rural Community Transportation's shuttle page and a Stowe Reporter article on the operator change. The Bus's Rutland Killington Commuter page. Vail Resorts' 18 August 2026 release.

Not confirmed: opening dates for Killington, Stowe, Okemo, Mount Snow, Jay Peak, Smugglers' Notch and Mad River Glen. Distance from Boston or New York City for Stowe, Sugarbush, Okemo, Jay Peak, Smugglers' Notch and Mad River Glen. Pass terms and prices. Winter hours for The Bus. Any shuttle from Rutland or Waterbury to a resort. Winter Vermonter times. Smugglers' Notch's own site did not load for us. Opening dates move with snow and snowmaking, so check each resort's mountain report before you book.