Bolton Valley, VT, Report: Fast Snow, & Bluebird Skies on a Solo Weekend Adventure

Wild Weather: The Sun Breaks through the Clouds at Bolton Valley. | Photo: J. Davis

Report for Sunday, March 23, 2025

With milder temperatures and lots of rain, March has been an interesting weather month in the northeast. We hit double digits in the city, so one weekend, I headed to the Laurentians for fat biking on a trail that links to the golf course in Rawdon, Quebec. It was my first time and crazy fun—a good mix of my two favorite pastimes, since I’m always on my mountain bike after the snow melts. But by the end of the day, it just made me crave another snowboarding adventure, and I found myself heading out solo on a weekend as winter returned to New England.

Of all the East Coast resorts on Indy Pass, Jay Peak is probably the closest and easiest for me to access. When I have time, I like to get down to Bolton Valley. A highlight of my 2024-25 season was taking a day off midweek to chase powder at Bolton. I’ve come to know this mountain resort well over the years, for both day and night snowboarding. When I’m on my own, I prefer to go somewhere familiar, and Bolton has been that place for nearly a decade. Recently, Bolton has earned significant accolades, including a New York Times article and The New England Ski Museum’s 2025 Spirit of Skiing Award.

Top of Vista Peak at Bolton Valley. | Photo: J. Davis

I kept an eye on the forecast and decided that after a drop in temperature and some overnight snow on Saturday, Sunday would be the best day for snowboarding. I drove down to Vermont Saturday afternoon, taking the backroads, enjoying the ride, and snapping photos. I checked into my hotel on Shelburne Road, minutes from downtown Burlington, where I hadn’t been in years. It’s just as cool as I remember: historic Church Street, the Lake Champlain waterfront, numerous galleries, eateries, and shops to explore. Just outside of town is the Burton Snowboard headquarters, where every dedicated shredder should visit at least once in their lifetime.

I took in the downtown sights for a while, but the temperature dropped quickly. I headed back to my hotel for an early night and an early morning drive to Bolton Valley, about 30 minutes away. I avoid the interstate whenever possible. Vermont’s sideroads give you the full experience. The drive through the Winooski River Valley, with mountain views at every turn, is breathtaking, especially on a clear blue-sky day. Once you reach the top, the notorious access road that climbs 2,000 vertical feet up to the resort will make you feel like Travis Pastrana. It’s part of the adventure—just be sure your tires are in good shape.

Mid-Mountain Chairlift at Bolton Valley. | Photo: J. Davis

The resort was buzzing when I arrived around 9:00 a.m. Bolton is a family-owned, community-focused resort that hosts a variety of ski and ride programs. Even if you’ve never been, you’ve probably met someone who learned to ski or snowboard at Bolton. A group from Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports was out on the mountain, and there was a race going on off the mid-mountain chairlift. The welcoming vibe here is palpable. The mountain lost some snow from recent wind and rain, and a number of trails were closed to maintain a good base, but that’s to be expected later in the season. Periods of freeze and thaw, followed by a cold snap and a fresh dusting of snow, made for ideal corn snow conditions. Corn snow creates a smooth, carveable surface that’s easy to edge and provides good snow stability. Add in bluebird skies and full sun softening the surface, and you get sweet snow conditions—not too slushy.

My favorite little trail off the Vista Peak Chair, “Hard Luck Lane,” had a lot of exposed ice. I had to psyche myself up at the top of each run: “You love this. You live for this!” And honestly, I do love riding in these conditions. As an East Coaster, you get used to it. Every day on the mountain is a gift, and I’m no spring chicken, but I still love the thrill of racing down a smooth trail on my snowboard. I’m a creature of habit, so my ritual at Bolton is to lap several runs off the Vista Peak chairlift before heading over to the Snowflake chairlift to listen to music on my Cardo, chill, and play in the park and on ungroomed trails. The snow off Snowflake wasn’t ideal, and many ropes were up, so I returned to Vista Peak for more fast laps before turning my car north toward Montreal around 2:00 p.m.

Fast Runs Mean More Breaks, at Bolton Valley. | Photo: J. Davis

The Sunday evening forecast called for more snow, and I wanted to take a meandering route home ahead of the storm. I drove a loop through Waterbury, Stowe, Morrisville, Hyde Park, Johnson, and Jeffersonville, passing many beautiful mountain ranges along the way. I watched the rushing Lamoille River, swollen with snowmelt, and made it home before nightfall. The whims of the weather out here continue, and it looks like another spectacular late-season weekend of skiing and riding at Bolton Valley. Another 12 inches of snow has fallen in the past three days, and there’s a storm rolling in tonight, expected to bring another 8 to 12 inches of accumulation. You know what that means: Powder! As of this writing, Bolton has 55 of 71 trails open, and they’re likely to drop more ropes over the weekend. How is that for ‘March madness?’

See you on the slopes!