If you’re looking for a town center with a classic main street and gobs of off mountain distractions, look elsewhere. The town of Killington isn’t so much a centralized town as it is a general area with a few hundred permanent residents. The town’s economy is based around the ski resort, so any nightlife, restaurants, or other après ski activities are going to be concentrated at the resort. So get your tall boys onsite, settle into a pile of snow and enjoy the regalement of tales from the east’s largest resort.

Killington is at the southern edge of the Vermont snowbelt that gets the most snow in the East. 11.1% of winter days with 6 inches or more of snow and 18% of winter months with 30 inches or less are middle of the pack for destination resorts, while 6% of months with 90 inches or more is on the low side. The key risk to snow conditions everywhere in the East is not drought but rain. The rain is often followed by hard freezes that can close advanced or ungroomed terrain. This is a minor issue for the locals, who can sit out the wet weather and wait for improvement. It does, however, make planning a trip over a week in advance more of a gamble. Powder in northern Vermont is often excellent, closer to the Rockies in quality than to the heavier snow of the West Coast.

Accumulation and Preservation

Killington averages 66% open at New Year's with about 30% of seasons being less than half open by New Year's. Killington's vaunted snowmaking system can often open a run or two in October and maintains mid-season snow coverage on the upper half of terrain as well as anywhere in the East. Natural snow skiing in the trees can also be good on that upper half. Killington averages 65% open at the first of April but runs Superstar on stockpiled snowmaking through late May in most seasons.