When it comes to “kid-friendly” vacations, I typically plan everything, ensuring that the kid’s needs are met first. My husband is usually just along for the ride. Our wishes are the last priority and we manage our expectations accordingly. However, within 15 minutes of arriving at the Burke Mountain Hotel, my husband looked at me and claimed, “I would stay here again.” I was shocked by his response. How can you say that if we haven’t even stepped into our room?
After this weekend getaway in February, though, our entire family concluded that we will stay here again.
Burke Mountain Resort’s Recent Revival
Burke Mountain Resort is located in the North East Kingdom (NEK) or “The Kingdom” in Vermont. It is famous for its natural beauty, authenticity, and outdoor recreation (hiking, biking, and snow sports). The history of Burke is quite interesting with many different dramatic themes that are documentary worth. (Read 175 Years of Burke Mountain: A Vermont Resort’s Journey.)
There are not a lot of hotels in the NEK like the Burke Mountain Hotel, and so it’s a destination for hosting events (from celebrations to fundraisers to board meetings). In addition to being a resort, it is also home to Burke Mountain Academy (BMA), a prestigious ski academy which has churned out many Olympians (36, including 3X Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin).
As of the 2025/2026 season Burke is under new ownership — Bear Den Partners — which also recently acquired Smuggler’s Notch Resort in VT. Jon Schaefer, CEO of Bear Den Partners, is also the owner of Berkshire East and Catamount in Mass, connecting all four resorts.
This year is also Burke’s first year on the Indy Pass. The ski nerds on various online forums have been buzzing with enthusiasm related to transformations to Burke since the acquisition, Some highlights? The increased snow-making capacity, staff retention and recognition, and upgrades to the hotel over the last year.
We felt lucky to be experiencing Burke with these new upgrades and to let you in on one of the best kept secrets in Vermont.
Arrival with Ease
Friday after school, we loaded the car and drove from Burlington to Burke. For those who drive electric cars, there is an easy fast charging station right off Interstate 91 in St Johnsbury. It was snowing and dark, but the road was in great shape, not too steep, and the signs to Burke were well lit and well placed. During our stay, we overheard various guests say how easy it was to get to Burke despite where it is located on the map.
At the hotel, we were quickly greeted by the valet. We opted for self-parking but the hotel has valet underground covered parking if you want to make your ski vacation effortless.
Pro-tip:
While we were charging our car, I called Tomasonni’s (570 VT-114, East Burke, VT 05832) to order pizzas for pick-up just before the turn on Mountain Road to Burke. Perfectly timed, the sourdough pizzas were hot and ready when we picked them up in a little over 30 minutes.
Discovering the Magic of the Ski-in, Ski-out Experience
As someone who only had experienced the NEK in the context of camping, I was pleasantly surprised by the modern feel of the Burke Mountain Hotel. The entrance was a rotating glass door with winter themed display cases. Seth Wales, the Guest Experience Manager ushered us in with a welcome and promptly set us up. The lobby was inviting with plenty of seating with fireplaces and tastefully decorated. Your gear is stored in a secure room on the lift level within an individual locker that has an optional PIN-code lock. There is a convenience store that includes Burke-branded merchandise, an arcade (with some vintage games that take quarters), a well-stocked ski shop, a good sized gym (if you still need a workout), year round outdoor hot tub, seasonal pool, and an impressive bike storage room.
The Hotel has studios to 3-bedroom suites – including dog-friendly ones – to meet the needs of any type of family. All rooms have a view and we stayed in a one bedroom with a patio facing the mountain for our family of three. Our room included a king sized bed, a pull out sofa, a fireplace, and a full kitchen (4 burner stove, oven, full sized fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and microwave) with essential kitchen supplies, and a 4 person dining table. There was a good amount of closets to reduce clutter in the living areas. We enjoyed the take out pizza in our room that evening. The oven proved to be useful for this trip for heating up left over pizza and fries! The fireplace was a novelty for our family and helped our kid wind down for a good night’s sleep.
This was my first time staying at a ski-in ski-out accommodation. I have decided that this is clearly not just a marketing term, but the ultimate feature for families! Staying at a ski-in ski-out resort means I did not need to drag a sleepy kid (and myself) out of bed at the crack of dawn, drive hours to get to the resort, lug gear up, around and sideways.
We had leisurely mornings watching the resort wake up from our windows. We’d get our gear on, grab the hardgoods from the locker room, walk a few steps, and either walk to the upper mountain lift or ski an easy way down to the lower mountain. The run to the lower mountain is gloriously sloped, so you can ski to the lifts rather than pulling your kid along on a catwalk. (We’ve all been there!) The Hotel also has a shuttle to the lower mountain if that is preferred.
All You Can Eat
While the rooms have a full kitchen, if you don’t want to cook every meal, Burke has many options at the Hotel and at the lower mountain. We had brought some breakfast foods, snacks, and leftover pizza, but ensured we left room in our bellies to try out the food at Burke.
Edmunds Cafeteria
Breakfast with ease was found at the Hotel’s Edmunds Cafeteria. The Grand Lodge with large spacious windows and fireplaces was a welcoming spot. My son had two chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon. The portions were large enough to share with another adult. We opted to eat in our room since we had that luxury.
Kingdom Cafeteria
For snack after ski lessons, we checked out the Kingdom Cafeteria in the Sherburne Lodge at the lower mountain. This place was a great area to warm up, and refuel with hot chocolate and cookies. We sat in front of the fire which helped dry and warm some of our gear. For a snack after a day of skiing, we went to the convenience store at the Hotel which had a great selection of treats. We got gummies for the family and local beers for the adults.
The View Pub
The View Pub at the Hotel was the place for lunch and dinner. While the weather during our stay didn’t allow for a view, the pub had multiple large screens showing various sports and movies. My son gave many thumbs up for his burger and fries for lunch and a grilled cheese and fries for dinner.
I had the crispy chicken burger and fries for lunch which I thought was fantastic (note Burlington is home to many delicious crispy chicken burgers). I had chicken wings for dinner.
My husband had the ragu for lunch which he enjoyed and a large salad for dinner. They were generous with the fries – high quality ones – so we took the extras back to our room for extra snacking through the day and for breakfast the next day. Yes we’re on vacation. There was a great selection of local beers on tap as well as live music on weekends.
The Bear Den
For apres ski (or “pendant le ski” since it was full of people since late morning), we poked our heads in the Bear Den. This is a separate old school lodge with a divey vibe compared to the Hotel. You can’t miss it as you will ultimately ski by on your way to the Mid-Burke Express. There were more people overflowing outside, which speaks to its popularity. We saw lots of BMA families hanging out there as well as many locals. There was live music and hot soups on the menu. We didn’t get to hang out there for long because we were quite tuckered out from our full day of fun at Burke, but wanted to check it out.
A Mountain Built for Families
The mountain at Burke is divided strategically into two sections – a beginner section at the lower mountain and an intermediate/expert (blue/black) area on the upper mountain. Unlike other resorts where the beginner area is completely secluded from the rest of the mountain or awkwardly placed, the two areas are contiguous so different groups can meet up very easily. The beginner area has a magic carpet, a J-bar, and a chairlift serving all types of learners. The upper mountain has a chairlift and a T-bar. The T-bar serves the BMA racing area. Since there were races the day we skied, we didn’t explore this section.
Burke’s reputation is that it is a small but challenging mountain. My son rated the lower mountain as “easy but fun”, and the upper mountain as hard “in a good way.” My husband stuck to the wider blues when he was out on his own but saved a good chunk of the mountain for a future trip. I had shared a ride with an employee who worked at the Hotel who raved about the glades.
We were able to pack in a lot of skiing. The wait was short (even on a Saturday) and the lifts were fast. Since we were staying at the Hotel, we didn’t need to reserve any extra energy and time to drive home. Another perk of the ski-in ski-out is that our son was able to warm up and rest in the comfort of our room when he wanted to avoid the noise or crowd of the lodge. A win-win if anyone in your family has sensory sensitivities.
Notable runs for our family include Carriage Road to Big Dipper, Powderhorn to Dipper Doodle, and Dipper from top to bottom. Deer Run is the easiest way down the upper mountain. Willoughby is a great run to connect seamlessly with the lower mountain.
All of these named runs are typically groomed except Powderhorn and Dipper Doodle but we were there during a surprise powder day so we weren’t ones to judge. There is also a terrain park in the lower mountain which my son is excited to check out on our next trip.
Lessons Learned: More than Just Skills
The Snowsports Learning Center at Burke is at the lower mountain within the Sherburne Base Lodge. They offer season long lessons, vacation ski camps, and private lessons. My son and I each had a 1-hour private lesson with different instructors. My son with Gabe and me with Bobby.
Bobby and I rode the Sherburne Express and Mid-Burke Express (both high speed quads) to access the upper mountain. While riding, we chatted about our backgrounds, Bobby had been a ski race instructor in Washington state and had recently joined the instructor team at Burke. I discussed my background as an adult learner.
A lesson, besides gaining new skills, is a great way to learn about the mountain. When I go to new resort, I get nervous with worries. Would this run would be a true blue square or a black diamond in disguise? Is the run ungroomed or a field of moguls? Would the run be too narrow? Are they be labeled clearly so I don’t go down the wrong one? With an instructor or guide, I feel a lot more at ease about where we’re heading.
During the lesson, we skied Willoughby and Dipper. The latter is what Bobby called “a classic New England run.” He observed my skiing and gave me many, many pointers — how to hold my arms, where to plant my poles, what to do with my skis at the apex of the turn, when to be “small” then “tall”, and so on. At the end of the lesson back at the lower mountain, Bobby helped me figure out which other runs would suit my style and ability.
Our son had lessons on the lower mountain to work on his pole planting and skiing backwards with Gabe. He felt particularly gleeful describing his backwards skiing.
Hot Tub for the Gold
“What was your favorite part of our Burke vacation?” I asked the family
“Hot tub” said my husband smiling.
“Hot tub!” exclaimed my son “I really like making frozen hair”
I couldn’t agree more.
Our family had skied hard that day. It was single digit temperature outside. So when my husband said it was time for the hot tub, I wasn’t sure why he wanted to extract us from the comfortable room. I’ve never experienced an outdoor hot tub in that climate before. After a mad dash to the outside from the hotel we plopped in and all my skepticism washed away.
Authenticity, Joy, and Hospitality
Remember when I said my husband wanted to come back to Burke within 15 minutes upon arrival? Well the vibe at Burke is A+. From the moment we arrived to the day we left, we were welcomed with genuine hospitality.
The employees are truly happy which trickled into our experience of Burke. When we went on a short tour with Seth (who worked 12+ hours that day!), he was stopped and greeted by at least 3 different repeat patrons of the resort. The two friendly staff at the cafeteria said hello to us in the morning and chitchatted about skiing at the resorts around Vermont and their unsolicited joy of working and skiing at Burke. I shared a lift with a Hotel employee and he said he was proud of Seth with his recent promotion.
When we were warming up at the Sherburne Lodge, one of the local snowboarders reminisced about this kind of scene at another resort he frequented. When we were out skiing, other skiers were friendly and content.
My husband said he was impressed with the large number of very good skiers, which lowered his anxiety about the safety of our family on the slopes.
With less than a year under new ownership, I expect there will only be an upward trajectory for Burke in the future. We can’t wait to come back and find out!
Chi grew up in California and saw a patch of snow for the first time at 22. Since then she became an avid lover of the outdoors (camping, backpacking, climbing, road biking, and hiking). After moving to Burlington, Vermont during the COVID pandemic, she became a winter enthusiast (skiing, skating). She enjoys observing and exploring natural areas in Vermont and beyond with her husband and son (and sometimes dog). She is a scientist by day and stays busy gardening, foraging, teaching yoga, and contributing to community building initiatives.