Here's a top-20 list of ski bars, where to relax after a day on the slopes
Everyone knows how fun skiing and snowboarding is, but what comes after is often almost as enjoyable.
The French call it après-ski, and the name for what comes after a day on the slopes has stuck throughout international ski culture for a certain dedication to imbibement.
But if you want to be true to the lifestyle, keep it mainly to after skiing. It’s called après for a reason.
Top 20 ski bars
Here’s my list of the top 20 bars for après-ski in New England ski country.
I’ve done firsthand research at most of them, and the ones I haven’t been to are vouched for by trusted ski friends who have been on the circuit for a long time.
Most of these spots are legendary, and are many decades old and indisputably are the greatest. You can quibble about a few of them that I have on the list just because I think they’re so cool, and you can also complain that I left some off.
The top 20 ski bars I’ve listed here are a good mix of on-mountain and off-mountain locations.
Breaking the rule
And going against my own rule about after-skiing enjoyment, I’ve listed a mountaintop spot.
Also, please note that my criteria are pre-coronavirus pandemic. As in, often the most intimate and raucous ones are the best.
Cheers.
1, Black Line Tavern — Magic Mountain, Vermont
At Magic Mountain, this rustic and expansive bar and stage, expanded in recent years, on a happening midwinter late afternoon is a chaotic mix of deafening hard rock, scampering children and the crowd two or three deep at the bar. Meanwhile, customers line up at a counter for hamburgers and hot dogs. Magic’s quirky slopes are just past the huge overhanging window and deck. The “BLT” is a magnet for locals, including non-skiers, and out-of-staters who love Magic’s laid-back, off-mainstream vibe and killer steeps and glade skiing.
2, The Matterhorn — Stowe, Vermont
Enough said. If you’ve sauntered up to the bar here after a day battling Stowe Mountain’s famed front four runs, you know you’re at the place that’s always been the place. Dark, dim and cheap, the beer keeps flowing here decade after decade. If you’ve braved the 4.9 miles twisting miles of the Bruce backcountry trail from the summit of Mount Mansfield, you’re in luck. The trail lets out in the woods behind the Matterhorn, on the Mountain Road.
3, Cuzzins — Mount Snow, Vermont
Located in the main base lodge at Mount Snow, this bar is packed on a regular basis. There’s table service, and great burgers and Bloody Marys. And somehow, despite a thick crowd of thirsty skiers and riders backed up at the bar, the bartenders somehow seem to get to everyone pretty quickly. It’s usually loud here, and that’s a good thing.
4, Ptarmigans Pub — Attitash, New Hampshire
A shrine to retro-80s cool, Ptarmigans is more than just a bar. It’s really a boisterous, cavernous nightclub, just one that happens to be perched on the slopes of a great throwback ski area that is Attitash. You haven’t experienced New England après until you’ve precariously ported a few glasses of beer through the concert area and onto the deck with the '80s band pounding away.
5, Coppertop — Wachusett, Princeton
The main bar in the Wachusett base lodge (the Black Diamond is upstairs), the Coppertop during the day is a skier’s haven. Many skiers and riders “boot up” in here and stack their gear on and near the tiny stage that is often occupied by musicians at night. Children roam in and out if their parents are based here, and, somehow, late into the night, the Coppertop becomes a dating bar for some.
6, Crazy Horse — Berkshire East, Charlemont
The newest edition of this rough-hewn Western Massachusetts ski bar, looking out on the Competition race hill, was built by Berkshire East owner Jon Schaefer and his friends a few years ago out of local timber. Even the hefty tables and chairs are made from local hardwoods. It’s also a locals and out-of-towners favorite.
7, The Wobbly Barn Steakhouse and Nightclub — Killington, Vermont
Perched on Killington’s iconic access road since 1963, the Wobbly rocks. Large numbers hardcore skiers and riders flock here for loud music and great food.
8, Widowmaker — Sugarloaf, Maine
Upstairs at the base lodge is the ample Widowmaker, the bustling center of the remote Sugarloaf resort. It draws the hardcore skiers and riders that make sprawling, snowy Sugarloaf the destination must-go-to destination that it is. Only here they become hardcore après aficionados.
9, Foggy Goggle — Sunday River, Maine
About two hours south at Sugarloaf’s sister resort, the Foggy Goggle offers ample sustenance in the form of great nachos and innumerable local craft beers from across New England to skiers and riders exhausted from tackling this massive resort’s eight mountain peaks. The Foggy Goggle is in the South Ridge Lodge, one of Sunday River’s four base and mid-mountain lodges.
10, Grizzly’s — Stratton Mountain, Vermont
This bustling classic, upstairs in the main base lodge at Stratton Mountain features a mix of upscale and flannel, beer and wine styles. It has a great view of the mountain and overlooks Stratton’s eight-passenger gondola.
11, Lostbo Pub — Black Mountain, New Hampshire
There’s nothing like this character-rich, rustic go-to spot for locals, in the base lodge. It’s a pub where everyone knows everyone, and if they don’t, they will soon. Right outside are Black Mountain’s uphill-friendly, funky steep winding trails and beginner-friendly meadows.
12, Cannonball Pub — Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire
Wedged into the ground floor of the Peabody Lodge is a bar that’s as rough and ready as this fearsome mountain. In the spring, the crowd often spills in to the outdoor patio, no matter how cold it gets when the sun goes down. My ski friends Andrew Combs of Leominster and Joe Serio of Westminster are among the most loyal customers here.
13, The Sled Pub — Pats Peak, New Hampshire
Upstairs in the classic base lodge is one of the friendliest bars in ski country and unquestionably the maker of the best Bloody Mary. The bar overlooks the slopes, and here, too, the outdoor tables are glorious in the spring sun. Thanks to my ski friend Jeff Dade of Sudbury for reminding me of this joint.
14, Castlerock Pub — Sugarbush, Vermont
With its checkerboard floor and exposed wood, the Castlerock is located in the heart of Vermont craft beer country. Beers from world-class breweries Lawson’s, Hill Farmstead, The Alchemist and Frost Beerworks are fresh and delicious at the go-to pub for skiers at iconic Sugarbush.
15, The Belfry — Jay Peak, Vermont
The go-to watering hole for northern Vermont skiers and riders and visiting Montrealers is off-mountain but delivers its dishes to on-mountain guests. Thanks again to Dade for this one.
16, Paul Bunyan Room — Loon, New Hampshire
Located upstairs at the Octagon Lodge at Loon Mountain, this bar is always busy, with a young vibe and a crowd that spills onto the deck overlooking the center part of the resort served by the gondola. Don’t try to navigate the treacherous in winter Kancamagus Highway after departing here.
17, Red Parka Pub — Glen, New Hampshire
For 49 years, the Red Parka has defined après-ski culture in the ski-crazed Mount Washington Valley-North Conway area. It gets so packed sometimes that customers are turned away at the door. It’s a locals-first place, but visitors should check it out to see what a real vintage ski bar looks and sounds like: intimate and loud.
18, Zip’s Pub — Cranmore, New Hampshire
Zip’s, with its distinct Austrian heritage — the same as its host ski area — offers live music, good food and draws customers from throughout the Mount Washington Valley, not just Cranmore skiers. During Cranmore’s annual Meister Cup racing weekend, it’s a glorious bedlam in here. Zip was the nickname of the famous Hannes Schneider, the Nazi-era Austrian refugee who brought European ski technique to North America in 1938 at his ski school at Cranmore and trained U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division ski soldiers during World War II.
19, Onset Pub — Crotched, New Hampshire
Under-rated, the Onset is comfy, with sofas, couches and bean chairs — a warm refuge in Crotched’s huge, airy, airplane hangar-like base lodge. Don’t miss this spot for après if you’re day tripping from Worcester or Boston or staying for the southern New Hampshire ski area’s happening Midnight Madness sessions Fridays and Saturdays in January and February from 8 p.m. to midnight.
20, Peak Lodge — Killington, Vermont
The setting for this modern-design mountaintop refuge is spectacular, at the top of Vermont’s second-highest peak. It’s open winter and summer, when it hosts legions of mountain bikers, hikers and gondola riders. The food is inventive, and the beer selection is, as is to be expected in beer country, on point.
Be careful skiing down.
—Contact Shaun Sutner by e-mail at s_sutner@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Here's a top-20 list of ski bars, where to relax after day on the slopes
