Start from 22 curated places around Waitsfield, VT, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
American Flatbread Waitsfield
The original American Flatbread, on the grounds of the historic Lareau Farm in a converted farmhouse with a wood-burning earthen oven at the center of the room. Open Thursday through Sunday evenings only, the flatbreads are made with organic Vermont flour and local farm toppings, and the setting — with farm fields visible through the windows and the Mad River audible outside — is genuinely special. This is the one to prioritize.
The Mad Taco Waitsfield
The Mad River Valley institution that smokes its meats in the parking lot and stacks them into tacos that have become the default casual dinner for locals and visiting skiers alike. The brisket and pork shoulder are the stars, the beer list skews Vermont, and the counter-service setup keeps prices low and pace fast. The outdoor picnic tables fill up in summer.
Trails & outdoors
General Stark Mountain Trail (Mad River Glen)
A 5.8-mile round trip ascending 2,000 feet on the ski trails of Mad River Glen to the summit of General Stark Mountain, where the Long Trail passes and the views extend over the Mad River Valley and east to the White Mountains. The route follows the historic work road under the Single Chair and passes a large waterfall at mid-mountain. Summer's best way to understand Mad River Glen's terrain.
Warren Falls Trail
The most popular swimming hole in the Mad River Valley — a series of cascades and natural pools on the Mad River south of Warren, accessible via a short trail from a roadside parking area on Route 100. The upper pools are deepest, the lower pools are more accessible, and the flat schist slabs between them are the sunbathing spots. This is the summer institution of the entire valley.
Things to do
Big Picture Theater & Cafe
A genuine single-screen independent movie theater in Waitsfield village with a cafe and full bar, showing art-house, foreign, and independent films in a lovingly maintained old theater building. The bar opens before films and the cafe food is better than movie-theater standards by a significant margin. Thursday through Saturday evenings with matinees on weekends.
Round Barn Farm
A 19th-century round barn that is one of the architectural landmarks of the Mad River Valley, now operating as an event venue and inn with public activities including Nordic skiing on the farm's meadow trails and seasonal farm programs. The barn's circular interior, with a central silo and radiating stalls, is one of the most remarkable agricultural structures in Vermont.
Landmarks & sights
Sugarbush Resort
One of Vermont's most respected mountain resorts, with 2,600 acres across two connected peaks (Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen) and the most challenging varied terrain in the Mad River Valley. The mountain's cult reputation among intermediate and expert skiers is earned — the natural snow, steep glades, and classic New England skiing character set it apart from more groomed-out resorts.
Mad River Glen Ski Area
The last skier-owned cooperative ski area in America and the most genuinely challenging ski mountain in Vermont — no snowmaking except on one trail, no grooming on most runs, and a legendary single-chair lift that is a national historic landmark. Mad River Glen exists to prove that steep, natural-snow skiing on a human-scaled mountain is its own irreplaceable thing.