4393 Awards: Outdoors & Recreation

Jul 14, 2016
Jul 14, 2016 Updated Jan 15, 2020
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Orah Moore Photography

Charlotte Brynn at the Swimming Hole leads an adult learn-to-swim class.

Courtesy photo

4393 Best trainer/fitness instructor: Chad Couto

Courtesy of Stoweflake

4393 Best yoga studio and teacher: Bikram Yoga, Zoe Pickett

Zoe Pickett’s Bikram Yoga studio sweated out the Yoga Barn for the victory. Pickett (second from left), daughter of Best Chef Jack Pickett, also took top honors as best yoga teacher.

Glenn Callahan

Gordon Miller

Maggie Morrissey, left; Matt Lindemer and Darsey Moon, at right.

Tommy Gardner/Andrew Martin

Chuck's Bikes has more than enough two-wheeled transports to get you going over whatever surface Mother Nature and any road crew can throw at you. And although the wall of metal and rubber might seem intimidating to first-time bike purchasers, a visit to Chuck’s will reward you with a good new ride, upgrade or repair for a fair price, with a confidence that you’ve been fitted to a bike frame that works perfectly with your body frame.

Glenn Callahan

Volunteers heft a sawed log into place on the Schween Haus Loop in Cady Hill Forest during a Stowe Mountain Bike trail work day last summer, just in time for a single-track rider to successfully test out the new feature.

Kristen Braley

Honorable mention 2015

Riaan Vermeulen

The Waterbury Reservoir’s many swimming and boating possibilities often draw more than 40,000 people each summer to the state park.

Photo by Gordon Miller

Stowe may be world-famous for skiing and riding on the highest mountain in Vermont (4,393 feet, to be exact!), but there's so much more to explore in this little slice of Central Vermont heaven. Whether on skis, wheels, sneakers or bare feet, here's what readers had to say about their favorite adventures.

Best fitness venue (indoors)

1. The Swimming Hole

2. PHiT Performance

3. Topnotch

Nominees: CrossFit Waterbury, Stoweflake, Morrisville Community CrossFit, Dave’s Community Fitness.

When Jake and Donna Carpenter helped to fund and build The Swimming Hole in Stowe, did they think, “If we build it they will come?” Guess what? They came and they’re loving it.

Best trainer/fitness instructor

1. Chad Couto

2. Joanna Graves

3. Hector Ortiz

Nominees: Ernie Roick, Geanie Young, Molly Lauridsen, Helena Sullivan, Charlotte Brynn, Mary Regele, Julie Roick, Tom Williams, Ron McConnell.

Best yoga instructor

1. Zoe Pickett

2. Judith Foti

3. Kate Graves

Nominees: Nancy Borg, Mariah Lilly, Mandy Bard, Maggie Mae Anderson, Meghan Minogue, Indy Ewald, Genevieve Thompson.

Voting was close for the top three, with everyone listed receiving respectable numbers of votes. So many beloved teachers explains three things in the Stowe area — a deep talent pool, the popularity of yoga and the ubiquitous yoga pant.

Best yoga studio

1. Yoga Barn

2. Bikram Yoga Stowe

3. Stowe Yoga Center

Nominees: Blackbird Wellness, indyYoga.

Best ski/snowboard tune/repair

1. Pinnacle Ski & Sports

2. AJ’s Ski & Sports

3. Edgewise

Nominees: Stowe Mountain Resort, Darkside Snowboard Shop, Today’s Edge, Waterbury Sports, Powerplay Sports.

Like a good car mechanic, loyalty runs deep when it comes to ski tuners, boot fitters, and the like. The competition here was fierce, but Pinnacle came out on top for the second year in a row. But really, with this lineup of gearheads up and down the Route 100/108 corridors, can you go wrong?

Best ski/board rentals

1. Pinnacle Ski & Sports

2. AJ’s Ski & Sports

3. Darkside Snowboards

Nominees: Stowe Mountain Resort, Waterbury Sports, Nordic Barn, Mountain Ops, Umiak Outdoor Outfitters, Powerplay Sports.

See above.

Best ski instructor

1. Maggie Morrissey

2. Darcy Moon

3. Matt Lindemer

Nominees: Mike Tasi, Laurie Silva, Lynn Gorski.

Best bike shop

1. Chuck’s Bikes

2. AJ’s Ski & Sports

3. iRide

Nominees: Waterbury Sports, Power Play Sports, Mansfield Cycles, Pinnacle Ski & Sports.

Shouldn’t we rename this shop Hank’s Place already?

Best bike mechanic

1. Hank Glowiak, Chuck’s Bikes

2. Tad Davis, AJ’s Ski & Sports

3. Jarrod Ogden, iRide

Nominees: Ryan McGuire, Waterbury Sports; Dave Clifford, Mountain Ops.

Like Greg LeMond, Tour de France, ’89 and ’90, Hank repeats in the 4393s.

Best mountain bike trails

1. Cady Hill Forest

2. Perry Hill

3. Sterling Forest

Nominees: Cotton Brook and Little River State Park, Adams Camp, Cady’s Falls in Morrisville, Trapp Family Lodge.

Cady Hill Forest in Stowe … a hands-down fave among the MTB crowd. With its nearly 11 miles of single and double track, and even factoring in voters from Waterbury (the Perry Hill trails are pretty sweet), Cady Hill pedaled away in this category.

Best hike

1. Stowe Pinnacle

2. Mt. Mansfield

3. Camel’s Hump

Nominees: Sterling Gorge/Pond, Hunger Mountain, Hell Brook, Sunset Rock, Trapps, Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, Stowe Rec Path, Kirchner Woods, Elmore Mountain.

Best views in town.

Best place to play/walk/hike with your dog

1. Stowe Quiet Path

2. Cotton Brook

3. Wiessner Woods

Nominees: Stowe Recreation Path, Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, Waterbury Unleashed, Smugglers’ Notch, Kirchner Woods, Stowe Mountain Resort Cross Country Center, Oxbow Park, Pinnacle Meadows.

Shhhhh. If we keep telling people about this, it will no longer be quiet.

Best outdoor swim spot

1. I’m not telling!

2. Waterbury Reservoir

3. Bingham Falls

Nominees: Foster’s, Moss Glen Falls, Lake Mansfield Trout Club, Little River State Park, Journey’s End, Green River Reservoir.

Not sure about the folks swimming at the very private Lake Mansfield Trout Club (members, we hope), and with a flash of the bikini top to all the contenders, one’s own private stash, like the woods on a powder day, is a well-kept secret. Is it because in Vermont it’s not illegal to be au naturel in the Great Outdoors? Shield your eyes, kids. And no peeking.