What do you get for the person in your life who seemingly has everything? Or the person who favors collective experiences over more material goods? I wholeheartedly am one of these people! Spend quality time with me and let’s go on an adventure for the memories we’ll make and the ample belly laughs we’ll experience. For your experience-collecting partner, best friend, or family member, here are some of the best Vermont experiences you can gift to someone this holiday season. Make the gift even more special by having it be a shared experience with someone important in your life. After all, it’s always good to treat yourself a bit too!

What would you add to the list? Comment below to be part of the conversation!

Vermont Gift Guide: Vermont Experiences to Gift

King Arthur Baking Class

A baking class at King Arthur in Norwich is one of the best ways to hone your baking skills at a beautiful facility with phenomenal instruction. I attended a class on making sticky buns and cinnamon buns with my parents one year. It was a shared experience I’ll never forget! There are classes for every baking level, even for kids! Book ahead as these baking classes book up quickly. Choose from a variety of classes from Sourdough Baking Basics to Crafting Croissants to Biscuits and Scones to Beauty and the Baguette. View the full class schedule here. Can’t attend in person? King Arthur offers live online Zoom classes and on-demand baking classes as well, starting at $30 per class.

Cooking Class at the Essex Resort & Spa

For the budding chef in your family or friends’ group, book a cooking class at the Essex Resort & Spa’s Cook Academy. From Brunch for Dinner to New England Lobster Dinners to Classic French Cuisine to Italian Harvest, there’s a cooking class for everyone on your list. Or consider gifting a dining experience that’s a bit more unique that just a gift card? Book seats at Junction’s interactive chef’s table right on the Essex Resort’s campus as well.

Vermont Two-Hour Land Rover Experience

For the car lover or adventurer in your life, head to Manchester for a one-hour, two-hour or half-day off-roading drive in a Land Rover at Land Rover Experience. They’ll hone their skills on icy hill climbs, side tilts, and rocky terrain. Book it through the Equinox Golf Resort and Spa.

A Sauna Session with a View

Give the gift of wellness with a sauna session (preferably with a snowy mountain view!). Savu Sauna in Jeffersonville has private sauna experiences for two starting at $65 with the option to extend an hour for $60 more. Or head to Stowe to enjoy the barrel sauna and cold plunge experience at The Calm Company. Sweet Cedars Nordic Spa in East Hardwick, Vermont, is another great option to gift for their wintertime cedar sauna and snow-bathing experience. You can also gift a visit to the Oasis at Rootstock in West Glover, a wood-fired bathhouse and elemental healing sanctuary, also offering therapeutic treatments in their healing yurt.

An Afternoon Ice Skating Slopeside

Who won’t smile and laugh the whole way through donning some ice skates and getting in some laps in a quaint ski village like at Spruce Peak at Stowe? Or find a local rink, arena, frozen pond or lake by you for a very cost-effective gift of an ice skating afternoon. Bonus points for bringing along a thermos of Vermont hot cocoa with  marshmallows from the Vermont Marshmallow Company. Find a comprehensive list of where to ice skate in Vermont here.

A Pass for Vermont State Parks

Give the gift of adventure while supporting Vermont State Parks. Get a Day-Tripper punch card good for 10-park day visits for $59 (comes with a notebook, pen and Vermont States Park travel mug). Gift a Weekend Getaway for $89, which includes two nights of camping (lean-to or RV camping), a coupon for a free armload of firewood, two Vermont State Parks water bottles and a LED mini-flashlight. There are over 55 state parks in Vermont. This gift is perfect for anyone who wants to spend a bit more time outside!

A 251 Club of Vermont Membership

The 251 Club membership in Vermont is one of the best ways to gift adventure and share an experience with someone else! The 251 Club members have a goal of visiting every town, city, or village in Vermont with purpose. A one-year membership is only $22 to gift, with a five-year option for $48.

A Vermont Hot Air Balloon Ride

What better way to take in the sights of Vermont from overhead than with a hot air balloon ride! Although this gift would have to wait until spring, it’s something to definitely look forward to. Check out Above Reality Hot Air Balloon Rides in Essex or Quechee Balloon Rides in Quechee. Or, give the gift of entry to the Quechee Hot Air Balloon Festival, one of Vermont’s most impressive events happening in June 2024.

A Day Snowmobiling

Give the gift of a day in the Vermont outdoors, snowmobiling! Dress warm and hit the open trails. Snowmobile Vermont has snowmobiling tours from Stowe, Mount Snow, Okemo and Killington, and set you up with Polaris snowmobiles and helmets. They also do custom guided ATV/UTV adventure tours from Killington in the spring through fall.

A Visit to a Vermont Salt Cave

Did you know that Vermont has three salt caves… Give the gift of wellness and halotherapy with an immersive salt cave experience, typically lasting 45-60 minutes. Salt-cave sessions typically have the wellness benefits of spending a day or more at the beach in less than an hour in the cave. Check out these salt caves in Vermont:

• Vermont Salt Cave Spa & Halotherapy in Montgomery Center
• Purple Sage Salt Cave at the Essex Experience in Essex
• Pyramid Holistic Wellness Center in Rutland

A Winter Sleigh Ride (or Summer Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride)

What could be more magical than a stroll through Vermont’s wintery wonderland on a horse-drawn sleigh ride? Book a 45-minute sleigh-ride adventure with:

• Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe
• Gentle Giants Sleigh and Carriage Rides in Stowe
• Kendron Valley Stables in Woodstock
• Billings Farm in Woodstock
• Rainbow’s Edge Farm in Sutton
• Lajoie Stables in Jeffersonville
• The Kingdom’s Horse Drawn Wagon & Sleigh Rides in Brownsville

Sip & Paint or Attend a Painting or Ceramics Class

Gain a new skill or just enjoy tapping into your creative side with the gift of a sip and paint experience, painting class, or ceramics class in Vermont. Paint and Sip at Chaffee Art Center in Rutland or Burlington Paint & Sip in Burlington. Gift a printmaking, figure drawing, or swing dancing from the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.

A Rejuvenating Spa Day

Whether you gift a facial, a massage, or a day pass, a spa gift can be one the best gifts for relaxation and wellness for someone needing some rest and recovery. Check out the best Vermont spas here.

Other Ideas for Vermont Experiences to Gift:

If none of these ideas are the perfect fit for someone on your list, here are some other ideas for the perfect experiential gift in Vermont for this holiday season:

• A gift card to a local B&B or Inn in an new part of the state
• A member or ticket to a local museum: Shelburne Museum, Montshire Museum of Science, Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, Billings Farm & Museum
• A learn-how-to-sail gift certificate on Lake Champlain from the Community Sailing Center in Burlington
• Tickets to a local music venue at The Flynn Center, Higher Ground, Zenbarn or Stowe Shakedown Street
• A custom Travel Like a Local itinerary for upcoming Vermont travel

What other Vermont experiences have you gifted? Share below!

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