Snow Business: Butternut is Always More Than You Think

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA — The most common impression skiers and snowboarders seem to get about Butternut is that the mountain offers more than one might think. It always seems to work out that way on every excursion.

The situation a week ago Saturday was this – In the vehicle were an advanced skier and a 12-year-old who has been riding the lifts since she was 5, along with three beginners. That made Butternut ideal because of a self-contained learning area featuring a lift and several magic carpets coupled with easy access to black diamonds.

And that held true at about 10 a.m. after some work on the bunny hill with the newbies. Yes, it was time for some bigger runs and a quick trip up to the summit and the black cruiser Downspout.

That's the neat thing about Butternut - the variety to suit your moods. The mountain offers 110 skiable acreswith 60 percent of the trails carrying a blue designation. The green and black trails are then split evenly over the remaining 40 percent.

The variety itself is evenly distributed all over the mountain.

Butternut has two lodges, both with food available.

It's also easy to get to the mountain. It's 60 miles from Hartford, 77 from Milford and 100 from Greenwich. Great Barrington is, in itself, a charming village in the Berkshire Mountains with plenty of food and lodging and culture. Butternut, located just outside town, makes it a true winter destination.

It's just a short ride up Route 7 from the Connecticut-Massachusetts line.

And, by the way, Butternut offers some of the most inexpensive ticket pricesaround, including a midweek day pass for $25 and $20 for adults and juniors, respectively.

Put Butternut on the snow sports bucket list. It's a short, inexpensive trip and well worth it.

Learn more here.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

Chris Dehnel is a Patch editor and a past-president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association. He has been writing about snow sports for nearly two decades and his Snow Business column runs regularly during the season.