We like this event because it's indoors and outdoors. Lots of hot food greets you when you come in from the cold. As we watched volleyball players slip, slide, dig, and spike on a field of snow at the base of Vermont's tallest mountain, we wished for that kind of pluck, but the chicken-pie supper, Kids Karnival, and sledding party were more our speed. A venerable tradition begun in 1921, this weeklong midwinter gala is sporty by day and glitzy by night. Wear yourself out skiing, snowshoeing, and cheering ski, snowshoe, and sled racers to victory or engaging in a game of snow-golf.
Evenings sparkle with fireworks, feasts, storytelling, and block parties.
Townwide, Routes 108, 100. The International Snowmobilers Festival, a three-day collaboration of sister cities, Madawska, Maine and Edmundston, New Brunswick, offers meticulously groomed trails, a parade that crosses an international bridge, a poker run, and fireworks. Canada and the United State lift border registration fees, so riders cross back and forth for free. From the south, take I-95 to Houlton, then Rte. 1 north to Madawska.