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If, as a snowboarder, you're a woods-o-maniac, Stowe is the place for you. There are so many places to poke into the trees either to have fun, get lost, or hurt yourself that you could spend weeks here without doing the same line twice.

Here's what I'd recommend, however, long before you decided to venture deep into the woods. First, check out Nose Dive. The main body of the trail is great for cruising, and the Stowe people recently cleared out glades along the right side if you want to mix cruising with a few turns through the trees. Lots of snow gets blown in here, and it's often wind-packed; skiers hate the stuff, but good snowboarders simply surf through that wind-whipped stuff. Another place to check out a mix of cruising and tree exploration is Gondolier. Look for stream beds along the left side of the trail to dip into and play around in.

For more mellow riding, I'd recommend heading for Spruce. While the lower-intermediate cruising terrain of Mansfield is great, all those trail intersections I've mentioned above are less than ideal for keeping the interaction of skiers and snowboarders under control. Skiers and snowboarders, as we all know, travel in different rhythms and turn patterns, something that can lead to chaos in congested areas. Far better to do the Spruce thing and mellow out.

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