From singing family to resort business: the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe
Photo: Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
After fleeing Austria in 1938, the singing von Trapp family toured the United States and, in 1942, bought a farm on a hillside in Stowe because it reminded them of home. They began taking in guests, and the property grew into a lodge.
The 1959 Broadway musical and the 1965 film “The Sound of Music” made the family world famous, and the lodge became a pilgrimage for fans. The original lodge burned in 1980 and was replaced by the larger Alpine-style building that stands today.
Beyond the movie
The family’s business has diversified well beyond nostalgia. Johannes von Trapp, the youngest son of Maria and Georg, ran the lodge for decades and in 1968 opened the first commercial cross-country ski center in the United States on the property. The trail network remains one of the best-known in the East.
In 2010 the family opened a brewery producing Austrian-style lagers, which has since moved to a larger facility on the grounds and become a draw of its own. The resort also sells timeshare villas and runs a bakery and restaurant.
Johannes’ son, Sam von Trapp, has been a leading figure in running the business.
Part of Stowe’s economy
The lodge sits on about 2,500 acres overlooking Stowe and is one of the town’s larger employers, alongside Stowe Mountain Resort. It hosts weddings, concerts on the meadow in summer and the cross-country crowds in winter.
The family cemetery on the property, where Maria von Trapp is buried, is open to visitors.
