Serenity Spa Wilmington

Serenity Spa sits on Route 9 in Wilmington, at the crossroads of southern Vermont’s Deerfield Valley.

Wilmington is the valley’s service town, a few miles south of Mount Snow, and Route 9 is the Molly Stark Trail — the road running west to Bennington and east to Brattleboro, named for the wife of the general who won the Battle of Bennington in 1777. The village sits on the Deerfield River and was substantially rebuilt after Tropical Storm Irene destroyed much of Main Street in 2011.

Spas in ski-valley towns work two quite different seasons: a busy winter serving visitors, and a quieter rest of the year serving the several thousand people who live here. Both matter, and the off-season is when a facility like this is most valuable locally.

Vermont’s climate gives heat therapy weight it does not carry in milder places. The valley runs cold from November into April, and the Deerfield provides genuine cold water year-round.

Wilmington sits at the junction of routes 9 and 100. Appointments book ahead, particularly at weekends in ski season.

The village sits on the Deerfield River and was substantially rebuilt after Tropical Storm Irene destroyed much of Main Street in 2011 — a recovery locals are justifiably proud of.