Glad you are curious! A Gentian is an alpine flower. It comes in a variety of colors, mostly blue, pink, white, and purple. They are native to the higher mountain regions of Europe, and have medicinal qualities. Remember Gentian Violet, the medicine of olden days used for treating Thrush? The Europeans make a liquor from the Gentian root, it is mainly drunk as a digestive bitter, and it has even been used in the flavoring of a soda called Moxie.

Bottle Gentians are native to New England and are frequently found in the wild in Vermont; there have even been a few sightings of them on Magic Mountain. Here at the Lodge we have both Bottle Gentians, and a small patch of Alpine Gentians growing. They typically bloom near the end of August.

For those of you old enough to remember the famous Han Thorner, founder of Magic Mountain ski area, it was he who helped in the naming of the Blue Gentian Lodge. When the Littleton’s were building the Lodge, Mrs. Littleton told Hans Thorner she wanted a name with the word ‘BLUE’ in it. Coming from Switzerland, Mr. Thorner quickly said ‘Gentian’, and so the name stuck!