Smugglers' Notch

Located far up in northern Vermont, Smugglers’ Notch has been a ski resort staple for years. While it surely isn’t the most conveniently located, the mountain aims to attract guests with an old-school, local feel and family-friendly village resort. But the resort feels like it hasn’t changed at all in the past five decades, which is both a good and a bad thing.

Smuggs’ overall vibe is certainly a unique one. The mountain feels quite charming and undeveloped, with upper-mountain areas offering incredible views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains and valleys—including the utterly striking Mount Mansfield. Runs at the resort feel thoughtfully designed, with many offering the winding, narrow profiles Vermont trails are fabled for, rather than straight, cookie-cutter trails that some of its competitors have fallen victim to adopting.

One Smuggs advantage is its snow reliability. Thanks to its northern Vermont location, the resort sees higher snowfall totals and less variable weather conditions throughout the typical winter. As a result, guests will often find better quality natural snow than at resorts further south.

However, Smugglers’ Notch is still a Northeast mountain, and the mountain still sees at least a handful of freeze-thaw cycles throughout the season. Smuggs does have a decent snowmaking footprint, but at just under two-thirds terrain coverage, this infrastructure lags far behind most major competitors and makes the resort slower to recover after less-than-ideal weather patterns. Most advanced and expert terrain does not have any snowmaking coverage and is most adversely affected when conditions are bad.

Smugglers’ Notch consists of three distinct mountains: Morse, Madonna, and Sterling. Morse is the beginner-oriented of the three, while Madonna and Sterling cater to more experienced visitors. The resort is slightly smaller than some competitors, but still boasts a very solid variety of terrain as far as Northeast resorts go.

Morse Mountain is home to Smuggs’ only green-rated terrain; the resort’s larger mountains do not service any beginner runs. This zone has one or two blues and blacks but is clearly targeted towards beginners, and the isolation from more aggressive skier traffic makes for a great learning environment. However, the resort’s smallest mountain is not well integrated into the rest of the resort; the only trail route to Morse from the Madonna/Sterling area requires a long, flat catwalk that’s nearly impossible to keep speed on, and the trek back isn’t much better either. Beginners will fare best by completely ignoring the larger mountains and viewing Morse as its own sub-resort.

Smuggs is a much more competitive resort for intermediate, advanced, and expert terrain; the Madonna and Sterling pods have more than enough terrain to keep guests of these abilities satisfied. Visitors will find plenty of blue, groomed cruisers across both Madonna and Sterling, and the trails feel unique from one another. Upper-mountain blues are home to some of the best views at the resort, with amazing views of the surrounding Green Mountain wilderness. Lower-mountain Madonna terrain is home to a number of intermediate-rated glade runs, although some of these are on the harder side for Vermont blues and are best suited for advanced intermediates.

Smugglers’ Notch’s best single-black terrain lives on Sterling Mountain. The area is chock full of advanced runs, with plenty of steep, narrow mogul lines across the footprint, as well as numerous glades. Most individual black runs aren’t too long on their own, but it is possible to hit two or three of them on the way down the mountain with a few intermediate sections spaced between.

Particularly proficient guests will want to hit Madonna Mountain—which hosts the longest vertical drop at the resort—for the resort’s only expert terrain. Smuggs’ double blacks aren’t the longest in the world, but they’re home to tantalizingly steep pitches with narrow fall lines that allow little room for error. Hidden obstacles such as rocks and cliffs are fair game throughout the core season.

The Madonna zone also hosts Black Hole, the only triple-black-diamond-rated run on the East Coast. This run is very demanding, holding the same obstacles as Smuggs’ double blacks, but with tight glades that add additional complexity and block visibility. Depending on the line you find yourself on, expect some near-mandatory straightlining on Black Hole. Smuggs also boasts plenty of unmarked tree terrain at the top of Madonna; some of this acreage lacks clear paths down and can warrant mandatory cliffs depending on the line, and one could argue these trees are harder than any of the named runs.

Smuggs’ biggest downside is its lift system; every chair at the resort is an antiquated fixed-grip double. Some of these lifts are quite long, making for lift rides that take over 15 minutes—among the longest anywhere in New England. Smuggs can get really cold during the winter, which makes these rides miserable. If you end up at Morse Mountain, avoid the blue Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift at all costs—this lift looks exactly the same as the neighboring Village lift, but it runs at a considerably slower speed, making for what might be the most lethargic lift ride we’ve experienced anywhere. Both Morse Mountain lifts and the Madonna I chair have mid-station unloading, so guests can get off early if the ride is too taxing.

You might think that Smuggs’ slow lifts, northern location, and lack of partner passes would keep down crowds. And while you’d be right, the resort’s low capacity still results in considerable backups on busy weekends and holidays. On the worst days, it’s not uncommon to see 20-minute lines at each of Madonna and Sterling. The Madonna II lift provides some backup on that part of the mountain, but it only extends part of the way up and covers essentially no advanced or expert terrain. These lines are nowhere near as bad as much more commercialized mountains—including nearby Stowe—but those expecting ski-on lifts might be disappointed.

At least after a long, cold ride up, every mountain peak has a warming hut where guests can take a break before starting their runs. The resort also has a no-frills base lodge at the bottom of Madonna and Sterling, as well as a series of restaurants in its village next to the base of Morse.

Getting There

Smugglers’ Notch is one of the most difficult Vermont mountains to reach from major U.S. metropolitan areas. The resort is already quite far north, but the most direct access route is closed during the winter months, requiring a lengthy deviation from the south. As a result, the drive takes over four hours from Boston, and over six-and-a-half hours from New York. Smuggs is also about two-and-a-half hours from Montreal.

Lodging

Smugglers’ Notch is arguably just as known for the four-season resort of the same name at the bottom of Morse Mountain as it is for skiing, and all of the mountain’s on-site lodging is in this area. These accommodations are reasonably priced but more bargain-basement than one might expect. There’s no lodging at the Madonna and Sterling base, meaning that guests staying on site will have to endure the lengthy traverses required to get to and from these mountain zones. It probably doesn’t make much sense to book a vacation to Smuggs if you’re not staying on site; nearby vacation home rentals are very limited, and the nearest other practical lodging options are about 45 minutes away in the city of Burlington.

Aprés-ski

It may have a village, but Smugglers’ Notch is much more of a family resort than a rowdy mountain town. The village hosts a variety of restaurants and pubs, but they’re on the quieter side and rarely get lively. The nearby town of Jeffersonville also has some dining options, but they’re on the casual side as well.

Verdict

So Smugglers’ Notch is probably as close as you can get to an old-school Vermont experience, and the resort’s northern Green Mountain location furnishes it with strong snowfall totals and striking natural views. But the resort certainly won’t be for everyone due to the ancient lift system, inadequate snowmaking operations, and beginner zone that’s too removed from the rest of the mountain. 

Smuggs’ biggest vice is arguably the value; with ticket prices of under $100, even on peak weekends and holidays, the resort significantly undercuts most competitors. But resorts further south offer much more well-rounded experiences, and it can be hard to justify the extra few hours of driving to save a couple bucks on tickets.