Jeffersonville VT

Smugglers Notch, or “Smuggs” is America’s family resort, and truly caters to the diverse needs of family skiing. Made up of 3 mountains of differing terrain, Smuggs offers loads of beginner programs at Morse Mountain, which is entirely dedicated to entry-level terrain. In fact Smugglers' guarantees that each member of the family will learn to ski or snowboard or will improve technique regardless of ability level, or the entire lesson portion of that person's vacation package will be refunded. The ski and snowboard staff here are relentlessly dedicated in aiding and encouraging the students in all ways possible.

On the other side of the resort, made up of Madonna and Sterling Mountain, is where the more advanced terrain is located, as well as the Zone terrain park. Smugglers' has 78 trails on 300 acres of marked and patrolled acreage. There are an additional 700 acres of unmarked and unpatrolled terrain, for a total of 1,000 acres, the largest in Vermont. This Northwood’s style backcountry has multiple lines and entry-exit points, finding good snow is always easy out here. The woods are home to some of the much steeper, technical lines in all of the state. With tight turns and protruding rocks, these runs test even the wisest of the sport. The Notch also boasts the east’s only triple black diamond run, the Black Hole, a burly tree chute line that’s wicked steep and tight. Great trail, but defiantly wait for some snow on this one.

Smugglers Notch has remained true to its skiing roots since they first opened in the 1960’s. While most resorts have upgraded to more modern high-speed quads, Smuggs continues to run the old fashioned double lifts. As hyped up as high speed quads are, this actually benefits the mountain by putting less skiers and snowboards on the slopes at once, so you always have plenty of room for wide open turns without having to slalom around slow pokes. The lift lines here remain relatively short, as Smuggs is one of the smaller resorts in the area, but one of the biggest for expert terrain, and good old-fashioned skiing.