Smugglers' Notch Vermont®
America’s Family Resort℠The best value for Family Fun... anywhere!
#1 for Family Programs in North America for 10 years SKI Magazine
Smuggs Wins Top Awards from SKI Magazine
2010 "Top 50 Resort Guide"
Ranked and Rated by the Experts - Your Fellow Skiers
"A paradise for families, with plenty of mountain for everyone."
Actually, there are two Smugglers’ Notch resorts. One attracts some of the hardest of hardcore locals, who cherish its super-steeps, its endless glades and its soulful fixed-grip vibe. The other caters to city-dwelling families, who love its bunny slopes, its spacious kid-friendly condos and its cuddly mascots. What’s amazing is that the two occupy the very same real estate—three peaks (Sterling, Madonna, Morse) just north of Vermont’s tallest (Mansfield) in the snow-plastered heart of the Greens. As a result, you get comments like this from readers: “Our two little ones had never skied before; by the end of the week, they were flying through the gates at the Cookie Race.” And this from another: “Sweet expert terrain. Excellent off-piste treeskiing.” But while Smuggs’s hardcore credentials remain something of a secret in a world of Stowes, Mad Rivers and Jay Peaks, its family programs, which rank No. 1 yet again, are well known and loved. (Says one happy dad: “The Daddy and Me program is great.” Aw.) That’s as much a factor of mountain layout as it is excellence of programs and staff enthusiasm. The base village—family central—lies at the foot of the resort’s friendliest terrain, Morse Mountain. An expert-skiing parent can check the kids into ski school, then zip off to Madonna, confident that their little ones are learning in a safe environment that’s secluded from the kamikaze bombers. Smuggs isn’t in any hurry to join the high-speed lift race (No. 24 in lifts; “Lifts all doubles, and slow,” notes a reader), but its make-do Yankee frugality helps keep prices in line with family budgets (No. 3 in Value). The ultra-convenient slopeside lodging—there’s lots of it—earns a No. 2 ranking. The “friendly, helpful staff and knowledgeable instructors” earn a No. 4 ranking for Service, and the unspoiled Vermont views pull down a No. 4 for Scenery. It all adds up to a No. 2 ranking in Overall Satisfaction. As one reader says, “A paradise for families, with plenty of mountain for everyone.”—Joe Cutts
2009 "Top 50 Resort Guide"
Ranked and Rated by the Experts - Your Fellow Skiers
"Great family mountain, terrific employees."
How does a resort dominate a niche the way Smugglers' Notch does? By keeping it simple. Once again named the No. 1 resort for Family Programs on the continent, Smuggs has long understood the two pillars of successful family vacationing: comfort and convenience. And in the past few seasons, they've done even more to follow that creed. If the resort had a motto, it would be "Ban the Schlepping." Because at Smuggs, schlepping is almost nonexistent. (Parents who have carted one kid to daycare, another to ski school and only then hauled their own gear to the slopes will appreciate that.) With a new Magic Carpet at the Treasures childcare facility, multi-kid transport gets a lot easier. And the convenience starts before you even arrive. The resort's "one call" policy means you dial one phone number and speak to one person about everything: rentals, lessons, lodging, activities and such. The dominant family vibe tends to mask Smuggs' best kept secret: its skiing, especially its "awesome galdes." OK, there is the lift problem. For years now, Smuggs has listened as skiers lamented the old, slow, antiquated lift system. ("They still have two-person chairlifts," says an incredulous reader.) This year, at last, there's official word of coming relief. The resort confirms that new lifts are in the future. No date is set, but a plan is actually in the works. In the meantime, skiers can consider the time they save not schlepping as time saved for the lifts. Or they can think of it the way this skier did: "Slower lifts keep the snobs away." — Moira McCarthy
2008 "Top Resort Guide"
Ranked and Rated by the Experts - Your Fellow Skiers
"Family Wonderland. Our 4-year-old cried when we left".
A funny thing happenes when you're pampered, entertained and treated right: Everyone in the family gets along just fine. Smugglers' Notch, ranked No.1 in all of North America for Family Programs yet again, debunks the often heard parental complaint that "I need a vacation from my vacation." The resort's dedicaion to making things work for the entire family- from ease of ski school drop-off to ridiculously wide range of activities to an overlooked variety of terrain that pleases all comers- has a way of putting everyone who works or visits there in a good mood. "This place attracts friendly customers," one reader comments. "The strength is the people who ski at Smuggs," says another. (All of this good will is perhaps no accident: The ski school teaches on-hill etiquette.) This sense of camaraderie is certainly sincere, but it also is certainly good for business: Smuggs ranks No. 1 in the East for Overall Satisfaction. Contributing to that is terrain that leaves no one wanting, with gentle learning slopes and underrated steeps that local rippers cherish. Of course, readers still lament the slow lifts and are grumpy about the New England weather- though that translates into late-season storms. Yet Smuggs is starting to develop a reputation beyond its East Coast core customer. As always, plans are underway for additional upgrades, such as an expansion of the expert Doc Dempsey's Glades and better inflatable obstacle courses in the gym-like Family Zone (ask your kids). And what of the lifts? A high-speed quad remains a wish rather than a plan. One reader has a unique take on that: "I like having slow doubles. It keeps the jerks away." Not staying away are families, with one young reader bestowing the ultimate endorsement: "We wish we could live at Smuggs!" —Moira McCarthy
2007 "Top 50 Resorts" - Your Guide to the Best
"Our kids love it. They won't let us go anywhere else."
This year, perennial family favorite Smugglers' Notch turns 50, and you can be sure its extended family (read: visitors) will revel in the celebration. "We still look forward to the trip. We'll never out-grow it," one reader says, and many more agree. Originally treasured for its incredible Eastern terrain (skeptics should hit Madonna Mountain's legit double-blacks), Smuggs' stumbled into the family niche in 1976 when it opened a summer children's camp-complete with a shuttle to take parents to the Montreal Olympics. Visitors raved, so the resort started developing winter family programs. Now Smuggs' sets the standard for family ski vacations. "The activities never stop," one reader says. Backing that up, readers voted Smugglers' No. 1 in North America-again-for Family Programs, and iced that with second-place Eastern rankings for Service and Lodging, and a No. 4 in Terrain Parks. For its anniversary season, Smuggs' plans to add even more special events to its usual lineup of cookie races, family karaoke, ski and boarding lessons for every level (including the diaper set), bonfire songs and more. Many resorts boast about visitor retention. One of the difference-makers at Smugglers' is employee retention, from management on down. From its first steps, the resort agreed upon its vision and has had the staff consistency to stay true to it for years. When you read "We want you back" on employee nametags, they mean it. But it's not all singalongs and s'mores: Voted No. 6 in the East for Terrain/Challenge, Smugglers' is home to some of the toughest terrain in New England. And while readers gripe about slow chairlifts, one took a different tack: "Old lifts keep skiers off trails!" Another plus: You don't have to bruise the budget to enjoy the place(no. 7 in Value). This is one resort that's positioned nicely for its next 50 years. —Moira McCarthy
2006 "Top 50 Resort Guide" is the Ultimate Winter Vacation Guide
"Our Favorite. What a place for families with children."
To be constantly held up as the gold standard for anything can be tough — and no family-oriented ski resort in America knows that better. Smugglers' Notch, tucked into a corner of northern Vermont, 35 miles from Burlington, hasn't just dominated the family-skiing catergory for two decades; it pretty much invented it.
Over the past few seasons, other resorts have started to close the gap — improving ski schools, creating family programs, redesigning base areas and lodging to suit the needs of families. Well, imitators, get back to work: Smuggs has taken family ski vacations to the next level, with upgraded base amenities and revamped programs.
Readers have rewarded Smuggs amply for its hard work, ranking its family programs tops in North America. "Whole family had a great time!" one reader exclaims. "The family resort," adds another. The Smuggs formula is simple: Three peaks offer a wide variety of skiing, frosted with great service and buzzing with too many acitivities to list (how about karaoke singing, ping-pong, a science show, arts and crafts and a hypnotist on the same afternoon?) Then make it a snap to enjoy. "Park your car, and you're good to go," one reader says, and that's true.
Years ago, Smuggs' daycare center was stashed away in a corner of the resort; it's now front and center. Parents can dress the kids, take a few steps and bingo, the baby is at daycare, the kids are equipped and in ski school and Mom and Dad are riding the Madonna lift wondering if they can handle The Black Hole which, appropriately enough, will twist and bend all of your perceptions of Smuggs as a gentle family resort. Pinch a hardcore Vermont skier long enough and he'll admit that Smuggs is "a secret Mad River Glen," with the Fab Five runs as tough, tight and twisted as any you'll find in New England.
Readers almost universally agree on the resort's biggest negative: the lifts are old and slow. That's not going to change soon, but the rest of the resort works so well that many guests are willing to forgive and forget. "You'll meet some of the nicest people you'll ever ride a lift with," says one reader, who clearly made the best out of a long ride. —Moira McCarthy
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