Smugglers Notch

Smugglers' Notch's summit reaches 3,638 feet, dropping roughly 2,608 vertical feet to a base at 1,030 feet across 78 runs spread over 1,000 acres near Jeffersonville, Vermont, across three interconnected mountains. Terrain splits 52 per cent intermediate, 26 per cent advanced, 17 per cent beginner and 5 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 232 inches. Eight lifts, all double chairs and surface lifts, including six double chairs, serve the mountain's Madonna, Sterling and Morse peaks alongside two surface lifts.

Smugglers' Notch has built a reputation as one of America's leading family ski resorts, anchored by award-winning children's programming developed over nearly three decades under a single dedicated owner. The resort's name and setting draw on genuine local history, with the notch itself serving as a smuggling route during the early 1800s trade embargo with Britain and later as a Prohibition-era conduit for Canadian spirits through hidden caves along Vermont's Long Trail.

Skiing at Smugglers' Notch dates to 1956, with the vision for a complete ski village realised in 1967 through the development of Morse Mountain, which completed the trio of interconnected peaks, Madonna, Sterling and Morse, that define the resort today. Stanley Snider led the resort's development through the 1970s before William 'Bill' Stritzler, initially a vacation homeowner who fell in love with the property, became managing director in 1987 and later acquired ownership in 1996.

Over the following 29 years, Stritzler's values-driven leadership built Smugglers' Notch's enduring reputation for family connection and authentic mountain experience, until Bear Den Partners acquired the resort in February 2026. The Stritzler family retains an ownership stake in the mountain, with Bill's daughter Lisa Howe continuing as an advisor. Adult daily tickets run from 79 to 95 US dollars.