Smuggs Top Vermont Family Skiing
Smugglers' Notch, Big Terrain, 78 Trails and Best Snow and Grooming
Mar 8, 2008
Smugglers' Notch Resort has it all. Condos come in many categories to fit all budgets and the special package deals make family winter vacations even more affordable.
Kid Perfect Programs
Kids really count at “Smuggs” and they get attention at all ages. A topnotch certified childcare center on the mountainside solves the problem of parents with kids too young to ski. Kids lessons start at 9am, and include lunch and après-ski activities until late afternoon.
Lesson programs are also designed for older kids and two places are set aside for teens to hang out with friends, where parents are not allowed to tread.
Lessons for All Levels
Ski lessons for adults can teach a first timer tune-up the turns of experienced skiers. Lessons are graded to 9 different skill levels so skiers can find one they are comfortable with, available as individual or group classes at each level.
One of the best deals is the Smuggler’s Notch Max 5 program. They guarantee that there will be no more than five in a class and the lessons last two and a half hours, rather than the one and a half for regular classes. With Max 5 comes a first rate instructor like Tom Glynn, who has taught here for years. This program allows for personal teaching and performance evaluation not found in normal group lessons. Most of the lessons for the intermediate and upper levels are done on the Sterling trails. You can get there from the main Base Lodge area by shuttle bus or warm up by skiing over.
Top Snow Making and Grooming
State-of-the-art grooming and the resort's northern Vermont location assures some of the state's best snow conditions for a long season on all three mountains. Green-marked trails on Morse Mountain, convenient for beginners and novices, comprise 19% of the terrain. Most people consider themselves to be intermediate skiers and those blue-coded trails are on all three mountains, comprising 50% of the trails. For more challenge, Madonna Mountain and Sterling Mountain provide black diamond (25% of trails) and double black diamond (6% of trails) options.
Favorite Trails
Some favorites: Use Morse Mountain for a warm-up, either Garden Path and Lower Morse Lift-line if you are rusty, or the blue Snow Snake crossing over to Lower Morse Lift-line. To get to the blues of Madonna, take the Village Lift and the Midway Trail to the right at the top. After the steep initial pitch it gets flattish so keep up some speed.
Use the first lift you come to, Madonna II, to access a nice series of intermediate trails and take Link to get over to the base of Sterling Mountain. Sterling has some great blues for cruising. A Rum Runner-Black Snake choice will bring you down to the base of Sterling lift again. Also try taking Rum Runner all the way.
It is possible to ski between all three mountains using a series of trails. To get back to the main Base Lodge from Sterling and Madonna, use the Madonna II lift and look for Ruthie’s Trail, a small opening in the woods to the left at the top of the lift. This can be a great run, but note that there are flatter areas where speed can help avoid a walk. Look for Curley’s Cutback on the right and from it use Meadowlark, again on the right. This is a long flat trail where you will want some speed and do some poling.
Getting There
To get to Smugglers' Notch, take I-89 west to Route 100 at Waterbury. Follow Route 100 through Stowe to Morrisville. Don’t be tempted to use Route 108 at Stowe, the road is closed in winter. After winding through Morrisville (watch for a series of elbow turns) take Route 15 west to Jeffersonville and then Route 108 south to Smuggs.
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