Smugglers' Notch Resort
Overview
Smugglers’ Notch traces its lift-served history to 1956, when a group of Vermont skiers put up two platter lifts on Sterling Mountain near Jeffersonville. IBM chairman Tom Watson Jr. bought the operation in the early 1960s and built out a European-style base village, folding in terrain from Madonna and Morse mountains to create the three-peak layout the resort still runs today. Ownership later passed through developer Stanley Snider before landing with Bill Stritzler, the resort’s current owner.
The three mountains combine for a 771.7 m vertical drop between a 340.4 m base and 1,112.1 m summit, spread across 110 trails totaling 49.1 km. Nine lifts move skiers around that terrain: six chairlifts, one drag lift, and two magic carpets dedicated to the beginner slopes. The trail mix leans solidly intermediate, with 27.81 km of the total falling in that band, while 9.88 km is rated easy and the remaining 11.4 km splits across 8.9 km advanced, 2.04 km expert, and 0.47 km freeride terrain. Vermont’s only triple black diamond trail, The Black Hole, drops off Madonna Mountain and gives the resort a genuine claim to extreme terrain that its family-vacation image tends to obscure. Named glade terrain extends beyond that one trail too, including Lower Doc Dempsey’s Glades, one of several tree-skiing zones threaded through the mountain’s harder terrain. Snowfall averages around 312 inches (7.9 m) a year across the three peaks, feeding both the natural pack and the resort’s snowmaking system.
That family image is deliberate rather than incidental. Smugglers’ Notch built its Snow Sport University children’s ski school into one of the more established programs of its kind in the Northeast, and the base village is laid out for week-long multi-generational stays rather than single-day visits, with on-site lodging, pools, and kids’ programming built around keeping a family occupied beyond just the lift lines. Some of that lodging goes well past standard condo units — developers Terpstra and Morrow built 24 four-bedroom, four-bath, pool-front luxury condominiums as part of the base village’s build-out. The operation carries into summer with eight heated pools, waterslides, mountain biking, disc golf on championship-level courses, and the indoor FunZone 2.0 family entertainment complex, and into fall with Vermont’s foliage traffic.
Getting there means flying into Burlington, Vermont, 32.4 km from the mountain, or Plattsburgh, New York, across Lake Champlain at 55.9 km. A third, more distant option is Lebanon Municipal Airport in New Hampshire, 111.6 km out, though most fly-in visitors choose the shorter drive from Burlington or Plattsburgh over it. There’s no major city in the immediate catchment area — the closest sizeable population centers are actually across the border in Quebec, with Sherbrooke, Longueuil, and Ville-Marie all sitting more than 110 km out, and Montreal’s international airport a further 125.5 km beyond that. Smugglers’ Notch also isn’t affiliated with any of the major multi-mountain lift passes, so visitors buy tickets directly rather than drawing down days on an Epic or Ikon product, a straightforward arrangement for a resort that leans on repeat family visitors rather than pass-driven day-trippers.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| drag lift | 1 |
| chair lift | 6 |
| magic carpet | 2 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 9.88 km |
| expert | 2.04 km |
| advanced | 8.9 km |
| freeride | 0.47 km |
| intermediate | 27.81 km |
Maps
View official Smugglers' Notch Resort trail map (page) →
Run & lift overview
Smugglers' Notch Resort: 110 runs, 9 lifts. Generated from community-mapped OpenStreetMap data, not Smugglers' Notch Resort's official map artwork. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Smugglers' Notch Resort is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
Smugglers' Notch Resort has no multi-resort pass affiliations on record.
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) — 32.4 km straight-line
- Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG) — 55.9 km straight-line
- Lebanon Municipal Airport (LEB) — 111.6 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Sherbrooke, Quebec — 114.7 km straight-line
- Longueuil, Quebec — 118.3 km straight-line
- Ville-Marie, Quebec — 120.7 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Smugglers' Notch Resort is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Stowe Mountain Resort — 5 km straight-line, 711.8 m vertical
- Bolton Valley Resort — 18 km straight-line, 474.3 m vertical
- Mad River Glen — 43 km straight-line, 604.2 m vertical
- Jay Peak Resort — 44 km straight-line, 605.4 m vertical
- Sugarbush Resort — 48 km straight-line, 777.8 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Smugglers' Notch Resort?
- Smugglers' Notch has a 771.7 m vertical drop between a 340.4 m base and 1,112.1 m summit, spread across 110 trails totaling 49.1 km of terrain. Nine lifts serve the mountain: six chairlifts, one drag lift, and two magic carpets for the beginner slopes.
- Is Smugglers' Notch good for beginners and families?
- Yes. The resort runs 9.88 km of easy-rated terrain served by two dedicated magic carpets, and it built its Snow Sport University children's ski school into one of the more established family ski programs in the region. The base village is set up for multi-day family stays rather than day trips, with lodging, pools, and kids' activities on site.
- Is Smugglers' Notch good for experts?
- There's real terrain for advanced skiers: 8.9 km rated advanced, 2.04 km expert, and 0.47 km freeride. Vermont's only triple black diamond trail, The Black Hole, drops off Madonna Mountain and gives the resort a legitimate claim to extreme terrain despite its family-resort reputation.
- What's the nearest airport to Smugglers' Notch Resort?
- Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) is closest at 32.4 km. Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG), across Lake Champlain in New York, is 55.9 km away, and Lebanon Municipal Airport (LEB) in New Hampshire is a more distant third option at 111.6 km.
- Which ski pass covers Smugglers' Notch?
- None of the major multi-resort passes list Smugglers' Notch as a partner. Skiers buy lift tickets directly from the resort rather than stacking days on an Epic or Ikon product.
- What towns or cities are near Smugglers' Notch Resort?
- There's no large U.S. city close by. The nearest sizeable population centers are actually across the Canadian border in Quebec — Sherbrooke, Longueuil, and Ville-Marie are all more than 110 km away — with Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport 125.5 km out. Most visitors drive in from elsewhere in New England or fly into Burlington.
- How many mountains and trails does Smugglers' Notch cover?
- The resort spans three connected peaks — Sterling, Madonna, and Morse — with 110 trails covering 49.1 km. More than half of that terrain, 27.81 km, is rated intermediate.
- Is there a story behind Smugglers' Notch's original chairlift?
- Yes. During the Tom Watson Jr. era in the early 1960s, the resort reportedly built the base of the original Madonna I chairlift several feet below the base lodge specifically to claim the record for the world's longest bottom-drive chairlift at the time, an anecdote that has stuck in the resort's history even though that original lift has since been replaced.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.