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Vermont’s Smugglers’ Notch is love at first sight. Sure, it’s not its refined and “epic” neighbor, but it wouldn’t be right for this landscape if it were. “Smuggs” feels like a hug and a secret. The name itself is a hand-me-down from the rebels who used these talus caves to move everything from cattle to hooch across the line. That defiant, independent streak runs deep in the Notch. It’s a world that doesn’t much care which side of the border you’re on.
Last month, Smugglers’ Notch Resort changed hands for the first time in nearly three decades. Bill Stritzler, who guided the mountain for 29 years, finalized a deal with Bear Den Partners, led by lifelong Vermont skier Ken Graham and ski industry veteran Jon Schaefer, the team behind Burke Mountain’s remarkable comeback. Their focus is on retaining staff and elevating the business through thoughtful, calculated improvements. In a ski industry defined by corporate consolidation, Bear Den’s message is clear: it’s in the business of preserving the soul of skiing.
When I sat down to write about Smuggs, where my kids learned to ride, I revisited a quiet 1988 film called Sweethearts’ Dance. Before Jeff Daniels was a household name, he was part of an all-star cast in this story about family and relationships set in Hyde Park, Vermont, just 20 minutes down the road. If you want a sense of what this region feels like before you go, watch it. Smuggs itself, specifically Upper Chilcoot off Madonna I, is even featured.
Watching those scenes today, you realize that while the faces have changed, the soul of the mountain hasn’t. If it’s not broken, there is no reason to fix it. This timelessness is what drew my own family here. While my daughters and I were city dwellers through the week, our hearts stayed in the Notch. I can still see my littlest unloading off the Sterling double for the first time, and fearlessly following her Vermont bff down “Rumrunner,” a long, winding classic New England Blue Square.
That is the magic of this place: it is built on a rare brand of inclusivity across 1,000 acres of iconic Vermont terrain. Morse Mountain is a dedicated sanctuary for beginners and families, a safe harbor. But just across the way, the “family resort” mask slips to reveal Madonna Mountain, home to some of the most aggressive terrain in the East. Here, the 2,610-foot vertical drop culminates at The Black Hole – the only triple black diamond trail in the U.S east of the Rockies. It’s a 35-degree whirlwind of pines and cliffs that demands absolute focus and respect. I can still hear the echoes of instruction: “There’s no crying in the trees, Jacqui!” Smuggs made me a better snowboarder. It is the kind of terrain that inspires a creative mind and an explorer’s heart, with something new at every turn.
When the snow melts, and the Notch road (Route 108) finally opens to traffic in late May, the mountain transitions into a summer powerhouse. The winter’s quiet white turns into a lush green world of zip-line adventures, world-class disc golf, and numerous pool facilities and waterslides built right into the mountains. You feel the shift as you descend the winding S-curves of Route 108 into nearby Jeffersonville, where the community gears up for the season’s milestones—from the 4th of July to ‘leaf-peeping’ season.
Whether you’re here in July, October, or January, the vibe remains the same: locally sourced food, zero pretension at the bar, and a sense of community that ages gracefully from the village to the summit. As a new era begins under Bear Den Partners, the message is clear: this transition is not just about ownership, it is about stewardship. While you can expect purposeful investments to enhance the experience, the heart of Smuggs is not going anywhere. Because the secret is already out: the soul of this mountain resort is the perfect foundation of everything still to come.
