Stowe-Smugglers Notch

Stowe-Smugglers Notch covers Lamoille County in north-central Vermont, the high mountain country built around Mount Mansfield (Vermont’s highest peak at 4,395 feet) and the dramatic Smugglers Notch pass through the Green Mountains. The terrain is rugged — Mount Mansfield’s long ridge running north-south, the deep notch on its eastern flank, and the rolling pastoral country opening south toward the Lamoille River. Lamoille County is the only county in the region. Stowe (the largest town and one of the most famous ski resorts in the East) anchors the region; Morrisville holds the county seat; Cambridge and Jeffersonville hold the western entrance to Smugglers Notch State Park. The Mount Mansfield and Smugglers’ Notch Resort ski areas, the Long Trail through the Green Mountains, the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, and the historic Trapp Family Lodge anchor the major attractions. Most trips here center on Stowe. Stowe handles the resort itinerary year-round — winter at Mount Mansfield’s Stowe Mountain Resort, summer at the auto road and the Stowe Recreation Path; Smugglers’ Notch Resort runs a smaller, more family-focused ski-and-stay alternative; the Trapp Family Lodge (founded by the family of Sound of Music fame) pulls cultural-history visitors and runs Austrian-themed lodging.