Experience Mount Mansfield and Smugglers Notch

Stowe Mountain Road ascends past Stowe Mountain Resort, where a gondola transports skiers and tourists to the summit, then up the shoulder of Mount Mansfield as it leaves Stowe. Beyond the resort, the road becomes narrower as it winds through one of Vermont's most captivating natural landmarks, Smugglers' Notch. Only one car can get around several curves on the road that winds upward through this pass between Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak because it is so narrow and winding.

When the road closes shortly after the ski area in the winter, snowplows cannot pass through it. Throughout the remaining months of the year, you can leave your car parked, explore the paths that wind through this enormous pile of glacial granite, and find the caverns where 19th-century smugglers once hid. The glacier paused here during the previous ice age, breaking the mountain ledges and sending them into the notch, where they were sculpted and tumbled by additional glacial action. This is how the caves and enormous boulders were created.

Mansfield is Vermont's tallest mountain, and at the peak you may hike beyond treeline for more than two miles while taking in the expansive vistas. There are just two locations in Vermont where the unusual arctic-alpine tundra can be found. There are several ways to get to its summit. At the base of Smugglers' Notch, the Long Trail crosses Route 108 before beginning a steady ascent of 2.3 miles to the ridgeline. Topnotch Resort, with mountain vistas, three pools, a full-service spa, and a fine-dining restaurant, is a magnificent base for exploring the area close to where the Long Trail crosses Route 108 at the base of Smugglers' Notch.

Location: Lamoille County, Vermont

Website: https://vtstateparks.com/smugglers.html

TripAdvisor Rating: 4.6/5.0