Smugglers' Notch | |
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![]() Smugglers' Notch, looking north from high on the slopes of Mt. Mansfield | |
Elevation | 660 metres (2,170 ft) |
Traversed by | ![]() |
Location | Cambridge, Lamoille County, Vermont, U.S. |
Range | Green Mountains |
Coordinates | 44°33.32′N72°47.74′W / 44.55533°N 72.79567°W |
Topo map | USGS Mount Mansfield |
Smugglers Notch (alternatively Smugglers' or Smuggler's) is a mountain pass in Lamoille County, Vermont. The notch separates Mount Mansfield, the highest peak of the Green Mountains, from Spruce Peak and the Sterling Range. Most of the notch is in Mount Mansfield State Forest.
North of the height of land, Smugglers Notch is drained by the Brewster River, which drains into the Lamoille River, and into Lake Champlain. To the south, the notch is drained by the West Branch Waterbury River, then into the Little River, the Winooski River, and into Lake Champlain.
Smugglers' Notch derives its name from activities precipitated by a request of President Thomas Jefferson to prevent American involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. The Embargo Act of 1807 forbade American trade with Great Britain and Canada. But proximity to Montreal made it a convenient trading partner, and the Act caused great hardship for Vermonters, many of whom continued the illegal trade with Canada, carrying goods and herding livestock through the Notch. Fugitive slaves also used the Notch as an escape route to Canada. The route was improved to accommodate automobile traffic in 1922 thus providing a route for liquor to be brought in from Canada during the Prohibition years.
Smugglers' Notch State Park was created near the Notch by the depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. In 2003 the park was relocated, allowing for a larger campground and new, modern facilities incorporating alternative energy. In order to preserve the work of these pioneering conservationists, all original structures created by the CCC were painstakingly relocated to the new site.
The Long Trail, a 272-mile (438-km) hiking trail running the length of Vermont, traverses Smugglers' Notch. The trail down from the summit of Mt. Mansfield to the east reaches the road south of the height of the pass, and resumes across Route 108 at the Barnes Camp Visitor Center, climbing east to the summit of Madonna Peak.
Smugglers' Notch Resort is located on the northeast side of the pass on the northern side of the Sterling Range with developments on Spruce Peak (referred to as Sterling Mountain by the resort), Madonna Peak (referred to as Madonna Mountain by the resort), and the lower portion of Morse Mountain. The resort takes its name from the pass. Stowe Mountain Resort straddles the southern end of the pass, with developments on both Mt. Mansfield and Spruce Peak.
Climate data for Smugglers Notch 44.5575 N, 72.7924 W, Elevation: 2,165 ft (660 m) (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °F (°C) | 22.7 (−5.2) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 33.4 (0.8) | 46.7 (8.2) | 60.4 (15.8) | 68.6 (20.3) | 72.8 (22.7) | 71.2 (21.8) | 64.6 (18.1) | 51.4 (10.8) | 39.2 (4.0) | 28.3 (−2.1) | 48.7 (9.3) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 14.4 (−9.8) | 16.2 (−8.8) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 37.9 (3.3) | 51.2 (10.7) | 60.0 (15.6) | 64.5 (18.1) | 62.8 (17.1) | 55.9 (13.3) | 43.9 (6.6) | 32.1 (0.1) | 21.4 (−5.9) | 40.4 (4.7) |
Average low °F (°C) | 6.0 (−14.4) | 7.3 (−13.7) | 16.3 (−8.7) | 29.1 (−1.6) | 42.1 (5.6) | 51.3 (10.7) | 56.2 (13.4) | 54.4 (12.4) | 47.3 (8.5) | 36.4 (2.4) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 14.4 (−9.8) | 32.2 (0.1) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.09 (129) | 4.68 (119) | 5.27 (134) | 5.86 (149) | 6.25 (159) | 7.48 (190) | 6.63 (168) | 6.15 (156) | 6.63 (168) | 7.05 (179) | 5.98 (152) | 6.01 (153) | 73.08 (1,856) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 30.1 (76) | 31.0 (79) | 25.6 (65) | 7.7 (20) | 0.6 (1.5) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.9 (4.8) | 11.2 (28) | 31.2 (79) | 139.3 (353.3) |
Source 1: PRISM Climate Group [1] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: NOAA (Jeffersonville snowfall) [2] |
Stowe is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 5,223 at the 2020 census. The town lies on Vermont Routes 108 and 100. It is nicknamed "The Ski Capital of the East" and is home to Stowe Mountain Resort, a ski facility with terrain on Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak.
Cambridge is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,839 at the 2020 United States Census. Cambridge includes the villages of Jeffersonville and Cambridge.
Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at 4,393 feet (1,339 m) above sea level. The summit is located within the town of Underhill in Chittenden County; the ridgeline, including some secondary peaks, extends into the town of Stowe in Lamoille County, and the mountain's flanks also reach into the town of Cambridge.
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Mount Abraham is a mountain in the Green Mountains in the U.S. state of Vermont. Located in the Green Mountain National Forest, its summit is in the town of Lincoln in Addison County, but its eastern slopes extend into the town of Warren in Washington County. The mountain is named after Abraham Lincoln, former president of the United States. It is one of five peaks in Vermont's Presidential Range.
Smugglers' Notch Resort is a ski resort area in the town of Cambridge, Vermont, United States, located near the village of Jeffersonville. Its vertical drop of 2,610 feet (800 m) is the fourth largest in New England and the third largest in Vermont. Its namesake is a narrow notch running adjacent to Sterling Mountain, which smugglers used many years ago. Smugglers' Notch, nicknamed Smuggs, consists of three mountains: Morse, Madonna, and Sterling. The resort attracts skiers in the winter and summer vacationers during the warmer months.
Wildcat Mountain is a mountain located in Coos County, northern New Hampshire, United States. The mountain is part of the Carter-Moriah Range of the White Mountains, on the east side of Pinkham Notch. Wildcat Mountain faces Carter Dome across Carter Notch to the northeast, and Mount Washington across Pinkham Notch to the west.
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Stratton Mountain is a mountain located in Windham County, Vermont, in the Green Mountain National Forest. The mountain is the highest point of Windham County, and of the southern Green Mountains generally. A fire tower located on the summit is generally open for climbing by the public. There is also a small caretaker cabin at the summit that is inhabited in season by a caretaker from the Green Mountain Club. The northern end of the mountain is occupied by Stratton Mountain Resort.
Esther Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York. The mountain is the northernmost of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains and its 28th highest peak. It was the only High Peak named for a woman until 2014, having been named in honor of Esther McComb, who made the first recorded climb to the summit in 1839, at age 15; at the time she was attempting to climb Whiteface Mountain from the north.
Bolton Mountain is a mountain located in Chittenden County, Vermont. Bolton is flanked to the north by Mount Mayo.
Smugglers' Notch State Park is a Vermont state park near Stowe in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The park is at an elevation of 2,119 feet (646 m) near Mount Mansfield, and is named for Smugglers Notch, which separates Mount Mansfield—the highest peak of the Green Mountains—from Spruce Peak and the Sterling Range.
Dixville Notch State Park is a park in northern New Hampshire, United States. The park encompasses 127 acres (51 ha) in Dixville Township where New Hampshire State Route 26 passes through Dixville Notch.
Mount Mansfield State Forest covers 44,444 acres (179.86 km2) in seven towns in Chittenden, Lamoille and Washington counties in Vermont. The towns are Bolton and Underhill in Chittenden County, Cambridge, Johnson, Morristown and Stowe in Lamoille County, and Waterbury in Washington County. Mt. Mansfield State Forest is the largest contiguous landholding owned by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.
To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Interpolate grid cell values; click Retrieve Time Series button.