The Disc Golf Pro Tour has descended upon Smuggs, bringing the best players in the world back to our top-10-ranked courses for another Green Mountain Championship. The action gets underway Thursday and rolls straight through the weekend, both on and off the courses, with live music Thursday and Friday before FallFest takes over the Village Green Saturday night, headlined by the Ryan Montbleau Band.

I can’t stress this enough: these are the best disc golfers in the world. Having professional athletes descend on our little corner of northern Vermont every year is pretty incredible, and even if you’ve never thrown a disc farther than the neighbor’s yard, you need to see what these players can do. Watching a disc disappear through a tiny gap in the woods and somehow land exactly where they intended will recalibrate your definition of this game.

Meanwhile, another annual show is starting its soundcheck.

Fall foliage isn’t quite ready for the main stage yet, but the band is plugging in. The greens are beginning to fade, with little hits of orange, red, and yellow appearing across the mountainsides and especially around the wetter areas near marshes and swamps. After a spring with plenty of rain and a summer that kept the canopy looking lush, conditions seem to be lining up nicely for this year’s color.

And with overnight temperatures flirting with frost this week, that soundcheck could get loud pretty quickly.

Everyone wants to know when “peak” will happen. Early October is usually the safest answer around here. October 8 gets tossed around quite a bit, while I’ve always thought October 4 deserves more consideration. But I’ll also make the argument that peak gets too much attention. Give me the days just before it, when there’s still enough green in the mountains to make every red maple and orange hillside look even brighter. The contrast is what really makes the colors jump.

Of course, the trees aren’t the only things changing color right now. September also means apple season in Vermont.

Pick-your-own orchards across the state are welcoming people back for apples straight from the branch, fresh cider, and those warm cider donuts with the slightly crisp edges buried under cinnamon and sugar. Buy a dozen. Realize that was a tactical error. Buy another dozen.

One of our local partners, Stony Grove Orchard, is only about five minutes down the road toward Jeffersonville and has all the ingredients for a proper Vermont apple-picking afternoon. Owner Anne can bake with the best of them, so don’t overlook the apple pies, and definitely investigate the fresh beignets coming out of the service window.

Disc golf, live music, the first hints of foliage, apples, cider donuts, and cool September nights. The big fall show hasn’t officially started yet, but from where we’re standing, the soundcheck already sounds pretty good.

 Text SMUGGS to 855-421-2279 for real-time alerts about weather updates, schedule changes, and more!

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From the excitement of New York City and Baltimore to the beaches of the Jersey Shore, the mountains of Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Colorado, to the white sand of Florida’s St. Pete Beach, and heading west to the relaxed charm of Santa Monica, these destinations offer something for families of all ages and interests.

Smugglers’ Notch has built its reputation around family travel and offers condominium-style accommodations that can work particularly well for multigenerational groups.

The mountain setting provides activities throughout the year, from winter skiing and snow adventures to warm-weather hiking and outdoor recreation.

Having bedrooms and common living areas can make a significant difference when several generations are traveling together.

My youngest son and I visited Smugglers Notch several times during his teenage years, and we had the most sublime time. I can still smell and feel the cold and refreshing air of Vermont.

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Vermont Business Magazine After years of engineering design, two derelict dams are being removed in the Brewster River Watershed with the goal of restoring and reconnecting over 10 miles of high-quality brook trout habitat. Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) is partnering with Smugglers’ Notch Resort to remove this aging infrastructure, which has been both a flood safety and liability concern for the Resort. The removal of Morses Mill Dam on the west side of VT Route 108 is scheduled to start this week, followed by the removal of the Smugglers’ Notch Access Road Dam approximately two weeks later. Read more…

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Background

Vermont’s Smugglers’ Notch ski area is officially joining the Indy Pass for the 2026-27 ski season, adding one of the Northeast’s most prominent independent ski areas to the rapidly growing multi-resort product.

Indy Pass holders will receive two days of skiing or riding at Smugglers’ Notch, along with a third day at 25% off. There will be no blackout dates on either the Indy Base or Indy Plus Pass, although advance reservations will be required as part of Smugglers’ Notch’s capacity-management program.

The addition comes during Smugglers’ Notch’s first full winter under its new ownership structure. In February 2026, Bear Den Partners acquired a majority stake in the resort. Bear Den also owns and operates three other independent Northeast ski areas with Indy Pass access, including Burke, Berkshire East, and Catamount.

Smugglers’ Notch was the headlining addition in a major expansion of the Indy Pass roster for 2026-27. Indy says it has added 60 resorts since last season, bringing its network to 304 destinations across 15 countries and four continents (although only 256 of these are alpine ski areas, with the rest being cross-country nordic resorts). In the wake of the resort additions, Indy reopened pass sales to the general public on September 8, claiming they had additional capacity to do so after previously selling out.

Our Take

For anyone closely following the ski industry, Smugglers’ Notch joining the Indy Pass suite may have been one of the worst-kept secrets of the off-season.

Indy spent the week leading up to the announcement gradually revealing dozens of new partners while teasing a major final addition, and Smuggs was an obvious candidate. The resort had just been acquired by Bear Den Partners, whose portfolio already has substantial overlap with Indy Pass, making the eventual partnership feel less like a surprise than the finale to a carefully staged marketing rollout.

But predictability doesn’t make the addition insignificant. With Smugglers’ Notch onboard, Indy Pass now continues to build out its very compelling collection of independent ski areas across the Northeast. Smuggs joins destinations such as Jay Peak, Bolton Valley, Magic Mountain, Burke, Cannon, Saddleback, and numerous less-commercial mountains, meaning someone planning multiple Northeast weekend trips can now reach an impressively large percentage of the region’s most interesting non-Epic and non-Ikon mountains with one relatively inexpensive product.

There are, however, still some caveats. First, many Indy destinations retain exactly the type of old-school infrastructure that gives them their charm but also makes them less convenient than their corporate competitors. Smugglers’ Notch may be the ultimate example: its terrain is among the most compelling in Vermont, but its lift network remains dominated by slow, fixed-grip chairs. And unlike the other Indy resorts with slower lifts, Smuggs doesn’t even have any high-capacity chairs, still relying solely on double lifts.

Geography is another issue, with most of Indy’s headline Vermont destinations continuing to stay concentrated in the north of the state. Smugglers’ Notch, Jay Peak, Burke, and Bolton Valley all require substantial drives for skiers and riders coming from major U.S. metropolitan areas, particularly New York and Boston. Places like Magic, Berkshire East, and Catamount do offer easier drives, but they don’t offer the snow reliability (or, arguably, terrain) to compete with places like Killington, Sugarbush, and Stowe. Indy therefore works particularly well for a more-involved driving vacation, but it may be considerably less convenient for the skier or rider simply looking for a well-rounded weekend getaway.

And while Indy’s Northeast lineup is arguably stronger than ever, the same cannot necessarily be said nationwide. The pass has taken several significant losses in other regions heading into 2026-27. Lutsen, Granite Peak, and Snowriver—three of the Midwest’s largest destination ski areas—have left Indy and joined the Ikon ecosystem. A handful of other ski areas in Michigan and Wisconsin have chosen not to renew as well. The Pacific Northwest has also taken a hit, most notably with Mission Ridge dropping from the 2026-27 lineup, leaving a considerably weaker collection of larger Indy destinations for skiers and riders based around Seattle.

Ultimately, Smugglers’ Notch further establishes Indy as an attractive option in the Northeast. But this year’s departures raise questions as to whether the pass can stay compelling in other regions.

Considering a trip to the Northeast? Check out our Smugglers’ Notch review, as well as our East Coast ski resort rankings here.

There’s a certain point every September when summer quietly packs its bags, the mornings get a little cooler, and someone inevitably mentions that they saw one red leaf on the way to work. Fall is coming. And according to the internet, we’re about to be surrounded by “fiery crimson reds,” “glowing golden yellows,” and a “breathtaking tapestry of autumn hues.” Easy there, computer. We’re starting to suspect that some of the programs or people writing about Vermont foliage have never actually seen a maple tree. Because fall around here is a lot harder to describe than simply opening the digital crayon box and picking red, orange, and yellow. Some trees change overnight. Others take their sweet time. The mountains can look completely different depending on the light, the weather, or which direction you’re driving. And sometimes the best color is one stubborn maple going absolutely bonkers in the middle of an otherwise green hillside. So rather than asking a computer to describe it, we have a better idea: come see it for yourself.

Fall in northern Vermont is a bucket-list experience for a reason, and here at Smuggs, we’ve got plenty of ways to get outside and fully immerse yourself in it. Our hours and activities are changing with the season, but there’s still a lot happening around the Resort and beyond.

One of the newest fall experiences available to Smuggs guests takes you just a few miles down the road to Stony Grove, a family-run apple orchard tucked away on Pratt Road. And getting there is half the fun. From Smuggs, head north a few miles before turning onto Pratt Road, where pavement gives way to dirt and the road bends between wooded stretches, old homes, and open fields. Trees reach overhead, sunlight sneaks through the canopy, and every so often the view opens across a hayfield toward ski trails waiting for their first coat of snow. You might pass a neighbor walking the dog, kids playing in a yard, or a few deer who have absolutely no intention of yielding the right of way. After about a mile and a half, you’ll arrive at Stony Grove, where rows of apple trees roll across the property. This fall, Smuggs guests can get beyond simply picking apples with a behind-the-scenes orchard tour covering the nitty-gritty of owning and maintaining an apple orchard. Then comes the important part: picking your own apples and turning them into your own apple pie. That’s about as Vermont as it gets without requiring you to stack a cord of wood first.

Another way to see the season is on one of our foliage e-bike tours. Traveling by bike slows everything down enough to actually take in the landscape, without slowing things down so much that the hills become the main event. You’re out in the cool air, moving through the color instead of watching it flash past a windshield. There’s another advantage, too: no getting stuck behind a fellow leaf peeper staring at one spectacular red maple while casually taking their half of the road out of the middle.

Our autumn activities have taken over, and the summer lineup and operating hours have shifted. That means now is an especially good time to check the latest Activity Guide and Hours of Operation before heading out. Because the leaves aren’t the only things changing around here. And while AI can probably tell you that Vermont is “ablaze with autumn splendor,” we’d recommend skipping the robot poetry, grabbing your favorite cozy hoodie or sweater, and seeing what the fuss is actually about.

 Text SMUGGS to 855-421-2279 for real-time alerts about weather updates, schedule changes, and more!

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Smuggs is Joining the Indy Pass (with good news for you!)

Dear Smuggs Family,

Well, the internet detectives were right. For the 2026–27 winter season, Smugglers’ Notch is joining the Indy Pass.

I know this announcement will generate different reactions. Some will see it as great news. Others may wonder whether it means more people, longer lines, and a step toward turning Smuggs into something it has never been.

That concern is fair.

Since we became involved at Smuggs, one message has come through clearly: please don’t turn this place into something it isn’t.

We agree.

My family has spent nearly 50 years owning and operating Berkshire East, and we understand what makes independent mountains special. For most of those years, being an independent ski area operator was not a cushy gig. It was about surviving difficult winters, solving problems and continuing to adapt. 

Great ski areas are not interchangeable, nor frozen in time. Their personalities, traditions, employees, terrain, quirks, and communities are what people come for. Preserving those qualities requires thoughtful evolution, improving the operation and investing in the mountain without losing what made it special in the first place.

Smuggs is one of the best examples of a unique, independent resort with a strong identity and one that also needs meaningful investment and attention. 

The terrain is exceptional. The woods are incredible. Families have been coming here for generations. Employees know this mountain in ways no training manual could reproduce. Yes, there are things about Smuggs that might make a consultant immediately want to create a PowerPoint presentation, but many of those things are exactly what people love about this place. 

That is also why the Indy Pass has always meant something to me. It was built around the idea that independent mountains are not simply smaller, less evolved versions of larger resorts. Their differences are part of their value. Berkshire East and Catamount joined Indy early, and Burke was already part of the network before we acquired the resort.

So why bring Indy Pass to Smuggs?

Because we believe Indy can work here—if we manage it intelligently. 

The biggest multi-resort passes have changed skiing by making it easier for guests to move from mountain to mountain. But more people are not automatically better. There are only so many people that lifts, trails, glades, roads, and parking areas can comfortably accommodate.

Capacity is math, not wizardry.

At Smuggs, Indy Pass guests will be required to make advanced reservations. That will allow us to control Indy visitation based on demand and protect the experience people have come to value. As always, Smuggs core season passholders are always guaranteed access. 

We want to use Indy to fill empty chairs and midweek beds, not add more people to already-busy lift lines and peak weekends.

This has value for our staff as well. Our full-time seasonal and year-round staff have more opportunities to ski, ride, travel, and explore through the $25 Indy Pass Employee Add-On.

We want to make Smuggs an even more attractive place to work by offering one of the best employee ski and ride benefits in the industry, helping us recruit great people and keep the resort running at full capacity.

We want someone from Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan, or somewhere else who has always wondered about Smuggs to come visit. We want them to stay overnight in mountain lodging, eat in the village and around Jeffersonville, bring their families, and maybe fall in love with the place. A rising tide lifts all boats. And yes, we want the additional revenue those visits can generate when the mountain has room for them.

Snowmaking is our first major focus, and you’ll begin seeing improvements this winter. We also know that some lifts will eventually need to be replaced. But replacing infrastructure does not automatically mean maximizing capacity or putting more people on the mountain than it can comfortably handle.

We will be thoughtful about those decisions.

If we shorten a lift line but overwhelm the terrain, we have not made Smuggs better. Our responsibility is to build a stronger, more resilient mountain while protecting the character and experience that make it unique. 

That brings me to Bear Den.

We are not trying to build a collection of resorts that all look and feel the same. The idea behind Bear Den Partners: use scale where it helps, so each mountain can remain different.

There are many things our resorts can do together—sharing expertise, buying equipment more efficiently, managing fleets, and improving operations. Those behind-the-scenes efficiencies allow us to invest more in the things that matter most: employees, infrastructure, snowmaking, lifts, and the mountain itself.

The guest-facing experience should always remain local.

Smuggs should not look, sound, or feel like Berkshire East, Catamount or Burke. Its local partnerships, traditions, personality, and quirks should remain distinctly Smuggs. That is what independence means to Bear Den Partners.

It does not mean nothing changes. We will fix the pipes, improve snowmaking, replace infrastructure when necessary, care for the buildings, invest in employees, and strengthen the resort.

And we will try to have enough humility to leave alone the things that were already right.

Joining Indy gives more people an opportunity to discover a remarkable mountain while creating additional business to help support the work ahead. By managing capacity locally, we can do that without abandoning our responsibility to the employees, homeowners, guests, and community members who already love this place.

Our goal is simple: make Smuggs stronger, give it a great run at another 70 years, and leave it recognizable to the people who love it today. To us, that is stewardship and our responsibility. 

Executing that will not always be easy—but it is exciting work, and we are grateful for the opportunity.

See you on the mountain,

Jon Schaefer
CEO
Bear Den Partners

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Background

In the past week, two of Eastern North America’s busiest ski areas have announced massive expansions, though they have vastly different targets for the skiing demographics.

Both Loon in New Hampshire and Tremblant in Quebec have announced terrain expansions, though Tremblant’s is more of a re-announcement, as it’s basically the same project that was announced just a few days before the COVID pandemic threw a wrench in their plans. We’ll look through each of these plans individually, who they’ll benefit, and when you can expect to ski or ride this new terrain. 

Loon Black Ridge Expansion

Boyne’s Loon Mountain has long been the go-to mountain for Boston area day trippers, but has fallen short of other New England mountains in terms of advanced and expert terrain, especially gladed terrain. That’s exactly what the Black Ridge expansion aims at fixing. This 272-acre expansion consists entirely of tree terrain, depending entirely on natural snowfall and offering a “raw, natural, and untamed” experience, per Loon’s website. While a 272-acre expansion may not seem the largest for those used to the massive footprints of western ski areas, it measures in at a 67% increase in Loon’s skiable footprint, one of the largest ski area expansions in recent memory by that measurement. This terrain is located to the looker’s left of the North Peak terrain, and will be accessed by a 1.25 mile traverse, allowing skiers and riders plenty of options to choose their line. This expansion will be ready for the 2027-28 season.

Tremblant Timber Expansion

Up north of the border, Alterra’s Mont Tremblant will finally see an expansion that was first announced over six years ago, but was derailed by the COVID pandemic. Timber Summit is an eight trail expansion to the south of the main Mont Tremblant summit, and will eventually be served by a new high-speed quad, as well as a new beginner carpet and learning area at the Versant Soleil base. The trails off the Timber Summit will be largely beginner and intermediate focused, and will be fully covered with artificial snowmaking. This expansion will be broken up over the next two years, with the new learning area and carpet being ready for the 2026-27 winter, and the Timber high speed quad and full expansion being ready for the 2027-28 winter. 

Our Take

Loon Black Ridge Expansion

While these expansions are in a similar part of the continent, they couldn’t serve a more different purpose. Loon Mountain is taking aim at the advanced and expert skier demographic that has passed them by for years heading up to Cannon or into Vermont. This could lead to Loon getting more people taking shorter drives; however, it’s very hard to say how often this terrain will be open. New Hampshire generally gets much less snow than Vermont, and with this whole expansion depending on natural snowfall, the resiliency of this area is the main concern.

One additional concern is the lack of direct lift capacity to such a substantial amount of new terrain. Loon is already a very busy mountain with significant waits during peak times, and as of right now, the North Peak Express will be the only way to directly reach the traverse for these new glades. In other words, just one lift is likely to end up holding down access to nearly 45% of Loon’s entire skiable footprint. If Black Ridge does end up opening reliably, will the North Peak Express just turn into a huge chokepoint? 

This all being said, the need to traverse to such a substantial amount of the new terrain should help gatekeep it from too many crowds and naturally preserve the snow. Based on the topography, it also looks like some of Black Ridge may require a small amount of hiking to reach.

It is also worth noting that the new expansion will be indirectly paired with some capacity upgrades. While it won’t directly serve the new glade terrain, Loon is also planning to replace their four-passenger gondola with a 10-passenger variant, which should be a substantial improvement for the resort that we’ve detailed here.

Tremblant Timber Expansion

Tremblant, on the other hand, is focusing on expanding what they already do well: great family friendly terrain and a strong lift fleet. Timber doesn’t have anything you can’t already find at Tremblant, other than more sunny, south facing slopes, but it could lead to more people starting their day at the Versant Soleil base rather than the main Tremblant Village. One concern we do have about this expansion is all the trails from the expanded terrain seem to end on the L’Algonquin trail, which could lead to some very congested runs, especially since that’s already the main route down for beginners on that side of the mountain.

Overall, these are both positive additions to these busy Northeastern ski areas. They also collectively strengthen the Ikon pass for the region, as they’re both on that multi-mountain pass despite them being owned by different companies. Whether Loon will become the next glade skiing haven, or Tremblant will keep its place as one of the best ski areas for all abilities, only time will tell, but we’ll be sure to check these out once they’re fully open for the 2027-28 ski season.

Considering a trip to the Northeast? Check out our Loon and Tremblant reviews, as well as our East Coast ski resort rankings here.

Most North American skiers know the standard difficulty progression: green circles, blue squares, and black diamonds. In recent years, however, a handful of ski areas have introduced a new category reserved for their most serious terrain: the triple black diamond.

In 2004, Smugglers’ Notch added a beloved but previously unmarked glade to its trail map, distinguishing it with three black diamonds. Fifteen years later, Big Sky followed suit, assigning a triple black diamond rating to nearly every run accessed from the summit of Lone Peak to better communicate the severity of the terrain.

The catch is that a triple black diamond isn’t a universal standard. Like every other trail rating, it’s relative to the rest of the ski area’s terrain.

“Terrain ratings are always relative to the mountain you’re skiing,” said Matt McCawley, the content media specialist at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. He’s the first to admit that a triple black diamond rating at Smuggs might not garner the same rating at a ski area like Jackson Hole. “[It] doesn’t have the same exposure, sustained pitch, or massive cliff features you can find in some extreme Western terrain.” But you might find extremely tight trees, turns made out of ice, and no bailout.

The triple black diamond runs below may vary in difficulty from mountain to mountain, but they accurately mark the most challenging terrain each ski area has to offer.

The Black Hole — Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Vermont

There is just one run at Smugglers’ Notch that has a triple black rating: The Black Hole. The aptly named run started as an unmarked glade where in-the-know locals would head for hits of powder after the rest of the resort was skied off, but in 2004, the resort named it The Black Hole and put it on the map with a triple black diamond rating.

“We felt its rating needed to reflect the additional difficulty that comes with skiing terrain that steep and technical through tight Vermont woods,” said McCawley with Smugglers’ Notch Resort. “It’s really a maze of different lines through the woods. Every turn requires control because there aren’t many bailout options. Once you’re committed to a line, you’re often committed for a while. As the season progresses, some of those lines can develop almost a bobsled or luge character, where the terrain starts dictating where you’re going next.”

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If you yearn for a slight chill in the air and the crunch of leaves underfoot, now is the ideal time to jet off to a destination that offers all the fun of autumn without the bitter cold of winter.

Vermont, New England, USA

For full autumn vibes, stay at Smugglers’ Notch Resort, which hosts seasonal events and activities from September 8 to October 12, including hikes, a foliage e-bike tour and ghost stories around the bonfire.

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We’re heading into the last full week of summer programming here at Smuggs, and we’ll admit, it’s always a little bittersweet. We absolutely love summer around here. Long days at the pools, bikes rolling through the woods, discs flying, kids running around the Village, and those warm evenings when nobody seems particularly interested in going inside. We’re not ready to rush any of that away. But this time of year, it’s pretty hard not to start looking ahead.

Fall is right around the corner, and soon the mountains will start trading green for red, orange, and gold. Then, waiting patiently behind foliage season, is winter. And there’s plenty to be excited about this winter. A major new snowmaking investment is underway, new benefits have been added for passholders, and sale pricing is currently available on our 2026–27 Season Passes and Badges. Around the Resort, it feels like the momentum is starting to build. Exciting things seem to be happening every day, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.

For now, though, summer isn’t finished yet.

We still have a full week of summer programming ahead, and late August into early September can be one of the nicest stretches of the season. The days are still plenty warm, the water has had an entire summer to heat up, and slightly cooler temperatures make biking, disc golf, hiking, and exploring the mountain that much more comfortable.

Summer still has a little gas left in the tank. Fall is waiting in the wings. Winter is starting to make some noise. Around here, there’s always another season coming.

Champlain Valley Fair

The Champlain Valley Fair is a beloved end-of-summer tradition in Essex Junction, Vermont, bringing families and friends together for ten days of fun, entertainment, and local flavor. From live music and thrilling rides to agricultural exhibits, delicious fair food, and activities for all ages, it’s a vibrant celebration of Vermont’s community spirit and heritage.

One important heads-up as we make the seasonal turn: the what, where, and when around the Resort will begin shifting over the next couple of weeks. Activities, dining, attractions, and operating hours may change as we move from summer into fall. Before heading out, be sure to check the most recent Weekly Activity Guide and our Hours of Operation page so you have the latest information.

 Text SMUGGS to 855-421-2279 for real-time alerts about weather updates, schedule changes, and more!

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