Top 10 Getaway for Tiny Travelers - Smugglers' Notch, Vermont

Smugglers' Notch won a Top 10 Getaways award in 2003 for its support of parents with infants and toddlers.Smugglers' Notch won a Top 10 Getaways award in 2003 for its support of parents with infants and toddlers.

For 2003's "Top 10 Getaways for Tiny Travelers" awards, our staff and contributing editors selected Smugglers' Notch for its thoughtful, innovative and environmentally-sensitive new projects which have improved the vacation experience for all ages. Here's a look at Smuggs' today.

Smugglers' Notch
4323 Vermont Route 108 South
Smugglers' Notch, VT 05464-9537
800/419/4615

What hasn't changed at Smugglers' Notch since it won FTF's Tiny Traveler Award in 1998 and 1999?  It's still a great place to enjoy both winter and summer activities with your family. Which of its thoughtful innovations have earned it the 2008 Tiny Travelers award? Read on:

The biggest news for families with Tiny Travelers is "Treasures," the state-of-the-art child care center open daily from 8:30am-4:30pm. Infants and toddlers from 6 weeks to 3 years-old can enjoy 5,400-square-feet of indoor space divided into age-appropriate areas for both playing and resting. For a change of scenery, they can frolic in an enclosed 4,000-square-foot outdoor playground rolling in the autumn leaves, the snow or grass.

The facility provides a dedicated parking lot with ski in/ski out access to its slopeside location, making drop-off, mid-day visits and pick-up a breeze. Heated "snowmelt" walkways prevent slipping and sliding, and radiant floor heating keeps it warm and cozy. Other features include one-way mirror viewing (for parents with separation anxiety), a giant, eye-level fish tank in each room, and tiny toilets and sinks for easy access.

Needless to say, the new safety-first facility continues to be run by a fully-certified staff who have been trained in First Aid, CPR, child development and behavior management. This fee-based service is available at $85/D or $15/H up to 3 hours between 9:00-1:00 only; some discounts are available during non-peak weeks, and the staff can also help you arrange for private evening care in your condo ($10/H for the first child, $1/H for each additional child). There is also a $4 finders fee paid at Treasures.  By the way, "Alice's Wonderland," the previous childcare center, has been transformed into a spacious ski and snowboard equipment rental facility, twice the size of the former.

Since the opening, there have been two new additions to Treasures.  Most significant is the Little Rascals on Snow program, which began on a trial basis in the winter of 2004-2005 and became a regular program based on its popularity. Little Rascals on Snow is a learn-to-ski program for two and a half to three year olds run out of Treasures in cooperation with the ski school. Because of their young age, the children want to learn how to ski, but an all-day camp program is not appropriate for their maturity level. By running the program through Treasures, the kids are able to head out for quick little outings on the snow and then return to the center's cozy atmosphere for meals and naps. Toddlers are introduced slowly to the slopes, first by clomping around indoors in the boots, then by playing outdoors in the snow, and finally by heading to a short conveyor-type lift which services a very low short slope. Little Rascals is $129 per child per day. The second innovation for Treasures is the toy library, where visitors can "check-out" toys to bring back to their condos. This service gives kids a fresh supply of things to play with while easing parents' minds about not having to pack everything but the kitchen sink for their ski trip

Three and four year olds have something new, too, now that they can participate in the Discovery Dynamos Snowboard Camp. Daily from 9am-2:15pm, this program caters to pre-schoolers and will teach groups of three to five children on a gentle slope. Three year olds can participate in group ski lessons, and take private snowboard lessons for $139 per session.  Five and six year olds will love Trail Blazers, a new camp designed especially for them.  Excellent ski and snowboard camps are also available for kids 7-10, 11-14 and 14-17 years old.

Teens can enjoy family vacations, but they crave a place to hang out, so to accommodate these guests, Smuggs has added a second supervised teen center. Teen Alley caters to 11 and 12 year olds before dinner and 13 to 15 year olds after dinner, while the Outer Limits Center is for kids 16 and older and is open from 5pm to midnight. Both facilities offer Internet access, Playstation 2 and X-Box, music, night volleyball, pool parties and dances and are "parent-free zones."

Also new: The Nordic Center now offers cross-country skiing programs for Mom or Dad & Me, for families who want to enjoy the beautiful woods together.

A variety of Summer and Fall programs abound, with exciting summer day camp programs for 3-4s, 5-6s, 7-10s, 11-15s, and 16-17s and activities ranging from puppet making and mini-hikes to a junior tennis camp, mountain boarding and video-making.

We are very pleased that Smugglers' Notch is the recipient of various environmental awards.  Smuggler's has received the Vermont Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence and Pollution Prevention for its energy and water conservation initiatives. Throughout the continuing construction of additional lodgings in the resort village, as well as the new daycare center, the highest standards of energy efficient lighting, heating, air conditioning systems and appliances were utilized. Recently, Smuggler's Notch received an Environmental Leader award as a follow-up to their earlier Environmental Partner designation.  The Leader award acknowledges the efforts Smuggler's Notch has made in areas of pollution prevention, regulatory compliance and environmental management practices such as recycling. Smugglers' Notch has reason to be proud of being a conscientious steward of Vermont's natural resources.