See below for a special late-summer discount just for Macaroni Kid Acton-Lexington readers!
Last week, my kids and I had the immense pleasure of spending three nights at Smugglers Notch Resort in Vermont for a hosted travel review visit. I’ve seen information about Smugglers Notch Resort before but somehow I didn’t really GET what it was all about. Having stayed there for a lovely summer mid-week break, I can heartily recommend it as a great year-round vacation option for families.
Image courtesy Smugglers Notch Resort
If your family usually rents a cottage for a week during the summer, or if you love winter sports but have little ones to care for, Smugglers Notch Resort will give you so many new options. I poured over all their information before we left and saw that there were lots of on-site activities every day. What I realized, after we checked in, was that staying at Smugglers Notch Resort is like having an extremely comfortable cottage – with fully equipped kitchen, linens on the beds, jacuzzi tubs (in some units) – with all kinds of vacation activities and amenities included right on site. You don’t have to get in the car and drive 30 minutes to a water park or visit the tourist center trying to figure out what to do. Everything is right there at the resort.
Image courtesy Smugglers Notch Resort
We arrived on a Tuesday late afternoon to register at the main lodge buildings in the village center. The village center has several restaurants, a Ben & Jerry’s (yay!), a general store with groceries and sundries, and a supply store with clothing, bathing suits and other items you might have forgotten. Around the main lodge are fields and playgrounds, disc golf, shuffleboard, basketball, volleyball, a teen center, and plenty of parking. There are several condo complexes at this main lodge area, all with plenty of grass and trees among them. Roads extend up the mountain in all directions, leading to additional small complexes of condos, all beautifully landscaped and nestled among trees, grass and flowers. Among the complexes are a spa offering massages, the Treasures child care center, and four separate water parks that each offer a variety of fun amenities including flume rides, spray parks, zero-entry splash zones, bungy jumping (small additional charge), climbing areas and more. There are also two additional water play areas at nearby fresh water reservoirs (reachable by shuttle) that offer water slides, aqua jumps and more.
Canoes, kayaks, mountain bikes and more are available for rent on-site, and complimentary shuttles will take you anywhere you need to go with a simple call. All kinds of programs are offered everyday, including tennis, yoga, hikes, crafts, llamas treks, and off-resort tours to wineries, orchards, kayaking, fishing and more. The resort features many hiking, walking and biking trails, a small mini golf course (free), tennis courts, streams to explore, and playgrounds. Want some adult time to relax? There are kids camp programs daily from 9-4 (some are additional charge, depending on what type of stay you purchase.) If your kids are older, they can venture out on their own to hang out with other teens, play volleyball, swim, etc. They are also building a new FunZone indoor entertainment center with inflatables, games and more, which will be ready by February 2017. During the winter, there are, of course, all kinds of winter sports. Just five minutes away is Arbortrek, an aerial adventure facility where you can spend the afternoon ziplining or exploring a challenging treetop obstacle course. Literally everything you need to keep your family entertained and happy all week is right there.
Our condo was a ground-floor unit in the Kestrels complex. It was absolutely lovely – I would happily live there. It featured a huge fully-equipped kitchen (bigger than mine at home), a dining area that seats 8, large living area with a sectional couch plus additional comfy chairs, several large flat-screen TVs with DVD players and surround sound, a great kids bedroom with four separate twin beds with storage underneath and lots of space to spread out, a screened-in porch, and a spacious master bedroom with patio. For winter stays, the condo can be accessed directly from the outside if you’re cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing.
Our days there were absolutely jam-packed with activities. We swam several times at the pool complex right across the street, which had an indoor zero-entry splash area, indoor hot tubs, fitness area, and an outdoor pool with flume ride. The kids spent the whole day Wednesday in the High Adventure Camp, learning how to kayak, exploring a local river (so proud of my 9-year-old, who’s a little fearful of new adventures!), and playing at the Mountainside water complex.
We visited Notchville Park, another resort water park with a flume ride, waterfall, and spray park. On Thursday morning, we spent a delightful three hours on a llama trek. Each of the kids was given a gentle, well-trained llama to lead – and no, the llamas don’t spit! Lindsay, the llamas’ owner, patiently answered all our questions about these lovely animals while leading us on a fairly gentle climb up the mountain. When we reached our destination, Lindsay unpacked a picnic of muffins, cookies, fruit, ice tea, lemonade and, to top it off, individual servings of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!
Later in the day, we visited Arbortrek so the kids could do the treetop obstacle course, which they LOVED. The leaders got our group fitted with body harnesses and demonstrated the special clips and zip line trolleys. They taught everyone how to connect to the platforms and lines (you’re ALWAYS connected to something, whether it’s a line or a platform, to catch you if you fall) and then took everyone through a ground-level demonstration course and then a lower-level course. Then it was on to the very challenging treetop obstacle course for my two older kids, while my 9-year-old decided to try out the climbing structures. My older son and especially my fearless daughter had a blast challenging themselves on the obstacle course. Each obstacle is about 30 feet in the air and could involve walking on a tightrope, climbing from one swinging block to another, crossing a rope bridge – ALWAYS attached to a harness. At the end, to leave the course, you have to jump off a 30-foot-high platform and allow the auto-belay to gently lower you to the ground – definitely a leap of faith!
Our last morning we tried out the disc golf course, which we’d never played before. It’s a cross between Frisbee (with smaller, heavier discs) and golf and was a lot of fun on a beautiful summer day. Checkout time is early – 10 AM – but guests may stay and use all the resort amenities on their last day, so we visited the pools and the indoor Clubhouse, which has a small arcade and ping pong.
There was so much to do that we didn’t spend much time in our condo, although we did enjoy relaxing with movies in the evening. We brought DVDs and there also is a large selection of movies to rent in the Country Store. It was so very different from previous cottage rental vacations, when we invariably spent hours hanging around debating what to do and where to go. At Smugglers Notch, we could jump up and head off to any one of a dozen activities or play areas whenever we wanted. If you do want to explore nearby, Burlington VT is about an hour away and features ferries across Lake Champlain, the Echo Museum freshwater aquarium and Lake Champlain habitat, and a downtown pedestrian shopping area. The Shelburne Museum is an amazing destination that can easily fill a whole day, plus there’s Stowe village, a winery, maple sugarhouses, and factory tours at Ben & Jerry’s, Cabot Creamery, and Lake Champlain chocolates all nearby. If you happen to use the Waze app to direct you to Smugglers Notch, I would recommend NOT taking exit 10 (Waterbury/Stowe VT Route 100) to Route 108, but instead follow Route 89 one more exit north, take exit 11, and then follow Route 2 to Route 15 to approach Smugglers Notch from the north. Route 108 is a gorgeous scenic road and definitely worth a drive but it is extremely steep, twisting and narrow. Take the time to explore it on another day, but not if you’re driving an RV or any kind of very large vehicle (a minivan is fine).
Now, all of these amenities and activities do mean that Smugglers Notch Resort is not a budget vacation BUT there are a lot of ways to make it more affordable. For instance, two families can travel together and rent a 3 or 4 bedroom condo. Kids can play together, parents can share child care and give each other date nights out, and the lodging costs become very reasonable (lodging is charged per unit, not per person). Also, because each unit includes a full kitchen, you can bring groceries and cook in your unit (I would recommend bringing as much as you can; the groceries at the Country Store and in nearby towns are quite expensive and there is no local supermarket). Smugglers Notch also offers special promotions in the spring and fall and other non-peak times. Plus, the all-inclusive nature (other than food and drink) of the resort and the sheer amount of activities make a visit there truly unique. Many families return year after year, especially those that enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and skiing.
If you would like to try Smugglers Notch Resort this summer, they have provided a special offer for our readers who would like to visit before their summer season ends on September 4, 2016. Readers who book a stay of 3 nights or more from now until September 4, 2016 can choose either complimentary daily children’s programs (not including the specialty programs) for ages 3-17 or a vacation condominium upgrade. To take advantage of this offer, call 877-929-9609 and mention Lowell Macaroni Kid. I would recommend calling and speaking to an agent and describing your family size and what you are looking for (i.e., to be close to pools, quiet, need baby care, etc.). The booking agent will be able to provide you with the best suggestion for a condo village (there are five to choose from), unit, and plan that will meet your needs and budget.
My family received complimentary lodging and activities in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.
Macaroni Kid Acton-Concord-Bedford-Lexington is a free weekly newsletter and website focused on fun events and information for local families.
We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve thousands of families in Acton, Bedford, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Maynard and other surrounding communities.
Subscribe today to receive our email newsletter every Thursday!
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Advertise with us to connect with thousands of local families!
