Consistently less crowded than Stowe, family-oriented Smuggler’s Notch Resort, just over the Notch, was founded in 1956. Spread over Sterling (3010ft), Madonna (3640ft) and Morse (2250ft) mountains, the resort offers incredible alpine and cross-country skiing (78 trails and 14 miles’ worth), dogsled rides (reservations strongly recommended), a lit tubing hill, nightly family entertainment, and the only learn-to-ski program for two- to five-year-olds in the country.