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Top Country Resorts

Smugglers' Notch
4323 Vermont Route 108 South
Smugglers' Notch, VT 05464-9537
800/419/4615
Barbara Thomke, PR Director of Smugglers' Notch, gave us some insight on how family travel has changed the ski resort business since 1998: "Once, simple arts'n'crafts would keep youngsters occupied. Today we offer them adventure and games, nature and hiking, sound and stage participation. We have grown from one pool with a diving board to four water facilities with multiple pools including four water slides, an Aqua Jump, fidget ladder, canoes and paddleboats." In 10 years, Smugglers' Notch, like many of the top ski resorts, has also evolved into a year-round mountain destination that serves all children -- young and old -- and their adults, as guests or condo owners, with myriad recreation and learning facilities. And that's the best news for families with tiny and not-so-tiny-any-longer travelers.

In one of the industry's best new childcare centers, Treasures, 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. A new addition is Smuggs' Little Rascals on Snow program, a learn-to-ski program for 2.5 to 3-year-olds that runs in cooperation with the ski school, so tinies are able to head out for quick outings on the snow and then return to the center's cozy atmosphere for meals and naps. This athletic enrichment began on a trial basis in the winter of 2004-2005 and, due to parent demand, has become permanent. In a trend towards greater personalization, 3- to 4-year-olds may graduate to Discover Dynamos, another recently added program. Smuggs' other excellent camps include Trail Blazers for the 5-6's and recently added teen programs with evening skiing and snowboarding options, mountain biking and boarding, X-box and Playstation 2 facilities, peer parties and purpose built "parent-free" zones.

New physical plant conveniences at Smuggs also cater to avid skiing parents, including ski-in/ski-out access to more condos, an enhanced base villlage, and heated "snowmelt" walkways to prevent slipping and sliding. Other thoughtful features (and at Smuggs, they are always thinking about how to improve the family experience) include the nursery's one-way mirror wall (for parents with separation anxiety) as well as tiny toilets and sinks off the slopes for easy access.

The Tyler Place Family Resort on Lake Champlain
Old Dock Road
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
802/868-4000
Coincidentally, we are revisiting The Tyler Place as the resort celebrates its 75th anniversary as one of the original family travel destinations. Since 1998, there has been much physical growth on the 165-acre lakeside grounds. To extend the popular swimming complex, a family fun Splash Pad has been added. Additionally, the Field House, with various sports courts and an arts'n'crafts room, serves as a foolproof solution to the occasional rainy day. The Tyler Place has also tried to expand its activities off the grounds with family trips across the border to Quebec, Canada to different shops and even chocolate factories.

There have been no changes in the childcare programs which still cater to newborns through 16-year-olds with age specific programs. And there is still a big focus on the healthy, locally grown and tasty food as well as nature walks and outdoor activities (what Co-owner and Tyler-Family member, Pixley Tyler Hill calls, "endangered life skills." The reason being: guests do not see a reason for change. At least not yet.

The Tyler Place can verify this by the questionnaires that it requires guests to fill out after their stay. Ms. Tyler Hill states, "We try to take all the ideas we are given to see what our guests really want." Thus, all the new programs initiated at the classic summer camp resort, such as an extensive new bike trail system and free bike rentals for all guests, have been generated by the families who keep returning year after year. And according to Tyler Hill, the resort has a huge return rate of 80%. It is no wonder that The Tyler Place continues to set the bar for other family-friendly resorts nationwide.