Outstanding natural beauty, great recreational opportunities, along with rental cabins and cozy bed and breakfasts highlight this area. The Smugglers' Notch/Jeffersonville area is dotted with unspoiled villages, and small lodging and restaurant establishments. See a movie review of skiing at Smuggs and dining off mountain.

Smugglers' Notch is a spectacular pass at the foot of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, and the road through the notch (closed in the winter months) is one of two highways in the state officially designated as "scenic."

At Jeffersonville, this road and the cold, clear Brewster River that winds alongside it meet with the main east-west highway and the larger Lamoille River. All this makes the area both easily accessible and rich in places to hike, canoe, fish, bike, and relax. In the winter, activities center on enjoying the abundant snowfall and the mountains by snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and, of course, skiing -- both downhill and cross-country.

Places to stay:

• Nye's Green Valley Farm Bed and Breakfast
• The Sterling Ridge Inn and Log Cabins