The famous Smugglers’ Notch is a narrow pass through the Green Mountains. Lined with 1,000-foot cliffs, the winding road is closed in winter. In the earlier days, only a footpath and trail for horses existed here.
In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson passed an embargo act forbidding American trade with Great Britain and Canada. This was a severe hardship for northern Vermonters, since Montreal was closer than other markets in the US. Many local people continued illegal trade with Canada, herding cattle and carrying other goods through the Notch. Later, fugitive slaves used the Notch as an escape route to Canada. During the Prohibition years, liquor was smuggled from Canada over the improved road built in 1922.
Smugglers’ Notch State Park was relocated in 2003. The new campground features sites that are further spread out, a new restroom facility that incorporates alternative energy and a location that gives easy access to Bingham Falls. All of the historic structures originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps were carefully relocated and restored, preserving the work of these pioneering conservationists.
