Smugglers Notch
Mount Mansfield & Stowe, Vermont · 2,123 ft
VT Route 108 squeezes between the cliffs of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, passing car-sized boulders that fell into the roadway. Birch and maple grow straight out of the talus, so color sits directly against wet gray rock.
Typical peak
Sep 27 – Oct 5
Long range. Treat as a planning estimate only.
Best light
Best under flat overcast
Crowds
high
Busy through peak. Be parked before sunrise or expect to walk in.
Getting there
Drive VT 108 north from Stowe village about 9 miles to the pullouts at the height of land, where the road narrows to one lane between the boulders and closes for the season once heavy snow arrives.
What turns here
- sugar maple
- yellow birch
- paper birch
Color progression
Typical peak Oct 1Typical color progression for Smugglers Notch. No change from Aug 24 to Sep 10. First color from Sep 10 to Sep 19. Approaching peak from Sep 19 to Sep 27. Peak from Sep 27 to Oct 5. Past peak from Oct 5 to Oct 15. Bare from Oct 15 to Oct 29.
Color starts around Sep 10.
Light at peak
Smugglers Notch on October 1, the day it typically peaks. Knowing when color arrives is one thing. Knowing where the sun will be is another.
| Event | Time |
|---|---|
| First light (blue hour) Sun 6° below horizon | 6:19 AM |
| Sunrise Rises E · 94° | 6:48 AM |
| Morning golden hour ends 39 min of low, warm light | 7:27 AM |
| Solar noon Highest sun, flattest light | 12:40 PM |
| Evening golden hour starts 39 min before sunset | 5:54 PM |
| Sunset Sets W · 266° | 6:32 PM |
| Last light (blue hour) Sun 6° below horizon | 7:01 PM |
Times in America/New York · day length 11h 44m · computed from NOAA solar equations
Which way to point the camera
Sun rises E, sets W.
Aim within 45° of those and the canopy glows translucent. Turn your back to them for flat, accurate color.
Location pages name the light directly.
Shooting conditions
Glassy water, wind blur, and what the cloud will do to your light.
Recent reports
What people actually saw here. Been recently? Add yours.