I bet about half of you already know what road I’m going to talk about. Smuggler’s Notch is what I feel is the twistiest road in Vermont, if not all of New England. Continue reading to find out more about Smuggler’s Notch. If you are just here to find out about Stowe’s white church then click the following button.

Smugglers Notch, Vermont’s Twistiest Scenic Autumn Drive.

Are you a hiker or skier? Then you probably are well aware of “the Notch” and the trail system that spreads over the feet of Mount Mansfield, the tallest peak in the Green Mountains.

I usually do my best to stay off Vermont’s twistiest scenic autumn drive because of all the tourist traffic coming in or out of Stowe on Route 108. I was determined to drive through Stowe in autumn, it was almost dusk and I wanted to get up to the top of the notch before it got dark (I still didn’t have a room for the night and once I got to the top I was going to start looking). This is another story in and of itself… (read about where I found a really good room here)

As you head up route 108 from Stowe you will notice all the skiing indications and soon the Stowe Mountain Lodge resort comes into view but my goal was just past that. This is where the road turns into barely two lanes (Oh spoiler alert! NO RVs or big trucks). I got my Z71 through there once but it was tight and IF someone else in a similar truck had come around the corner at the same time from the opposite direction, there would have been issues.

Now there are several pullouts along the road but most of them are for very small vehicles. I think a smart car “might” get into one. And if you have anything bigger then wait until you get nearer to the top where they have some parking lots.

You will see some killer views on the way up since the hills on the side of the road rise up around 1,000 feet and this can make for dramatic views. But I will warn you now!!! It’s doubtful that you will be lucky to have no one following you so you can stop your car long enough for a shot, so just don’t plan on it!

Instead, plan on getting higher up and into a parking lot and then hitting the trails. I want you to think Streets of San Francisco, you know the street I mean with all the switchbacks, well now throw in a new wrinkle.

Boulders, bigger than cars that are at the most inconvenient places in the turns (make that blind turns!). Also, you are dodging oncoming cars and trying to squeeze past these boulders at the same time.

So please take my word for it and just enjoy the ride up the hill and then park. Once there, you can hit the trails and maybe find one that gives you a shot of a double line of cars snaking their way through Smuggler’s Notch road.

Iconic Stowe Vermont white church steeple

Now! This is what you were probably waiting for… That Iconic Stowe Vermont church steeple with the hills covered in a tapestry of fall colors.  

Here is a Google map link to the Stowe Community Church. It’s not hard but sometimes photographers aren’t good at sharing these views. I found it quite by accident after searching for a scenic autumn drive near Stowe. I found images on Flickr and Google image searches. I found several other churches with steeples in Stowe and I thought maybe going up in the hills above Stowe on the east side of town might yield the view.

That proved to be mostly residential and I think a morning shot still might be had there but I didn’t find it. I was passing back through town and heading out on Route 108 to the west when I looked back over my shoulder and there it was!

I took the first right turn I could take which was into the parking lot of the Aveda Salon. The salon has a large parking lot on the backside of the building and a connected parking lot to the right. (they do want you to pay to park there now…) The first time I was there, I found it on 27 Sept (a bit early).

In the picture above, I was traveling up from Northfield on 2 Oct, racing against the setting sun.

So I got there just before the sun fell below the hills at 6:00 PM and I was able to set up, shoulder to shoulder with 20 or so other photographers. You see many folks do know about this spot but few are telling.

I got about 3 images with the sun on the steeple and then it was gone. I made a few more and talked to my fellow photographers and then headed up Route 108 for Smuggler’s Notch.

This will lead you back to the beginning of this story. My next article will tell the tale of looking for a place to sleep and how it may be better to stay where you are and just relax rather than look for a cheap place.

There is also a 2nd twistiest Vermont road to explore, visit it here.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

Visit my Amazon affiliate store for items that Lisa and I have curated for you. These items are either New England-made or things we think will make your fall foliage trip more successful.

• Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
• Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
• Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
• My Facebook foliage page
• Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
• Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here