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Vermont: Smugglers' Notch Smuggs’ Resort Teen Connections Include Water Fun, Via Ferrata, Geocaching. Teen guests call it “Smuggs” and know that “It’s good.” For parents vacationing with teens, it means a bored-no-more zone with stuff to do and best of all, other teens. Smugglers' is known for its extensive programs for all ages, including a daily all-day summer camp program for ages 3-17. Activities include water sports, pool time, hiking, biking, disc golf, geocaching, music, dances, and Via Ferrata challenges.
Awesome teen activity choices. With Smugglers' teen programs, "choice" is the key word. Younger teens in the Resort's Notch Squad program (ages 11-15) will have a core camp program that includes pool time and that they can augment with arts and crafts, nature and hiking, or adventure and games programs. Older teens in the Mountain Explorers group (ages 16 and 17) will meet in the morning, then plan their own daily itinerary from an extensive selection of activities including hiking, kayaking, climbing, high ropes adventure courses, visits to a swimming hole, and crafts.
Best teen summer adventures. The Mountain Explorers group will celebrate their camp week with an evening hike, barbeque and swim time at the Resort's reservoir, RumRunners' Hideaway. Notch Squad campers will enjoy an overnight campout at the Resort's upper mountain base lodge.
The Resort’s High Adventure Camp for ages 9-17 is the best option for teens who want to try a different outdoor adventure each day, incorporating an aerial trekking course, climbing tower, giant swing, Eurobungy, kayaking, tree climbing and Via Ferrata.
Share the Via Ferrata. Smuggs’ Via Ferrata or "Iron Way" is a perfect summer teen adventure and an outing that provides shared family memories. Via climbing routes have with permanently fixed cables, steel rungs, bridges and ladders. Smugglers' version of the Via Ferrata combines hiking with challenging encounters into steeper, narrower and more closed-in terrain. Groups are guided over four or five challenges such as a Burma Bridge and Tyrolean Traverse along the chosen path. Handrails with a foot rope and harness create the secure pathway over the bridge, and a harness and pulley system assist climbers with the Traverse. Most of the Smugglers' Via challenges will employ a cable and rope combination. Need to know: The challenges are not high above the water or riverbed; adept youngsters as young as ten may participate. The Via challenges represent a range of difficulty with options to go around them. Smugglers' Via Ferrata was developed by Austin Paulson, who has been guiding international mountaineering expeditions since 1988. He is a member of the American Mountain Guides Association and runs his own guiding company called Peak Expeditions. 
Add disc golf and geocaching to the fun. Disc golf and geocaching are also well-suited to active teens, and give them bragging rights back home. When snow on the cross-country trails melts away it is time to play disc golf with a Frisbee-like disc. Disc golf is similar to golf in theory and is played with a set of discs meant to be thrown along a set course. At Smuggs the Brewster Ridge Course provides offers a way to enjoy nature and a little competition along the way. The 10-acre wooded disc course follows the cross-country and snowshoe trails and connects a string of "tee boxes", "fairways", and "greens". The target on the green is a metal basket on a pole. Like the game of golf, each hole has a par ranging from three to five throws.
To test skills and burn energy teens might also choose geocaching from the activities menu. Using new (GPS) and old (compass) technology, participants prowl around Smugglers' Notch and the base of Morse Mountain looking for hidden treasures called geocaches. This is also a great family adventure for ages eight and older.
Location on the planet. Smuggler's Notch Resort 4323 Vermont Route 108, South Smugglers' Notch, Vermont 05464-9537.
Make it happen. Toll-free 866-966-2895, (US & Canada) or www.smuggs.com
Content researched and posted by Nancy Nelson-Duac, FTF Editor with updates and images courtesy Smuggs’ Resort. Copyright 2013.
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