shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileVermont

in northern Vermont, just before the pass closes for winter

Smugglers' Notch pass in peak autumn

Name: Smugglers' Notch pass in peak autumn — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a week of red along the rock.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“The notch road in late September, when sugar maples on the lower slopes turn first and the colour climbs the cliff walls over about ten days. The pass closes by snowfall a few weeks later. Traffic backs up at both ends, Stowe to the south, Jeffersonville to the north, and the single lane through the boulders moves at the speed of a window pulled down to look. The maples drop, then the road.

from the studio

— bring it home

Smugglers' Notch pass in peak autumn, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Smugglers' Notch pass in peak autumn

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Smugglers' Notch threads Vermont Route 108 between Mount Mansfield and Sterling Peak at 2,162 feet, the highest point on a Vermont state highway. The pass crosses Mount Mansfield State Forest in Lamoille County, with Stowe to the south and Jeffersonville to the north. Peak autumn foliage in the notch runs roughly from the last week of September through the first week of October, depending on elevation and the year's frost dates. The cliff walls themselves stay grey, but the lower slopes burn red with sugar maple.

— informed by Wikipedia — Smugglers' Notch

— the season

Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) carry the red end of the Green Mountain palette. They turn earliest at elevation in the notch, with the colour band moving downhill over about ten days. Yellow birch and American beech follow with the yellows. The Vermont Department of Tourism publishes a weekly foliage report through September and October. The pass closes to vehicles by late October when the gate goes up at both ends. The week before the closure is often the last of the colour, with bare maples standing against the rock.

— informed by Vermont Foliage Forecast

— the visit

Traffic through the notch slows to walking pace during peak foliage weekends, especially Saturday and Sunday between ten and three. Stowe sits five miles south of the pass, Jeffersonville six miles north. Small pull-offs at the height of the pass take a few cars; legal parking is limited. The Smugglers' Notch State Park campground on the Stowe side offers a marked trail to the top of the cliffs. Foliage colour, road status, and gate dates are posted on the Vermont State Parks website each fall.

— informed by Smugglers' Notch State Park

— where

United States · Mount Mansfield State Forest, Lamoille County, Vermont

— within

Mount Mansfield State Forest

— elevation

659 m · 2,162 ft

— position

44.5567° N · 72.7944° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

3 km S

Mount Mansfield summit

alpine summit

13 km S

Stowe village

Vermont village

10 km N

Jeffersonville

Vermont village

Smugglers' Notch pass in peak autumn

Mount Mansfield summit

Stowe village

Jeffersonville

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Smugglers' Notch pass in peak autumn — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

Typically the last week of September through the first week of October, earlier at elevation than down in the valleys. The Vermont Department of Tourism publishes weekly foliage reports through the season each fall.

About ten to fourteen days from first turn to bare branches at any given elevation. Higher slopes go first; the valley floors below the notch hold colour about a week longer than the pass itself.

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) carries the red. Yellow birch, American beech, and striped maple bring the yellows. The conifer ridges stay green and frame the colour against the cliff walls.

Vermont closes Route 108 through the notch by late October, usually after the first significant snow. Gate dates vary year to year; state parks posts the closure each fall on its website.

Small pull-offs at the height of the pass take a few cars. Smugglers' Notch State Park on the Stowe side has a larger lot with a trail up toward the cliff line and the boulder field.

The Kancamagus runs broader and gentler; Smugglers' is tighter and more vertical. The cliff walls give the red maples a backdrop few New England drives match, but the road is narrower and slower.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The notch in peak red is one of the named drives leaf-peepers know. The tile reads as a specific week of a specific road, not a generic autumn scene. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries well.

The piece works in mountain-modern, jewel-tone maximalist, and warm-traditional rooms. The red-on-grey palette reads well against walnut, brass, oxblood leather, and deep green walls.

Yes. Jewel-tone rooms lean on saturated colour grounded by a strong neutral. The red maples over the grey cliff walls give exactly that contrast in one frame.

A single Large reads cleanly above a six-foot console. Above a standard sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the proportion better; for a longer wall, the nine-tile Mural reads as a window.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate humidity. The Glossy is best kept to drier walls where the sheen does the work.

A microfibre cloth, dry or barely damp with water. No abrasive sprays, no ammonia. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not lift over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in our studio, with no licensing in or out. Reid Wender chooses each place that enters the atlas, by hand.

— if this one stayed with you