View Full Version : Best weekend Hike in Vermont
What area of the green mountain state is not to be missed if you only had one long weekend to hike?
Favorite peaks,creeks, lakes, caves or other fine formations!?
The Stowe area is really great. For hiking you can hit up Mansfield and Camel's Hump. Both are beautiful mountains.
Anything from Lincoln Gap to Route 15 is great, but the peaks will be crowded on the weekends.
peakbagger
07-02-2019, 07:33
Vermont does not have lot of above treeline area so everyone wants to hike there to get the views. Mansfield has plenty of hiking trails and the views but its zoo on weekends. They try to keep the crowds on the trails with plenty of ridge runners and strings demarking the trails but with the toll road to near the summit there are a lot of folks. On a nice day it reminds me of airport security lines.
The lake Willoughby area up in the Northeast Kingdom has a hiking trail network that doesn't get a lot of use due to its location. Its popular with European hikers.
The AT from Maine Junction to Hanover gets a lot less traffic than the long trail except for when the bubble is in the area.
Slo-go'en
07-02-2019, 11:37
I guess it depends on what weekend. Any long holiday weekend will be madness no matter where you go. Best stay home and have a BBQ instead.
As Peakbagger said, Camels Hump and Mansfield get very crowded on weekends. Nice views but too many people.
It also depends on how hard a hike you want to do. Much of the LT is pretty hard.
RT 17 to RT 125 is a nice section with some good views since you pass by several ski areas. Since it's north of the AT it should be reasonably quiet. It's a bit of a work out though, but that's hard to avoid in Vermont. It also helps to have two cars so you don't have to arrange for a shuttle back.
orthofingers
07-02-2019, 12:59
Lincoln Gap to App. Gap or, the other direction.
rubyvermonter
07-02-2019, 13:04
You don't need to go to the Long Trail. You could go to Groton State Park, where you can hike to Peacham Bog (which has a boardwalk onto the bog), hike some low hills in, around or near the park, such as Devil's Hill, Deer Mountain, Spruce Mountain (fire tower) , swim at Boulder Beach (in the park), etc. You could hike Mt. Pisgah in the northeast kingdom and later go swimming in the lake. The Green Mountain Club publishes Dayhiker's Guide, which describes hikes not on the Long Trail.
Hikingjim
07-02-2019, 14:09
What area of the green mountain state is not to be missed if you only had one long weekend to hike?
Busy or not, mansfield has lots of trails and loops options and is a great place; sunset ridge trail and the hike along the top are some of the most exposed places in VT and have great views. The hikes are fairly difficult. Camel's hump is similar difficult terrain and nice trails with great views on the top. Killington area is also busy and is an option if you prefer less rugged paths. Still significant elevation gain going up there from the highway, but it's more forest/dirt than slabs of rock.
If you like city visits, Burlington is also close to there and is a nice small city. Nice bike path out to the causeway as well
Thanks for all the good ideas! Found out last minute that 4th of July weekend will be four days off! Although I’m sure the crowds will be out at many of the good spots, I figured I should jump at the opportunity to get my 12 year old daughter out in the mountains for a couple days. I’m not expecting to cover a crazy amount of ground, just hopeful for a few nice views and a nice camp. On top of pouring over these suggestions does anyone have any feelings about the area around Stratton mountain and pond? Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend and thanks again for the intel!
Hikingjim
07-02-2019, 18:07
Thanks for all the good ideas! Found out last minute that 4th of July weekend will be four days off! Although I’m sure the crowds will be out at many of the good spots, I figured I should jump at the opportunity to get my 12 year old daughter out in the mountains for a couple days. I’m not expecting to cover a crazy amount of ground, just hopeful for a few nice views and a nice camp. On top of pouring over these suggestions does anyone have any feelings about the area around Stratton mountain and pond? Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend and thanks again for the intel!
I did this Mansfield loop below with my daughter around the same age (at the time) and she enjoyed it. The state park (underhill) at the bottom is usually pretty empty and is outstanding. Leantos for $30 or so, or cheap camp sites, amazingly large brick fire pits, and right at the trail head.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/vermont/sunset-ridge-trail-and-long-trail-loop
It's challenging but fun with lots of views. Best to go up the halfway house trail. It's less busy by far on that side of the mountain, but you'll still get a lot of day hikers on a nice day
For other more leisurely activities, bikes can be rented in both Stowe and Burlington with nice paths.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/vermont/colchester-causeway-trail
I did this Mansfield loop below with my daughter around the same age (at the time) and she enjoyed it. The state park (underhill) at the bottom is usually pretty empty and is outstanding. Leantos for $30 or so, or cheap camp sites, amazingly large brick fire pits, and right at the trail head.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/vermont/sunset-ridge-trail-and-long-trail-loop
It's challenging but fun with lots of views. Best to go up the halfway house trail. It's less busy by far on that side of the mountain, but you'll still get a lot of day hikers on a nice day
For other more leisurely activities, bikes can be rented in both Stowe and Burlington with nice paths.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/vermont/colchester-causeway-trail
Looks good! Thanks for those details HikingJim
My favorite weekend hike in Vermont would include Burnt Rock Mountain and Camel's Hump.
Much of the LT is pretty hard.
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So how does the LT north of Maine Junction compare with the AT in NH and ME?
On average, it's tougher than the AT in NH and ME with a greater proportion of scrambles, roots, rocks, mud and stretches of bare rock. That said, there are stretches of the AT in the White Mountains and Maine that are as tough or tougher than anything on the LT. For example, there isn't a mile on the LT that slowed me down more than Mahoosuc Notch did, or a stretch of mostly bare rock at an angle that goes on as long as Mahoosuc Arm.
Slo-go'en
09-03-2019, 15:17
So how does the LT north of Maine Junction compare with the AT in NH and ME?
The main problem is there is no let up. The LT has no mercy. It's just one damn thing after another. Then there are all the false summits as you climb up the ridge line. I'm almost to the top! Damn, no I'm not. I'm almost to the top! Damn I'm not. Repeat that half a dozen times or so.
I agree with Slo-go-'en. While there are a couple of relatively easy stretches (for example, from Maine Junction to the first road crossing to the north is easy and Northbound from Round Top is easy for a while, mostly it is one damn thing after another. But, it's not just the elevation gain - the miles come harder that one would expect given the elevation profiles.
That said it, I love it. I keep going back to do it again every few years.