Everything You Need to Know About The Green Mountains, Vermont
Vermont is home to some amazing ski mountains, but also some awesome hikes. The Green Mountains make up Vermont’s skiing and hiking areas. They inhabit about 250 miles running from its southern border of Massachusetts to its northern border of Quebec, Canada. They coined the name, “Green Mountains,” because even in the middle of winter, the trees hide the snow and appeared “green.” These mountains hold some great hikes and hiking challenges within them.
I have skied and hiked many times in the Green Mountains and have always enjoyed my time there. They aren’t as impressive as other mountain ranges in the northeast, but they are a great place to start if you are new to hiking. Also, when it comes to Alpine skiing, they have without a doubt the best places to ski or snowboard in the northeast.
In this post you will learn about the Green Mountain National Forest, Green Mountains peak, Green Mountains Vermont map, Green Mountains elevation, Mount Mansfield, Camel’s Hump, Mount Abraham, Jay Peak, Killington Peak, Smuggler’s Notch, Stratton Mountain, Lincoln Gap, Mount Ellen, Bromley Mountain, Mount Ascutney, Lincoln Peak, Glastenbury Mountain, Equinox Mountain, Mount Snow, and more.
This post is all about the Green Mountains.
Green Mountains:
To start, I wanted to talk about where in Vermont the Green Mountains encompass. The Green Mountains are actually a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. This makes sense because a portion of the Appalachian Trail runs through these mountains and Vermont. Some great towns within the Green Mountains are Manchester, Stowe, Dorset, Killington and Rutland, Woodstock, Waterbury, and Montpelier.
Easy Introduction Hikes to the Green Mountains
As previously stated, I think the Green Mountains are a great introduction to hiking. Skiing really is what these mountains are known for. I enjoy hiking in the Greens, and all their 4,000 footers are super impressive, but the other hikes in this mountain range are less impressive in my opinion. This is why I think they are a good introduction into hiking, as well as, they don’t have the milage or elevation gain that the White or Adirondack Mountains have. With that being said, here are some great easy, beginner hikes in Vermont:
- Barnes Camp to Smugglers Notch Picnic: is a nice 1.3 mile loop located near Mount Mansfield (Vermont’s tallest Mountain) in Underhill Center, Vermont.
- Branch Pond: is a nice .6 roundtrip loop to Branch pond. Round trip, to hike to Branch Pond, is about 3.6 miles long. There is a full wilderness loop, that is 14.4 miles long.
- Bourn Pond: is about 5.5 miles round trip and is a nice beginner hike with a beautiful pond to sit at the end. It is located near East Arlington, Vermont.
- West River Trail at Jamaica State Park: is a nice 2.4 mile loop with a good lookout and great forest scenery, located in Vermont’s Jamaica State Park.
- Dear Leap Trail: is a moderate 2.2 mile loop located near Killington, Vermont, with a great lookout of the surrounding mountains.
- Thundering Falls Boardwalk: is a very easy .4 of a mile hike, with great views of the falls.
- Mount Olga: is an easy 1.8 mile loop, where you will climb to the top of Mount Olga then come back down, located in Molly’s Strak State Park, Vermont.
Moderate Trails
Okay, if you are not a beginner to hiking, then here are some moderate trails that you might enjoy in the Green Mountains.
- Molly Strak’s Balcony: is 2.4 mile round trip with an elevation gain (which is pretty decent) of 1,030ft, it is located in Starksboro, Vermont.
- Haselton Trail: is a 4.6 mile roundtrip hike with great views of its surrounding mountains, it is located near Stowe, Vermont.
- Stratton Pond Trail: does not have a lot of elevation gain but is a longer trail, being 11.5 miles round trip, located near Stratton, Vermont.
- Pico Peak: is 6 miles round trip with great views of its surrounding area, located near Killington, Vermont.
- Duxbury Window on the Long Trail: has a great view, being a little over 5 miles round trip, located near Jonesville, Vermont.
- Baker Peak: is a more moderate trail, located near Danby, Vermont, and being about 8.7 miles round trip.
Hiking Challenges
Okay, now moving on to some hiking challenges within Vermont, one of the easier ones to complete, is the, Vermont 14er. This challenge includes all of Vermont’s fire towers. Some of these trails are extremely doable, for all ages and skill levels, and some are VERY difficult. To start off, here are some of the less steep climbs apart of this challenge (as you read further, the hikes increase in difficulty).
{Related Article : The Best Ski Mountains in Vermont}
- Gile Mountain: is 1.4 miles round trip located in Norwich, Vermont.
- Bear Hill: is 1.3 miles round trip located in Randolph, Vermont, with a view of the surrounding cities near it.
- Mount Olga: is 1.8 miles round trip located near Wilmington, Vermont.
- Elmore Mountain: is 5.4 miles round trip located in Lake Elmore, Vermont.
Moderate Hikes of the 14ers
- Spruce Mountain: is 4.3 miles round trip located in Plainfield, Vermont.
- Mount Ascutney: is 5.7 miles round trip located in Perkinsville, Vermont.
- Monadnock Mountain: is 4.6 miles round trip located in Lemington, Vermont.
- Burke Mountain: is 6.8 miles round trip located in East Burke, Vermont.
- Bald Mountain: is 7.9 miles round trip located in Bennington, Vermont.
- Ludlow Mountain: is 6 miles round trip located in Mount Holly, Vermont.
- Belvidere Mountain: is 5.8 miles round trip located in Belvidere Center, Vermont.
- Glastenbury Mountain: is 11.6 miles round trip located in Stratton, Vermont.
Difficult Hikes of the 14ers
- Stratton Mountain: is 7.6 miles round trip located in West Wardsboro, Vermont.
- Killington Peak: has a couple different ways you can hike it, but if you hike via the Long Trail, it is 9.3 miles located near Cuttingsville, Vermont. Also, here is more information about all 14ers and their stats.
Northeast Mountain Kingdom Challenge
If you want more of a challenge you can try the Northeast Mountain Kingdom Challenge, which has mountains all throughout Vermont. This challenge offers a good mix of trails throughout the northeast. This challenge, begins with easy to moderate, then goes to difficult trails. Here are the hikes listed in order from easiest to most difficult.
- Averill Mountain
- Brousseau Mountain
- Owl’s Head
- Stannard Lookout
- Big Deer Mountain
- Mount Pisgah
- Bald Mountain
- Spruce Mountain
- Wheeler Mountain
- Bluff Mountain
- Haystack Mountain
- Monadnock Mountain
- Belvidere Mountain
- Middle Mountain
- Burke Mountain
- Jay Peak
- Gore Mountain
- Moose Mountain
- Mount Hor, Also, here is another link to all the trails listed and their stats.
{Related Article : What You Need to Know About Burlington, Vermont, Before You Go}
Vermont’s 4,000fter Challenge
Here are probably the toughest hikes within Vermont, the 4,000 footers. All of these trails are over 4,000 feet in elevation and cover 6-11 miles each, round trip. Here are the beautiful giants apart of this challenge.
- Mount Mansfield
- Killington Peak
- Camel’s Hump
- Mount Ellen
- Mount Abraham. Also, here is a link to all the trails listed above and their stats.
- Honorable Mentions : Lincoln Peak, Equinox Mountain, and Mount Ascutney
New England Six-Pack of Peaks
These rounds of hikes include some of, if not the highest mountains in their state. Some of these mountains are pretty doable (Mount Greylock) then others are super difficult like Mount Lincoln and Mount Washington. I would work my way up to the New Hampshire mountains. The peaks included in this challenge are:
- Mount Monadnock (New Hampshire)
- Mount Greylock (Massachusetts)
- Mount Mansfield (Vermont)
- Camel’s Hump (Vermont)
- Mount Lincoln (New Hampshire)
- Mount Washington (New Hampshire and tallest mountain in the east). Here is a link to further descriptions of each mountain and how to get to them!
New England’s 4,000ft Challenge
This pursuit, encapsulates, all the mountains of the northeast, with an elevation of 4,000ft or higher. There are 67 trails apart of this challenge, and hundreds of miles included! Here is a link to all the trails and their stats!
{Related Article : Everything You Need to Know About Jay Peak Ski Resort}
New England’s 100 Highest Peak
All of these mountains are 3,500ft or higher in elevation and range from Vermont, to New Hampshire, and all the way up to Maine. Here is a list of all the trails, their stats, and how to get to them.
Thru Hiking Vermont’s Long Trail
Our last challenge is a true personal and physical pursuit to overcomel. It is hiking all of Vermont’s, Long Trail. This trail has a total of 272 miles to it, 166 side trail miles, and 70 backcountry campsites. You can complete this trail’s entirety, to become an End-to-Ender. Here is a website that will give you all the details about this trail and challenge, and how to prepare. If you want to be really adventurous, you can hike Camel’s Hump (one of Vermont’s 4,000fters) via the Lincoln Gap apart of the Long Trail. On the Lincoln Gap, you will hike 3 of Vermont’s 4,000fters, Mount Abraham, Mount Ellen, and Camel’s Hump.
Glastenbury Mountain is also a peak you can hike along the Long Trail. It is quite the peak to accomplish hiking but is along the Long Trail Route.
Best Skiing/Snowboarding in the Green Mountains
Okay, now that we’ve talked about all the hiking throughout the Green Mountains, I did want to mention some of the ski mountains within Vermont, that make it known for skiing/snowboarding. By far the best mountain in the northeast is Jay Peak. It gets the most snow within the east coast and truly has the best glades if you like gnarly, tough glades. Some other great mountains are listed below.
- Mad River Glen (locals mountain)
- Smuggler’s Notch (fun mountain)
- Sugarbush (LOTS of trails)
- Pico (fun, diverse mountain)
- Magic Mountain (scrappy)
- Okemo (cruiser mountain)
- Killington (show-off mountain)
- Mount Snow (locals mountain)
- Stowe Mountain (pretentious mountain)
- Bolton Valley (near Burlington)
- Stratton Mountain (moderate mountain)
- Bromley Mountain (good for beginners)
And that wraps up our article about the Green Mountains. For all New Englands hiking challenges (ordered from beginner to intermediate) you can get them here. This website also marks out all of Vermont’s and the northeast’s challenges. Also, for more information about Vermont hiking in general, here is Vermont’s website. I hope this article was helpful and you found at least one mountain you are interested in going to and thank you so much for reading.
