photo of green grass field

The Green Mountains

August 6, 2020

Vermont is home to some amazing ski mountains, but also has awesome hikes. The Green Mountains make up Vermont’s skiing and hiking areas. The Green Mountains 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 appear “green.” These mountains hold some great hikes and hiking challenges within them.

To start, I wanted to begin with some easy to moderate trails, then go into the more difficult hikes and challenges within the state.

  1. 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.
  2. Branch Pond: is a nice .6 roundtrip loop to Branch pond. If you hike 1.8 miles in, you will come to Bourne Pond too, but you’ll also have to hike 1.8 miles back to your car. This full wilderness loop is 14.4 miles long.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Dear Leap Trail: is a moderate 2.2 mile loop located near Killington, Vermont, with a great lookout of the surrounding mountains.
  6. Thundering Falls Boardwalk: is a very easy .4 of a mile hike, with great views of the falls.
  7. 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

  1. 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.
  2. Haselton Trail: is a 4.6 mile roundtrip hike with great views of its surrounding mountains, it is located near Stowe, Vermont.
  3. 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.
  4. Pico Peak: is 6 miles round trip with great views of its surrounding area, located near Killington, Vermont.
  5. Duxbury Window on the Long Trail: has a great view, being a little over 5 miles round trip, located near Jonesville, Vermont.
  6. 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.

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  1. Gile Mountain: is 1.4 miles round trip located in Norwich, Vermont.
  2. Bear Hill: is 1.3 miles round trip located in Randolph, Vermont, with a view of the surrounding cities near it.
  3. Mount Olga: is 1.8 miles round trip located near Wilmington, Vermont.
  4. Elmore Mountain: is 5.4 miles round trip located in Lake Elmore, Vermont.

Moderate Hikes of the 14ers

  1. Spruce Mountain: is 4.3 miles round trip located in Plainfield, Vermont.
  2. Mount Ascutney: is 5.7 miles round trip located in Perkinsville, Vermont.
  3. Monadnock Mountain: is 4.6 miles round trip located in Lemington, Vermont.
  4. Burke Mountain: is 6.8 miles round trip located in East Burke, Vermont.
  5. Bald Mountain: is 7.9 miles round trip located in Bennington, Vermont.
  6. Ludlow Mountain: is 6 miles round trip located in Mount Holly, Vermont.
  7. Belvidere Mountain: is 5.8 miles round trip located in Belvidere Center, Vermont.
  8. Glastenbury Mountain: is 11.6 miles round trip located in Stratton, Vermont.

Difficult Hikes of the 14ers

  1. Stratton Mountain: is 7.6 miles round trip located in West Wardsboro, Vermont.
  2. 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

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.

  1. Averill Mountain
  2. Brousseau Mountain
  3. Owl’s Head
  4. Stannard Lookout
  5. Big Deer Mountain
  6. Mount Pisgah
  7. Bald Mountain
  8. Spruce Mountain
  9. Wheeler Mountain
  10. Bluff Mountain
  11. Haystack Mountain
  12. Monadnock Mountain
  13. Belvidere Mountain
  14. Middle Mountain
  15. Burke Mountain
  16. Jay Peak
  17. Gore Mountain
  18. Moose Mountain
  19. Mount Hor, Also, here is another link to all the trails listed and their stats.

Vermont’s 4,000fter Challenge

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.

  1. Mount Mansfield
  2. Killington Peak
  3. Camel’s Hump
  4. Mount Ellen
  5. Mount Abraham. Also, here is a link to all the trails listed above and their stats.
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New England Six-Pack of Peaks

These rounds of hikes include some of, if not the highest mountains in their state. This is not a challenge to tread into lightly. The mountains included are:

  1. Mount Monadnock (New Hampshire)
  2. Mount Greylock (Massachusetts)
  3. Mount Mansfield (Vermont)
  4. Camel’s Hump (Vermont)
  5. Mount Lincoln (New Hampshire)
  6. 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!

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 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 overcall. 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.

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For all New Englands hiking challenges (ordered from beginner to intermediate) you can 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.

Also, if you want some recommendations for reliable and good outdoor gear, here are some great websites, North Face, L.L. Bean, Orvis, and Ski & Snowboard. Thanks for reading and get hiking!

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