Good Vermont hiking

[dvbl]

When on vacation in the Whites, we often stay at Attitash village, because of its centralized location. From there we can head in any direction and quickly find great hiking.
We're thinking of heading to Vermont this year. What towns in the Green Mountains are comparable to Bartlett, NH, as far as central location and quick access to good hiking.

 

[weatherman]

Greens vs. Whites

I love the Green Mts as they are typically less crowded and generally mellower than the Whites. However, geologic differences make the peaks not as concentrated as the Whites... They are more of a true range, with the peaks lined up North-South the length of the state, rather then clusters which make the Whites so attractive for multi-day base camp and dayhike situations.
So, what towns have the "best hiking"? Definitely personal preference. The Stowe/Waterbury/Warren/Waitsfield areas have the most 4000' peaks nearby, but there are only 5 "official" 4000 footers in VT total anyway. Otherwise, depends what features of an area are of most interest to you.
Route 100 traverses the spine of the Greens, so anywhere on/near it is likely to find you good hiking. Others will say Jay Peak area, the NE Kingdom, Manchester... it all depends.

-Weatherman

 

[jfb]

I don't know anywhere in Vermont that beats Stowe.

 

[michaelb]

Honestly, the hiking in Vt is a lot less interesting and challenging than in the Whites or in the Daks. Stowe is crowded and expensive and touristy, and Mansfield, which is well worth climbing, is much more interesting from the Underhill side.

I would think about staying on Lake Champlain and driving to the mountains. Staying on the southern part of the lake near the bridge opens up the option to drive to the high peaks too. Is there anything else you want to do? Biking is great in Vermont, so if you are into that, you may want to pick your location based on the kind of biking you want to do.

I would plan on hiking Camel's Hump midweek, since it is the nicest summit in Vermont but gets very well traveled.

 

[sli74]

Honestly, the hiking in Vt is a lot less interesting and challenging than in the Whites or in the Daks.

I actually LOVE hiking in Vermont. Camel's Hump is one of my favorite mountains and with a very early start you can have the summit to yourself. Better yet, backpack in Vermont. I thruhiked the Long Trail and there are some very beautiful spots . . . The Northern sections of the Long Trail offer some challenging and interesting hiking with much more solitude than I usually find in the Whites. I guess I just don't see why Vermont is so underrated for hiking ????

If you want to only hike 4000-footers, a centralized location will be more difficult but any of the suggestions above will work for hiking options.

sli74

 

[sapblatt]

another vote for Warren/Waitsfield - Bristol is also nice...
and...another vote for Camel's Hump - one of the best anywhere!

 

[king tut]

the warren/waitsfield area is the best as most people have said. If you go in the summer time, there are also several good campgrounds in the area to stay at. Stowe is nice but generally more expensive and upscale.

Burlington is only about 45-50 minutes away from most of the mt's. It's a great town as well(i went to school out there). It's also close to the islands on lake champlain, which have a few nice campgrounds. Worth the drive to do for one day. Jay peak and the northern kingdom is only 50 minutes or so away from burlington as well.

If you want to stay somewhere fun, check out mt philo state park. It is south of burlington in the charlotte/vergennes area.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

... and Mansfield, which is well worth climbing, is much more interesting from the Underhill side.

Let me second that!

 

[michaelb]

I live in Vermont and Mt Mansfield is right outside my window, so I don't want to sell it short. One of the advantages of hiking in Vermont is that with 2000 ft of climbing more or less, the hikes are more like half day affairs, so you have plenty of time to go out for breakfast, or stop at Ben and Jerry's on your way back. You also have plenty of time to drive to most of the major mountains if you stay somewhere in the north, so pick the best place to stay for what you want, the mountains are not that very far away from anywhere.

If cheap but nice is on your list, the Holiday Inn in Waterbury has a nice pool, and is really perfectly centrally located along the spine of the mountains. (it may have been bought by Best Western, since I can't find a Holiday Inn in Waterbury...). On the road to Stowe maybe 2 minutes north of Waterbury. And now I am sure how cheap it is either, since I didn't pay to stay there.

 

[DaveSunRa]

Another great area for hiking in addition to the above is Ricker Mountain (one of the summits of Bolton Valley ski area) via Little River state park.

 

[weatherman]

Mansfield, which is well worth climbing, is much more interesting from the Underhill side.

Yeah, I agree too... though I'd suggest daylight and/or not snowing and windy for this idea. We had, shall we say, an "interesting" though highly successful experience on the ridge last month.
-Weatherman

 

[peakbagger]

There is an interesting trail network centered around Lake Willoughby up in the NE kingdom. Lot of good views and hiking options but not a lot of elevation. Definitely less crowded than the Long Trail summits.

 

[dvbl]

Attention Adirondacks hikers

When on vacation in the Whites, we often stay at Attitash village, because of its centralized location. From there we can head in any direction and quickly find great hiking.
We're thinking of heading to Vermont this year. What towns in the Green Mountains are comparable to Bartlett, NH, as far as central location and quick access to good hiking.

Thanks to all for the Green Mountains feedback.
Now...same question for the Adirondacks. Note: 4K'ers are not an important factor for me (heresy! ). I'll take 3.5k'ers with views and waterfalls over 4k'ers with wooded summits. I'm not a peak-bagger, I'm a picture taker.

 

[percious]

Avalanche pass is a must see, especially if you can get there in the winter. Standing on Avalanche lake looking up at the huge walls of rock around you is just awesome.

http://www.percious.com/hiking/adk/adk - Av Pass - Jan 2003/index.html

Im going to throw out a few HPs, since that is what I know the best.
Marshall is a great hike, full of flumes, and can be comboed with a trip through Av. Pass. Staying at Lake Colden for the night and watching the sunset reflect off the water is spectacular.

http://www.percious.com/hiking/adk/adk - Marshall Grey Marcy - June 2004/index.html

The other place I could recommend for it's beauty would be the Dix wilderness, especially Macomb. The slide offers excellent views of Elk lake, and the great range.
http://www.percious.com/hiking/adk/adk - Macomb - Dix - April 2004/index.htmly

The scenic trail up sawteeth is another favourite of mine. The trail has a considerable number of viewpoints along the way, and the summit shows of the back side of the great range.

http://www.percious.com/hiking/adk/adk - Sawteeth Phelps - August 2005/index.html

Hope you have a great trip, wherever you go.

-percious

 

[mhrsebago]

I used to believe that the Vermont peaks were not very challenging also. BUT on MLK weekend it was -10 with a fierce NW wind on Camel's Hump.

The LT up Mansfield was quite consistently steep, and we needed crampons for the last half of the Profanity TR. Although the weather was perfect earlier, the winds once we were on the summit ridge made walking upright difficult. It sure felt like a "real" mountain.