Sterling Pond on the Long Trail can be accessed from Smugglers’ Notch. Photo courtesy of the Green Mountain Club.
By Rockin’ Ron Carter. Vermont is the Green Mountain State. Originally called Mont Vert (Mountain Green) by the French, it was transposed by the English into Vermont. So, we’ve got lots of Mountains and lots of Green, and therefore lots of hiking.
The Long Trail traverses the spine of the Vermont’s Green Mountains.
The Green Mountain Club is a great resource for hiking Vermont. GMC maintains many trails including the Long Trail – a trail that runs the entire length of the state and is also part of the Appalachian Trail. They recommend waiting until after Memorial Day to hike on the Long Trail. Another “long” trail is the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which runs east to west across northern Vermont and passes through several towns on the Green Mountain Byway (Cambridge, Johnson, Hyde Park, and Morristown).
There are also shorter hikes along the Byway including the Krusch Preserve in Cambridge, Dog Head Falls in Johnson, Kirchner Woods in Waterbury, Beaver Meadow in Stowe, and Cricket Hill in Hyde Park. Another resource for finding trails in the area isTrail Finder. So put on your boots, grab your hiking poles, and take a hike!