Looking to Hike in the
Green Mountains?

The Green Mountains Vermont Long Trail including Mount Mansfield and Camel's Hump is good for a quick day trip or for extended multi-day hikes.

The Green Mountains in Vermont run North to South between the Connecticut River on the East and Lake Champlain on the West. Mount Mansfield is the highest of the Vermont mountains at 4,393 feet above sea level and Camel's Hump is tied for third with Mount Ellen at 4,083 ft. If you've thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) but weren't ready to commit, the Green Mountains Long Trail is a good place to get your feet wet in the New England mountains... Heh, heh, AT rain joke. ;-)

The Long Trail is a 270 mile hiking path that follows the main ridge and also has an additional 175 miles of trails that run east and west. Created between 1910 and 1930 this Green Mountain trail is the oldest "long-distance trail in the country" and was the inspiration for the AT, they even coincide for approximately 100 miles. The Long Trail crosses both public and private land on its journey and takes about 30 days to complete. There are 70 primitive sites to stay at overnight including cabins, lean-tos, and tent areas.

Please respect the trail and tread lightly during the spring when delicate earth is soaked by snow melt and rain. Stay below 1,000 ft. before May 1st, below 2,000 ft. until May 15th, below 3,000 ft. before Memorial Day, and once we hit June you can have at it. The best map you'll want to check out for this hike is out of print but does have a limited availability.

A couple of things you might want to bring along with your hiking gear and equipment used for camping...

The map is called "End to End: Topographic Maps of Vermont's Long Trail, 5/5 rating, by Green Mountain Club. You should be able to get this trail map at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. The map covers all the side trails and also has elevations.

50 Hikes in Vermont: Walks, Hikes, and Overnights in the Green Mountain State, 4/5 rating, by Bob Lindemann: This is more of a day hike book with quarter mile to 22 mile hikes on everything from gentle trails to peaks, difficulty ratings, driving directions, 51 maps, and wildlife you may come across including, and this is really cool, peregrine falcon habitat. Although it's not perfect, some driving directions are off and the photos could be improved, it's worth a look.

Best Hikes With Children Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine, by Cynthia C. Lewis, Thomas J. Lewis: If you have kids and are looking to hike with them out east take a look at this book. It lists distance, difficulty, and elevation as well as things that kids might enjoy like berry patches and swimming holes.

Green Mountains Long Trail hikes can be found at greenmountainclub.org