Day Hiking

Day Hiking Areas

• Finger Lakes - Hector District

  The Finger Lakes National Forest, positioned along the ridges between Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, offers scenic beauty and unlimited recreational opportunities any season of the year. Whether you are a hiker, cross country skier, camper, fishing or hunting enthusiast, snowmobiler, horseback rider, mountain biker, or wildlife watcher, the Forest can provide the recreational experience you are seeking!

  The most popular season is autumn when the trees and pastures are ablaze with color. Hunter ejoy the woods and brush lands of the forest during this time. Summer is a popular time for camping, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, and fishing. Winter brings out cross country skiers, snowmobiles, and snowshoe enthusiasts. In spring, the Forest bursts forth from the grip of winter with emerging leaves on the trees, bird flyway activity, and numerous wildflowers that are visible along many of the Forest trails and pastures. The first fishing days are enjoyed by a lot of people.

  Spring is also mud season, which is usually short but intense. Going "off-road" and hiking on wet trails is not encouraged during this time.

   

  Finger Lakes National Forest - Hector Ranger District Office Information

  Address

  5218 State Route 414
  Hector, NY 14841

  Phone

  1-607-546-4470

• Backbone Trailhead
• Burnt Hill Trail
• Caywood Point
• Finger Lakes Trail
• Ravine Trail
• South Slope Trail
• Green Mountain - Middlebury/Rochester District

  The Middlebury/Rochester Ranger Districts are located in central Vermont.

• Abbey Pond Trail
• Blueberry Lake Trails
• Breadloaf Wilderness

  The largest of the Wildernesses in the Green Mountain National Forest, Breadloaf takes its name from Breadloaf Mountain, the highest point in the area at 3,835 feet. Within the boundaries you'll be able to climb Vermont's Presidential Range: Mounts Wilson, Roosevelt, Cleveland, and Grant.

  Although evidence of past logging operations can still be seen, the forest is quickly regenerating and numerous wildlife species take cover in these cutover sections. Moose and black bears live here in considerable numbers.

  Breadloaf contains the headwaters of the New Haven and White Rivers, both well stocked with small brook trout. The Norske Trail provides a primitive cross country ski or snow shoe experience.

• Burnt Hill Trailhead
• Clark Brook Trailhead
• Cooley Glen-Emily Proctor Trailhead
• Silent Cliff Trail
• Chittenden Brook Campground

  Centrally located between the Rochester and Middlebury Ranger Districts, the Chittenden Brook area offers many recreation opportunities for a variety of abilities. Trails meandering next to beautiful brooks and traveling through tall trees make this an attractive area for visitors.

  The area includes a 7.5 mile trail network designed for cross country ski and snowshoe use and open to summer hiking. The trail network serves as a connector to the Long Trail National Recreation Trail as well as the Brandon Gap Backcountry Recreation Area known for winter skiing and boarding.

  The area also includes a 17 site campground open Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day. The campground and access road cannot accommodate trailers over 18 feet. This campground is best suited for tent camping.

• Chittenden Brook Area Trails
• Deer Leap
• Lefferts Pond Area
• Leicester Hollow Area Trails
• Lincoln Gap West Vista Trail
• Moosalamoo National Recreation Area
  The Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, encompassing 15,857 acres, is a premier recreation destination that includes hiking trails, mountain bike trails, cross country ski trails, snowmobile trails, the Robert Frost Trail and camping areas at Silver Lake and Moosalamoo campgrounds.

  Moosalamoo National Recreation Area Recreation Opportunity Guide

  Moosalamoo Association

• Moosalamoo Campground

  Moosalamoo Campground is a small, remote campground located at the base of Mt. Moosalamoo, near Voter Brook. Located within the heart of the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, the campground is located in close proximity to over 70 miles of trail managed for hiking, biking, cross-county skiing, horseback riding, and snowmobiling.

• Moosalamoo Area Trails
• Robert Frost Interpretive Trail
• Silver Lake Campground

  Silver Lake Campground is a small, primitive campground located on Silver Lake. Silver Lake is only accessible by hiking 0.6 miles down the Goshen Trail or on the Service Road. 

  Please note: drinking water access is currently closed to protect public health. There is no garbage service available, please carry out what you carry in.

  Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, a snowmobiling opportunities are all avaialble in the Silver Lake Area Trails.

• Silver Lake Area Trails
• Mt. Horrid and The Great Cliff
• New Boston Trail
• Rattlesnake Cliffs and Aunt Jenny Trail
• Rochester Valley Trails
• Sherburne Pass Loop
• Sherburne Trails
• Skylight Pond Trailhead
• Sucker Brook Trail
• Texas Falls Recreation Area
• Thundering Falls
• Green Mountain - Manchester District

  The Manchester Ranger District is located in southern Vermont, from the Massachusetts border north to State Route 103 in Clarendon, Vermont.

  Green Mountain National Forest - Manchester Ranger District Office Information

  Address

  2538 Depot Street
  Manchester Center, VT 05255

  Phone

  1-802-362-2307

• Bald Mountain
• Bourn Pond Trail
• Bromley Mountain Trail
• East Dorset Trail

  The East Dorset trail follows portions of a historic road along Mad Tom Brook, a scenic brook originating in the Peru Peak Wilderness. Remnants of the original road including an impressive retaining wall and other signs of yester-year are visible to those on the lookout. This trail provides a connection from East Dorset to the Appalachian/Long Trail (AT/LT).

• East Dorset Trailhead
• Greendale Campground

  Greendale Campground is a small remote campground located along Greendale Brook in Weston, VT.

  There are 11 campsites available in a wooded setting. Each site has a picnic table, a fire ring with a grill, and a parking spur. Most sites can accommodate small campers as well as tents. There is also a vault toilet.

  The campground offers easy access to the Greendale Loop, a 4.0 mile hike through a mixed forest of northern hardwood and conifer trees with long stretches bordering scenic streams. This loop includes approximately 2 miles of walking along town maintained roads open to vehicular traffic.

  This site is not maintained for winter use. Deep snow often covers amenities at this site December – mid April. The nearest plowed parking area to the campground in the winter is approximately one mile away and access is via skis or snowshoes.

  Additional Resources

  Greendale Campground Brochure and Map

• Greendale Loop
• Griffith Lake
• Griffith Lake/Baker Peak via Lake Trail
• Grout Pond Recreation Area

  Grout Pond Recreation Area is available for year-round recreation. The recreation area is a great destination for camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking and fishing all based around the 80 acre Grout Pond. Over 10 miles of multipurpose non-motorized trails are available for enjoyment. 

• Grout Pond Area Trails
• Hapgood Pond Recreation Area
• Harmon Hill Trail
• Haystack Mountain Trail
• Little Pond Trail
• Little Rock Pond Trail
• Little Rock Pond/Green Mountain Loop
• Lye Brook Wilderness

  The Lye Brook Wilderness is east of Manchester Center in the southern Green Mountains of Vermont. This wilderness is named after Lye Brook, which flows through its western half. The wilderness ranges from 900 feet to 2900 feet above sea level. Most is above 2500 feet, on a high plateau with several ponds and bogs. Waterfalls and rocky streams may be found here as well as reflecting pools. The western section is extremely steep, facing west-northwest towards U.S. Route 7 and Manchester. Four and a half miles of the Appalachian/Long Trail cross the northwest tip of the wilderness. Approximately 80% of the area is forested with northern hardwoods: birch, beech, and maple. Thickets of small spruce dot the area. Remnants of railroad grades and old logging roads remain. Several species of neotropical birds, black bear, moose, deer, pine martin and bobcat inhabit these woods. There are many marshy areas off trail and the ecological balance is quite fragile. Take care and be prepared for muddy trails and an intense black fly season in the spring and early summer. Hunting opportunities for deer bring many seasonal visitors, as do snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter months.

• Lye Brook Falls Trail
• Prospect Rock Trail
• Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation

  Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area (NRA) was renamed to honor the late Vermont Governor and Senator, Robert T. Stafford.  The NRA includes Big Branch and Peru Peak Wilderness areas and is located in Rutland, Windsor and Bennington Counties.  This 22,624 acre National Recreation Area was established by Public Law 98-322 for the purpose of preserving and protecting “existing wilderness and wild values and to promote wild forest and aquatic habitat for wildlife, watershed protection, opportunities for primitive and semi-primitive recreation, and scenic, ecological, and scientific values.”

  Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area provides a range of winter and summer recreational opportunities to include hiking, snowshoeing, bicycle use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, picnicking and fishing. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is coincident with the Long Trail in this area and provides access to Little Rock Pond and Griffith Lake and several overnight shelter facilities. There are other developed recreation facilities in the NRA including Big Branch Observation Area, trailheads, and White Rocks Picnic Area where both the Ice Beds and Keewaydin trails are accessed.

• White Rocks Cliffs Trail
• White Rocks Ice Beds Trail
• Spruce Peak Trail
• Stratton Mountain Trail
• Stratton Pond Trail