Camel's Hump State Park

Though Vermont has two mountains taller than 4,083-foot Camel’s Hump, neither casts a larger shadow. Its fin-shaped summit adorns the state seal and the state’s U.S. quarter, and the steep climb to the top is a favorite year-round hike for Green Mountain peak baggers. Its slopes lie within Camel’s Hump State Park, an undeveloped preservation area sandwiched between Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains that’s twice the size of the nearby city of Burlington and is the state’s largest park. Hiking above its virgin timbers to the rocky alpine summit at the heart of the preserve remains a true wilderness experience.

Camel’s Hump sits separated from Vermont’s tallest peak, Mount Mansfield, by the Winooski River. It was called "the mountain like a seat" by the Waubanaukee Indians, and French explorers accompanying Samuel de Champlain named it "resting lion" in the 1600s. In the 19th century, the mountain was given its current name. Camel’s Hump came into state hands in 1911, when a local philanthropist donated the 1,000 acres surrounding the summit with the condition that it remain undeveloped. Over the years, the state continued to purchase adjacent land, and in 1969 the Vermont Legislature created the state park on 21,000 acres.

Hiking and Backpacking
The prime year-round activity—except during spring mud season—within the park is hiking on the 31 miles of interconnected footpaths that lead to the summit. The climb from the base begins at roughly 1,800 feet, where the surrounding forest for the next 700 feet in elevation is preserved for sustainable timber production, recreation, and wildlife management. Everything above that point is designated an ecological area to protect rare plants like the virgin red spruce and to study the effects of pollution on the ecosystem. Upon reaching the top of Camel’s Hump, hikers are surrounded by endangered and fragile tundra scrub—and on a clear day you can see the White Mountains of New Hampshire and across Lake Champlain to New York’s tallest peak, Mount Marcy.

The signature hike on Camel’s Hump is an 18-mile stretch of the 273-mile Long Trail that leads up and down the summit and dissects the park from north to south. Camping is available along the way (see "Camping" below). If you want to tackle the summit in a day, which many people do, try the Monroe Trail. It’s roughly 6.4 miles round-trip, but the elevation gain of some 2,600 feet is nothing to scoff at. After you bag the peak, reward yourself at one of the bars or restaurants huddled together on Church Street in Burlington.

Cross-Country Skiing
In winter, nordic skiers crisscross the mountain’s base on the Catamount Trail, Lion’s Ridge Trail, and Ridley Crossing. Beginners will like the easy, one-mile Camel’s Hump View loop trail, near Sinnott Brook. Serious cross-country skiers will want to connect with the Camel’s Hump Skiers’ Association and pay the nominal fee required to use the trails it maintains in the park.

Camping
The Green Mountain Club maintains four shelters along the 18-mile Long Trail summit hike. The club charges a small fee from May to October, but the shelters are open year-round. Reservations are not accepted. The only other designated overnight site within the preserve is the Hump Brook Tenting Area, on the Dean Trail on the eastern slope. Primitive camping is allowed only in the lower elevations and away from trails, roads, and water.