Green Mountain Gambols

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 5.8 miles round-trip
Time: 3 hours

This is the best day hike on the A.T. in Vermont. The gentle climb from the road to the pond is a great way to get out and stretch your legs. The trail runs alongside Little Black Brook for much of the hike, and many small waterfalls and pools are visible from the trail.

The clear, cold water of the pond reflects the Green Mountains, which rise above it on the opposite shore. This is a popular day hike, particularly in the fall (the foliage around the pond is breathtaking at its peak). If you want to have any solitude, try this hike during the week or leave the trailhead by 1O A.M. to beat the crowds.

This can be hiked as a round-trip. By using the Green Mountain Trail, you can hike a 7.5 mile loop.

The Hike

From the trailhead at the parking lot on USFS 10 (Danby Landgrove Road), hike north on the A.T. Reach the southern end of Little Rock Pond at mile 2. The trail skirts the eastern shore of the pond for the next .4 mile. At the northern end of the pond, the Green Mountain Trail, which can be used to create a 7.5 mile loop, turns left off of the A.T. Even if you don't care to follow this trail back to the parking lot, you may want to follow it around the pond. It joins the Little Rock Pond Loop Trail, which can be followed back to the southern end of the pond. Return by way of the A.T.

If you decide to follow the Green Mountain Trail, climb 1 mile up the ridge to the summit of Green Mountain (elevation 2,500 feet). Continue following the trail for another 4.1 miles as it traverses and descends the ridge to USFS 10, about .1 mile west of the parking lot at the A.T. trailhead.

Trailhead Directions

The A.T. crosses Danby Landgrove Road (USFS 10) 3.5 miles east of US 7 in Danby, Vermont.

© Article copyright Menasha Ridge Press. All rights reserved.