Mount Ascutney State Park, Vermont

Mount Ascutney: Vermont’s little big mountain.

Summary: If you travel the I-91 corridor through Vermont it’s impossible to miss Mount Ascutney. Located about 45 miles north of the Massachusetts-Vermont line, Mount Ascutney rises 2,800 feet in virtual isolation above the surrounding piedmont and Connecticut RiverValley and reaches a maximum elevation of 3,150’, or 960 meters. The absence of other nearby mountains makes Ascutney a monadnock, which are relatively common in New England. Monadnocks are typically granitic peaks that have withstood the forces of erosion better than the surrounding rocks. The most famous examples in New England are Mount Monadnock (3,165’) in southern New Hampshire, and Mount Katahdin (5,270’) in northern Maine. MountAscutney is easy to visit, even for those who do not have the time to hike it. There’s a toll road going to the summit that is accessed through the state park.

Mount Ascutney State Park and Auto Road. The highlight of Mount Ascutney is probably the auto (toll) road which was completed in 1939. Entrance fees to the park will include access to the road which travels to just below the summit lookout for sweeping views of the Connecticut River Valley and central New England. The state park, now about 2000 acres, was created in 1935 (as were the majority of Vermont’s state park’s) by the CCC. Most of the stone (granite) buildings are the original structures made by the CCC and quarried locally from Mount Ascutney. There are 39 camp sites and 10 lean-to sites within the park with trailer hookups. The ranger station, where the toll road begins, stands at 550 feet above sea level. The terminus of the toll-road is at 2,800 feet with the final 350 vertical feet covered by a footpath.

Hiking: For the hiker, the mountain is no less disappointing. There are three main trails that make their way to the summit which is marked by a 24 foot observation tower that stands out among a typical spruce-fir forest. The Brownsville Trail starts from Vermont Route 44 and follows and old logging road while terminating at an abandoned granite quarry. It gains 2,400 vertical feet in 3.2 miles. The Weathersfield Trail climbs 2,060 vertical feet up the south face of Mount Ascutney for a distance of 2.9 miles and can be reached from Vermont Route 131 and Cascade Falls Road. The Crystal Cascade Falls are a highlight of this trail and are reached after 1.1 miles This cascade is worth a trip whether one plans to reach the summit or not. The Cascade Falls drop 84 feet in a sheet of water off a sheer granite cliff.  Total distance to the summit of Ascutney via the Weathersfield Trail is 2.9 miles. The Windsor Trail begins from Vermont Route 44A and gains 2,550 vertical feet in 2.7 miles. Along the way it passes Gerry’s Falls, a small series of falls and cascades before the trail meets up with the Brownsville Trail. The Future’s Trail is for the most advanced hiker and connects with the Windsor trail. In total it travels 4.6 miles to the summit. It can be accessed from the Mount Ascutney State Park Mountain Road for shorter options to the summit otherwise base-to-summit access begins from Vermont Route 44A.