Hi All,

I'm on the search for a trail that has amazing maple trees glowing yellow, orange & red!

Anyone have favorite hikes for viewing fall foliage in Vermont?

We'll be up there near Columbus weekend and I'm looking for suggestions.

Many Thanks,
Tigerlilly

We did this one a few years ago on Columbus Day and it was gorgeous:
http://www.summitpost.org/long-to-profa ... ail/162434

We met many French-Canadians on the trail who were hiking on Canadian Thanksgiving Day.

We always like Camels Hump. It's the second highest peak in VT and Ben and Jerrys, is at the bottom. Plus, there's a plane wreck, Arctic Tundra type environment at the summit and a Beaver Pond.
Has cabins and a tentsite. Had some epic foliage weekends up there, to be sure.

Does the color come sooner or later over in the Adirondacks?

it's more a question of altitude, then latitude, though latitude is important.

We always went to Vermont the end of September. It would still be green until 2000 feet or so. You could go the whole range on your way up. Green at the bottom, full colour enroute, and peaked up top.

All that said, I saw some trees changing in the Hamptons this w/e. Like 20 feet above sea level. Even a couple, already shedding.

For really intense color, you want a big swath of maple. Places like Camel's Hump are too high - you're surrounded by evergreens so the maples are just a blur in the distance.

Find a smaller mountain with a good viewpoint. Check out the species distribution maps here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/gis/specdist/index.html

Thanks, Nartreb.

Too bad they can't overlay it with a contour map!

nartreb wrote:For really intense color, you want a big swath of maple. Places like Camel's Hump are too high - you're surrounded by evergreens so the maples are just a blur in the distance.

Find a smaller mountain with a good viewpoint. Check out the species distribution maps here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/gis/specdist/index.html

I hit Camel's Hump last week and have to agree with nartreb. The area around Rt30 Manchester along the AT is a pretty nice spot. A little further up on Rt. 7 is White Rocks. Some nice hikes there as well with good color to see.

Hi all,
We ended up doing a 12.4 mile hike called the Cooley Glen-Emily Proctor loop. You go over Cleveland, Roosevelt and Wilson. It is a pleasant hike, not too tough. Many portions are close to flat. The only drawback is that you do not get too many views. There is a nice view of Killington from Roosevelt and on Wilson there is a side path that looks South but those are the only two views. The hike down is splendid. It is moderately steep until you hit the logging road. We walked through a sea of yellow that was really beautiful there. We saw lots of moose poop and I heard one off to my left at one point, but I thought it was just a deer, until we had a confirmed sighting by a friendly young couple we intercepted at one of the lean to's.
I can imagine doing this hike with a young family because there is plenty of water along the way, two lean to's to stay at and it is a moderate hike. We did the hike in about 6.5 hours but you could spread that out over a couple of days. I was looking for foliage, but as you all warned me, the foliage was at lower levels. It was fun to start out hiking in the color, go up to the green of little pines and then back down into the color again. Overall, it was still very beautiful and well worth the effort.

The next day we rode from Ferrisburg to Middlebury on a beautiful 50 mile bike ride along Maple street. You cannot beat the views here. unfreakingbelievable. But now you know my secret spot!!!
-TL