Northeast Kingdom, VT - what is there to do?

Hey Everyone,

I'm going on a 3 night camping trip to Brighton State Park in Northern VT (near the village of Island Pond). I have never visited this section of the state, but I hear there are some great hiking trails and mountain biking.

Anybody have any suggestions for things to do within a 30 mile radius of here? (including the Newport & Jay area) I'm interested in any suggestions you have (kayaking/canoeing, mtn biking, hiking, restaurants, swimming holes, etc.)

So far, here's all we've got lined up:
~ hike Mt. Pisgah
~ a few waterfalls (Big Falls, Jay Branch Gorge, Trout River Falls, etc.)
~ mtn biking somewhere, not sure where yet

Thanks!

For Mountain Biking, head over to Kingdm Trails - over 100 miles of trails for all abilities - some really nicew single track.

A nice hike over Pisgah is to park at the South Trail, head up and over and down the North Trail, then walk/bike back to your car. (There's much less parking at the north trailhead.) There are many other mountains near the lake, I'll mention two: Wheeler Mountain, across the lake, is a short climb but spectacular, with many open rock ledges and a view south to the Franconias and other Whites, and Burke Mountain (where the ski area is, and Kingdom Trails) is a slightly bigger climb also with good views south. If you go to Wheeler, drive up the Wheeler Mt road from Rt 5 - the northern end of that road is often harrowing for normal cars.

After your hike, go to North Beach on Willoughby. Yes, there's a South Beach, but you want to go to the North Beach.

Newport is a nice town, we like the boardwalk along the lake. Hardwick attracts interesting restaurants, but I can't tell you what's open this year. St. Johnsbury has the Fairbanks Museum (home of Eye on the Sky, which is like the Mt Washington Obs only for Vermont), and a number of interesting shops. Eat at least once at the Miss Lyndonville diner in (of course) Lyndonville, and visit the Green Mountain bookstore. Drive 105 East from Island Pond after dark and look for moose by the side of the road. If you head north, check out the Haskell Library in Derby Line - the Canadian border runs through the library.

This is making me homesick!

Don't forget to stop at Willey's Store in Greensboro Bend - the outlet from nearby Caspian Lake flows under the store. Whether you need the NY Times, a replacement axe handle, tomatoe seed or a fine bottle of wine - Willey's probably has it.

East Mountain if there is access, a very interesting abandoned radar installation on top of the mountain.

In the Willoughby area, my favorite hike is Bald Mountain. There is a fire tower and a cabin at the top. You can see just how remote this section of Vermont is form there. Simon the Tanner is an interesting store in Island Pond. Victory Bog is a cool place for seeing wildlife, and cool plants. There is a fish Hatchery in Newark. The Fairbanks Museum is a most unusual museum. Its worth a stop.
Feel free to PM if you want specifics on any of these ideas. I grew up in the Kingdom.

You'll love Brighton State Park! The pond is quite cool. There is usually a nesting pair of Loons there. I've also seen osprey there.

I'll echo previous posts that Pisgah, Wheeler, and Bald are all good hikes. Of the three, Wheeler, while the shortest both in mileage & vertical, is the most interesting inasmuch as there is some appealing scrambling and you spend a lot of time out in the open. Mt. Hor is a nice short one, too, with a great view straight across the lake at Pisgah's cliffs. It's an underrated little hike, IMO. If you go a bit further afield, but still in the general orbit, Jay Peak is a fun climb.

Willoughby said:

After your hike, go to North Beach on Willoughby. Yes, there's a South Beach, but you want to go to the North Beach.

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And make sure you don't stumble upon the nude beach. Its hidden and you have to take a short path to get to it, so no worries there.

Hike Wheeler Mountain if you can. I've been wanting to get up there.

grouseking

For the true Northeast Kingdom experience you should be sure to get out either north or east from Island Pond. That's where things get really wild: the woods are bigger, the moose are everywhere, and your chances of getting killed by a logging truck at a narrow underpass are higher.

Hurricane Brook Road or South America Pond Road will both get you back into some wild terrain. Not sure about the possibility of "hiking" that would be familiar to mountain hikers, but for exploring, finding bogs and small ponds, the area is fascinating.

The Green Mountain Club recently published an excellent hiking trail map. It includes the trails in the Willoughby area, Gore and Bluff Mountains, Burke, Monadnock and many others.

There is all sorts of hiking in the area ranging from the flattish trail along the pond from the compground to at least one steep peak with rungs in the rock. The VT Leadership Center vtlc.org had the NEK Mtn Challenge in 2000 where you got a pin for climbing any 6 of 20 pks some of which I hadn't even heard of.

For canoeing there is flat water on ponds and rivers but the white water is probably skimpy this time of year. If you don't mind portaging, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail goes by the park and will take you to Old Forge NY or Fort Kent ME.

What everyone else said, esp. Mts. Pisgah & Wheeler, and Kingdom Trails for running, hiking, & mtn. biking.

If you're in St. Johnsbury and checking out the Fairbanks Museum on a rainy day, don't miss the Athenaeum's art gallery, with its main showpiece, Albert Bierstadt's 'Domes of Yosemite.' It's a spectacular work and pretty cool that it's in little 'ol St. Johnsbury, Vermont (my hometown x 30 years). Website:
http://www.stjathenaeum.org/gallery_images/domes_of_yosemite.htm

Stinkyfeet said:

What everyone else said, esp. Mts. Pisgah & Wheeler, and Kingdom Trails for running, hiking, & mtn. biking.

If you're in St. Johnsbury and checking out the Fairbanks Museum on a rainy day, don't miss the Athenaeum's art gallery, with its main showpiece, Albert Bierstadt's 'Domes of Yosemite.' It's a spectacular work and pretty cool that it's in little 'ol St. Johnsbury, Vermont (my hometown x 30 years). Website:
http://www.stjathenaeum.org/gallery_images/domes_of_yosemite.htm

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100% agree! That art gallery is something else! I spent untold hours in there as a kid. The Fairbanks family gave a lot to the town of St. J!

Tom & Atticus said:

And if you really want to get to know the people of the Northeast Kingdom, checkout nearly anyone of Howard Frank Mosher's books. He's lived there for quite some time and one of America's truly underated novelists. Nearly all of them take place in the Northeast Kingdom.

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Searching for Teddy Williams is my favorite....but they're all worth a read!

Resources

Spruce Grouch said:

The Green Mountain Club recently published an excellent hiking trail map. It includes the trails in the Willoughby area, Gore and Bluff Mountains, Burke, Monadnock and many others.

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There's also a Map Adventures map which is pretty good, but watch out! because it shows a road on the west side of Willoughby that isn't there.

The GMC Day Hiker's Guide is good on the area mountains. There used to be a good pamphlet from the Northwoods Stewardship Center (northwoods.org), but I can't find it right now.

Stinkyfeet said:

What everyone else said, esp. Mts. Pisgah & Wheeler

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definately great views with minimal efforts. loved the area when i visited last summer.

Stinkyfeet said:

What everyone else said, esp. Mts. Pisgah & Wheeler, and Kingdom Trails for running, hiking, & mtn. biking.

If you're in St. Johnsbury and checking out the Fairbanks Museum on a rainy day, don't miss the Athenaeum's art gallery, with its main showpiece, Albert Bierstadt's 'Domes of Yosemite.' It's a spectacular work and pretty cool that it's in little 'ol St. Johnsbury, Vermont (my hometown x 30 years). Website:
http://www.stjathenaeum.org/gallery_images/domes_of_yosemite.htm

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Not to mention an original Asher Duran and a Bouguereau.

don't forget victory bog or perch fishing on joe's pond

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone!