Mount Pisgah Westmore , VT Lake TT'illoughby , Northeast Kingdom Mountain Trail Guide 0 f L k Willoughby; the North Trail, beginning roughly . 1 \:e length of Lake Willoughby; and the East Trail (alslliiknd-way a o~g Pond Trail), beginning on the Long Pond Road and O 0~n as. otn~and before entering Willoughby State Forest and J. oin ~rosstng pnva e . tng With the North Trail. EAST (LONG POND) TRAIL- The Mount Pisgah Long Pond T . begins on an improved woods road off of the Long Pond Road rat1 proximately 1.6 miles east of Vermont Route SA. small sign in~t cates the entrance to the ~orest road ~nd a s~~ll parkmg area is located approximately 50~-f~et m ~n th~ nght. l~1bally following the open forest road, the trail 1s marked with occas10nal small rock cairns and later in Willoughby State Forest, with blue paint blazes. ' From the parking area (0.0 mi.), the trail continues along the woods road, passing around a gate and, after a short distance, crossing a brook where beaver activity is evident (the stream is the outlet to the small and secluded Mud Pond located nearby). Continuing on, the road begins a gradual ascent and Hedgehog Mountain, a small for- ested summit, becomes visible on the right. Soon the road enters a small clearing (1.0 mi.) once used as a log landing site and bears right where glimpses of Haystack and then Bald Mountain, with its signa- ture fire tower, are visible to the left. The woods road continues and enters a second, larger log landing and an open junction ( 1.4 mi.) where, turning right, it crosses a tiny stream and follows a smaller woods road. Bearing left at a junction, the trail begins a mild descent to another junction (1.6 mi.) where the woods road bears right and a second road enters on the left. Here the trail enters the woods on the left and crosses a blazed boundary into Wil- loughby State Forest. Turning uphill and, marked now by blue bla~es, the trail makes a pleasant sidehill ascent before rising to a junction with the North Trail (1.9 mi.). Total distance: approximately 1.9 mi., elevation gain: 340 feet NORTH TRAIL- The North Trail on Mount Pisgah provides a ~od- er at e approach to the mountain summit and features expansive· viewst from its two overlooks. The Trail begins on the east side ofVer;~- 5 foute A (approximately mid-way along the length Lake th of oughby) 2-3 miles north of the South Beach and 1.4 miles sou 92 Lake Willoughby Region . L ng Pond Road in Westmore. There is amp I . o_Ihead Much of the route follows e roalds1de parking at the trat . b k h . gent e sid h'll (presumably datmg_ a~ tot e bndle paths built by\he e 1 grades 4-36) before chmbmg more steadily, and th CCC between 193 • .d en steeply fo h distance, onto t h e summit n ge. The lower rout r a s ort ent alignment in 1978 in an effort to locate th etr~als al!ered to its curr F 49 . e a1 entirely · h. illoughby State orest. This section in d wit m W . cu1 es a se . switchbacks that, m 2006, were improved by crew fr nes of Woods Stewardship Center. s om the North- NOTE: North Woods Stewardship Center, working w·th1 th 17 17 p e Yermont Department oif r ores ts, arks and Recreation and th ur · h e rr estmore Trails Committee, as completed extensive trail maz·nt enance an d restoration work ~hroug_hout the entire length of the North Trail be- tween 2006-09, znstallzng switchbacks, drainage, waterbars t • .-1 h ·tt b 'd . l · ' s ep stones, szue l , rz gzng, re ocatwns, adjustments, rock staircases and retaining walls. You can support these trail restoration efforts b; avoidingfragile plants and soils and staying on the trail. From the trailhead (0.0 mi.), the North Trail quickly climbs a series of short switchbacks that lace together reinforced drainages, steps, re- tainers and restoration areas. After climbing briefly and sharply re- versing direction, the trail bends left, crosses a small seasonal stream (0.2 mi.) and begins a protracted sidehill grade that soon rounds a bend and crosses a second, larger stream (0.5 mi.). From here, the trail makes a short climb over stone steps and, leveling once more, follows uneven ground before crossing a third stream and joining an old woods road. A short distance ahead, the trail reaches a spur lead- ing to a cascading brook adjacent to the trail (0.9 mi.). Continuin_g on, the trail follows the woods road until ' turning right and crossmg. a timber bridge, it begins to climb away from the stream, wendm~ its way uphill, steeply at times, through mature, open hardwoods m a series of broad climbing turns. Soon, the trail reaches the b~se of a steep pitch where the Long Pond Trail enters on the left (1.5 mt.). F t it rises towards rom the junction the trail begins a steep ascen as . f _ th h ' . • 1 O ver a senes o re e s oulder of the mountain chmbmg steep Y c. merg- • ' d ·t hb cks be1ore e cent1 Y mstalled stone steps waterbars an swi c a derately ing onto the upper mountain. Here, the trail climbs more hm~rail lev- int0 th h mmit Soon t e . e stunted hardwood forest near t e su · ils (1 mi.) leading els briefly and reaches the first of several spur tra ·9 93 Lake Willoughby R . egion to one of Pisgah ' s scenic overlooks. North Overlook- Descending from the North . trail leads to two vantage points offer· fi Tratl, the overt k . mg me vie oo and north. Th e fiIrst, looking across the lake t ws to the west reached b_Y a path on the left and the second . 0 Mount Hor, is t further chmbs to an open rock ledge wh '. JUS a short distance ere 1t offe b to the northwest. Here, a number of local eak _rs ro~d views lett, Hor, Moose and Wheeler are visibl p s, mcludmg Bart- l . e as well as L k w· loughby be ow. In the distance , the Whi·t e M ountams. a e · · ll- to the south and east and the Green M . a~e visible . ountams mcl d· Belvidere and Jay Peak, are visible to the west T h' u mg · 0 t e north the waters o f L a ke Memphremagog and several Queb k ' . seen from a high rocky outcrop. A short distance. beyond. the North Overlook, a second spur ace esses a high rock prom1~ence Just a few hu~dred yards south of the previous lookout. The slightly elevated location of this lookout offers similar and equally dramatic views of the landscape to the north and west. From the second Overlook spur, the North Trail continues toward the mountain summit, climbing gently with a modest change in elevation. Soon a third spur trail on the right leads a short distance to the West Overlook (2.1 mi.). West Overlook- The short spur trail descends rapidly to a small rock outcropping with westward views across the lake to Mount Hor. Also visible, from left to right, are the peaks_ of Mount Moosilauke Stannard Mountain and the Kittredge Hills, Wood- l' H mp Mount bury Mountain, the Worcester Range, c ame s u , Mansfield, Bel~idere, Wheeler Mountain (in the foreground), Jay Peak and the Sutton Mountains of Quebec. • knoll to the moun- It is only a short climb further along the summit and marked ta . , h · ht by a short spur ms true summit- accessed on t e ng .1 From the sum- with a sign and small rock cairn- and the South Trat · the south Over- mit (0.0 mi) the South Trail leads a short distancehtotrat·lhead at Ver- I . ' b d to t e ook, located on an open ledge, and eyon d mont Route 5A (1.7 mi.) opposite the CCC Roa · . 1375 feet · Ievation gain. To tal distance: approximately 2.2 mt., e 95 I' Northeast Kingdom Mountain Trail Guide SOUTH TRAIL- The South Trail begins _at a large Parkin h st side of Vermont Route 5A approximately 0.6 mil g area on t e ea d. fr h es south Lake Willoughby and Irect1 y across . om t e CCC Road in of Probably one of the most heavily traveled trails . West. more. h S h T ·1 . IO north V rmont the Mount Pisga out ra1 provides easy ace em e , I ki . I ess to th mountain summit, has ampde p~rh_ng, 1s c o~er to Lake Willoughby'e South End community an , wit 1n one m1 1e, reaches the dr .s lookout at Pulpit Roek . A s a resuIt o f 1·t s h.1g h use, the Southatnatic T . tends to be wider an? more heavily eroded, however recent eff~~ have stabilized the trail somewhat. From the parking area, the trail drops down and quickly crosses a large pond and wetland complex on a wooden boardwalk installed by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps in 1995. From here the rocky trail rises onto a narrow hogback ridge and soon passes a~ old trail junction (0.2 mi.) before turning right and climbing moderately past a number of large boulders and into an open, mature hardwood forest.