Mount Mansfield
Mountain Peak · Stowe, Vermont
The highest mountain in Vermont at four thousand three hundred and ninety-five feet, and from the east or west its ridge reads as a human face lying back - forehead, nose, lips, chin and Adam's apple, which is how its summits got their names. The Abenaki saw a moose in the same profile. About two hundred acres along the top are genuine alpine tundra left behind by the Ice Age, one of only three such places in the state and a National Natural Landmark since 1980, and you can reach them by toll road, by gondola or on the Long Trail.
Toll Road, Stowe, Vermont, 05672, United States
The mountain is open at all times and the hiking routes are FREE. ⚠ BOTH MECHANISED WAYS UP ARE SEASONAL AND NEITHER RUNS IN WINTER. The TOLL ROAD from the Stowe side operates roughly late May to mid October, weather permitting, for a per-vehicle charge; the RESORT GONDOLA runs its own winter and summer seasons with a closed gap either side. Underhill State Park on the western approach charges a Vermont state park day-use fee and is seasonal. ⚠ THE SUMMIT RIDGE CARRIES ABOUT 200 ACRES OF PROTECTED ALPINE TUNDRA - a National Natural Landmark since 1980. Stay on the rock and off the vegetation; summit caretakers are posted in season for this reason. ⚠ MUD SEASON, ROUGHLY LATE MARCH TO LATE MAY, is when the trails should be left alone. Snow and ice persist on the ridge into June and return in October.