Mt Ascutney, Windsor VT

• 4 & 5-star hikes
• 1.4 to 9.0 mile hikes
• Medium difficulty | Gain 310 to 3,000 feet
• Windsor & Weathersfield, VT | Vermont
• Driving Directions: See links below.


Repurposed fire tower, now a viewing platform close to the summit.

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Mount Ascutney towers over the Connecticut River and the neighboring town of Claremont with its 2,700 foot prominence, challenging hikers to climb to its tallest 3,144 foot peak. There are five named routes to the summit, so follow Trailspotting as we add reviews of all of them, or beat us to it and follow the trails we've linked in the table below.

The majority of the trails are within the boundaries of and maintained by Vemont State Parks, which also includes the Mount Ascutney Parkway allowing folk to drive within 300 feet of the summit - see Summit Loop below. Note that the park is not open during winter, and its operating season begins late May and ends mid October each year.

Weathersfield, Futures, Windsor, Brownsville, Bicentenial Expand ↓ Map

In addition to the short Summit Loop trail accessible from the parkway, there are five trails to Ascutney's peak that begin at trailheads at the base of the mountain. On the above map we show the routes we have reviewed, plus color coded trailheads for all trails. We intend to hike and review all the trails, but until then we list below a summary of the routes with distance and elevation gain for comparison. Where we haven't yet reviewed a trail, any measurements are approximate. We also include links to AllTrails for all the routes we haven't yet reviewed.

Trail	Length	Gain	Description
Summit Loop      Trail 4★	1.4 miles	310 feet	Short summit hike Trail Map | Directions
Weathersfield      Trail 5★	5.5 miles	2,180 feet	Some small waterfalls Trail Map | Directions
Futures      Trail	9.0 miles	3,000 feet	Yet to review Trail Map | Directions
Windsor      Trail	5.3 miles	2,500 feet	Yet to review Trail Map | Directions
Brownsville      Trail	5.5 miles	2,400 feet	Yet to review Trail Map | Directions
Bicentenial      Trail	4.0 miles	2,100 feet	Yet to review Trail Map | Directions

West Peak Overlook is on the Weatherfield and Summit Loop trails.

Summit Loop 4★
1.4 mi, Loop, Medium, Gain 310 ft
Trailspotting Map: AllTrails, GPX File
Driving Directions: Trailhead (paid)

The 3.7 mile Mount Ascutney Parkway ascends almost all the way to the summit, offering a scening drive and the opportunity to stand atop the summit with only a short hike. Once you reach the upper parking lot, the Summit Loop is around 1.4 miles in length and only 310 feet in elevation gain. It can be tackled just as easily in either direction. Be sure to climb the observation tower, visit the true summit and check out the West Peak Lookout also.

Weathersfield Trail 5★
5.5 mi, Out-and-back, Medium, Gain 2,180 ft
Trailspotting Map: AllTrails, GPX File
Driving Directions: Trailhead

Trail of rocks and roots, gradually ascending to the summit with waterfalls fed by small creeks. One minor rock scramble. Around 1.1 miles into the hike is Cascade Falls, a stream that seemingly drops off a short cliff, though we were underwhelmed since the trail leads only to the top of the falls and there's no way to view what's below. Definitely check out all the viewpoints along the way, including Harry's Lookout, Gus' Lookout and the West Peak Overlook.


Cascade Falls on Weathersfield Trail. Not much waterfall to see from above.


One of several Weathersfield Trail streams. | Turbinellus floccosus trumpets.

Tangents:
• Trail Links: Official
• Public Maps at AllTrails: Weathersfield
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article

Nearby Trails:
• Show on map: All nearby trails

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