"The Stowe 10". Tackle these 10 peaks surrounding the famous Vermont outdoor town of Stowe. Includes 6 peaks in the Green Mountains to the west and 4 in the Worcester Range to the east. All peaks have trails to the summits with approach trails from the Stowe Valley. A standout highlight of this challenge includes an alpine-zone ridge traverse over Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont.
Highest peak
Mount Mansfield
4,393 ft / 1,338 m
Most prominent peak
Mount Mansfield
3,633 ft / 1,107 m prom
Most summited peak
Mount Mansfield
406 summits
Most difficult peak
Mount Mansfield
Class 2
Difficulty breakdown
Class 1/2 1 peak
Highlights
- Traverse the 2.3 mi alpine ridge of Mount Mansfield, the longest stretch of above treeline terrain in Vermont
- Picnic on the popular Stowe Pinnacle, a short 3 mi hike to a bald, open summit with views back over the Stowe valley toward the Green Mountains
- Negotiate the cliffs and ledges of Elmore Mountain en route to 360 views from its fire tower
- Stand on the highest point in Vermont (Mt. Mansfield 4,393 ft) and take in sunset views over Burlington and Lake Champlain
Latest summits
"Hiked Mansfield for some Side to Side trails and another Calendar Day. Parked at the ski resort and headed up the road into Smugglers Notch. Went up Hell Brook Tr. Steep trail. Went up and over the Adams Apple. Very windy day and it was pushing me around. Backtracked briefly to claim all of Hell Brook Tr, then headed up to the summit. Windy on the northwest side. Tagged the summit and kept on moving southward. Followed the LT until the Forehead Bypass. Took that for 0.5 miles, then took South Link to Haselton Tr. Then quickly descended down Haselton Tr back to my car. 7.7 miles!!!" — newenglandwarrior • Sep 16, 2023
"Returned to our favourite peak in VT to bag Adam's Apple which we orphaned last time out. Hiked along the ridge, over Mansfield and to the Apple. Awesome day in the mountains in what has become our favourite destination. " — HikingViking • Aug 12, 2023
"Returned to our favourite peak in VT to bag Adam's Apple which we orphaned last time out. Hiked along the ridge, over Mansfield and to the Apple. Awesome day in the mountains in what has become our favourite destination. " — HikingViking • Aug 12, 2023
"Started at Stevensville Road Trailhead. Went up the Frost Trail to Long Trail and summited The Forehead. Kept on the Long Trail and summited The Nose. Returned by heading south on the Long Trail the Forehead Bypass then Wallace Cutoff to Butler Lodge. The Bypass has a lot of slick wet rock. Checked out the Butler Lodge and then descended via the Butler Lodge Trail. Total distance was 6.15 miles with 2,678 feet of elevation gain." — Zardoz • Jun 30, 2023
"Began at 10:15am. The first section of the Long Trail from the Barnes Camp Visitor Center is a scenic boardwalk over some wetlands. However, because of the cloud cover, we could not see any of the flanking peaks. The trail then crosses Mountain Rd and the ascent begins. We quickly ascended into a cloud and decided against hiking to any of the optional subpeaks (the Adams Apple, Nose, or Forehead). The final ascent to the summit requires some scrambling. Despite being in a cloud and having visibility of roughly 20 feet, there was hardly any wind at the summit and it was relatively dry. As we traversed the summit portion of the Long Trail, the clouds began to break and we saw some views of the neighboring mountains as well as the subpeaks. I saw an unidentified animal (likely a lynx or fisher cat) on the Amherst Trail. The descent began on a steep ski trail which turned into a slightly less steep hiking trail. Returned to the car around 5:15pm." — JCalautti • Jun 18, 2023