"The Stowe 5". Tackle these 5 peaks surrounding the famous Vermont outdoor town of Stowe. All peaks have trails to the summits with approach trails from the Stowe Valley. A standout highlight of this challenge is a visit to the alpine-zone summit of 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
407 summits
Most difficult peak
Mount Mansfield
Class 2
Difficulty breakdown
Class 1/2 1 peak
Highlights
Latest summits
"Skinned up Stowe after closing day, and took the backcountry gate exit from the top of the gondola towards Profanity Chute. Unfortunately the very top of the chute was too bare to think about skiing (I actually didn't even recognize it as I passed it) so I ended up skinning (with a bit of hiking here and there) to near the ridgeline along Profanity Trail. From there it was just a quick walk on mostly snow with some rocky patches to the summit, with only the last ~200 feet completely snow-free. If I hadn't had some pretty terrible blisters at that point I would have gone back for my skis and started higher. As it was, I was happy I was able to get as high as I did given the time of year. Skiing down was a blast: the chute along the trail was mostly filled in, aside from one precarious large posthole that I had to glissade past. After that, the trees were fantastic, with great coverage and plenty of nice open lines to the point where the only thing that slowed me down was my aching quads and the occasional rough tree snag (I did rip my jacket sadly). After re-joining the trails, there were a few bare patches that required navigating, but overall pretty damn good conditions for after ..." — wazoheat • Apr 23, 2024
"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
"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
" From the gates at Under hill State Park I took the cut through trail to the Sunset Ridge trail. I summited Mount Mansfield and descended by down Sunset Ride bagging Cantilever Rock off of it’s short spur trail. Total distance was 6.6 miles with 2,578 feet of elevation gain." — Zardoz • Nov 5, 2022