Mount Mansfield

Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont.
When viewed from the east or west, this mountain has the appearance of a (quite elongated) human profile, with distinct forehead, nose, lips, chin, and Adam's apple. These features are most distinct when viewed from the east; unlike most human faces, "The Chin" is the highest point.
Mount Mansfield is one of three spots in Vermont where true alpine tundra survives from the Ice Ages. A few acres exist on Camel's Hump and Mount Abraham to the south, but Mount Mansfield's summit still holds about 200 acres.
There are many hiking trails, including the famous Long Trail, which traverses the main ridgeline.
In addition, the east flank of the mountain is used by the Stowe Mountain Resort for winter skiing.
A toll road (about four miles, steep, mostly unpaved, with several hairpin turns) climbs from the Stowe Base Lodge to "The Nose".

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"Très belle rando au dessus des nuages avec le groupe de Liane. C'est une belle et bonne personne que je découvre là! Deuxième ascension de Mansfield pour moi. Cette fois-ci par le côté plus "rock-&-Roll". J'ai vraiment adoré ce sentier. " — fsoucy76 • Oct 6, 2018

"Overcast, a bit rainy, and unfortunately warm and VERY humid, but so worth it. The trail was fairly steep; no switchbacks. And very rocky. The last 3/10 of a mile you pretty much need hands and feet to climb the rocks. We had minimal views due to low clouds but I'm sure they would have been awesome." — marc • Aug 7, 2018

"We went up Long Trail South, and there was a lot of clouds and fog. But just about when we got to the base of the Chin, the sun came out so we were able to summit with sun and some views. The upper approach had some rime ice, but nothing too serious." — Alohabuffy • Nov 4, 2017

"A peine revenue de l'ouest Américain, je me lance dans cette rando avec Michel et RS. La forme n'était pas vraiment au rendez-vous à vrai dire. J'ai comme eu la chienne en montant, mais j'ai pu la faire en fin de compte. Je suis bien content que les autres n'aient pas eu le goût de faire la grosse boucle!!! Je ne suis vraiment pas certain que j'aurais été en mesure de la faire. Je suis malgré tout très heureux de ma journée. Il est maintenant temps de prendre soin de moi en restant chez moi pour le reste de la semaine qui me reste! Merci la vie! " — fsoucy76 • Oct 21, 2017

"Coming up from the Forehead, we headed over to the summit. Lots of people on the trail. Marielle got her 90th NEHH peak. We then went down the exposed Sunset Ridge and checked out Cantilever Rock. A great day to be hiking. " — newenglandwarrior • Sep 2, 2017

"After hiking camel's hump in the morning and enjoying the afternoon in burlington I headed to Mansfield for an evening hike. Never saw a human and this mountain was really sketchy coming down the long trail especially when it began to get dark!" — shay-shay • Aug 8, 2017

"Took the auto toll road then hiked to the summit. Several quick moving waves of sprinkles came through along with a 15 minute blast of graupel. Other than that, it was a nice day up on the ridge. The toll road fee is $23 for a driver. The road itself has seen quite a bit of rain this season and is a bit washed out and rutted in spots but totally driveable." — StoneMan • Jul 9, 2017

"My 150th unique mountain! Solo. I had a difficult time on this hike. I woke up later than intended as I was coming off of midnight shifts, and then had to spend 3.5 hours in the car. When I got on the road the trailhead is on, I went back and forth a few times, & couldn't find any signage indicating where the Long Trail could be picked up. (I figure Vermont is pretty smart. If people can't even find the trailhead to hike the hike, less rescues? Hahaha) Trip reports I read said the parking was on the right, with the trailhead on the left, so I chose the area that had that type of setup (later learning that you can actually park on the left and enter the Long Trail on the same side of the road.) It turns out where I was was the Hell Brook Trail. A quick glance at the map showed me I could get to the summit from there, so I said whatever and started to climb.. and climb.. and climb... Well. Unprepared was an understatement, lol. The trail climbs about 2,854' in a single mile. The "trail" (relentlessly steep rock faces with about 30' of actual dirt trail in that mile) were absolutely soaking from a full week of rain here in the northeast. I was exceptionally cautious of my footi..." — kellieirene • Jun 7, 2017

"Short and steep! Going up Long trail was fun, especially final scramble. But peak was littered with car folk. Oh well, its a spectacular spot for everybody. Just a little too hazy to see Champlain. First VT 4k, great hike!" — Alohabuffy • Sep 19, 2015

"this trail was a relentless uphill climb. however, the tread was fairly good and the slides were easy to walk on. the last .3 miles of the long trail to the summit were extremely steep and exposed. the summit was crowded. looped back down on the profanity which is steep but w/ steps instead of a vertical slide. " — Hillary • Sep 11, 2015

"Decided to do some State-Highpointing on the East Coast for Labor Day weekend. We flew out of Las Vegas Thursday night into Boston, then bagged the highpoints of Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont & New Hampshire (with short stops in Pennsylvania and Maine for good measure) before flying back out of Boston on Monday. What a weekend!" — Kevin • Sep 5, 2015

"After hiking camel's hump we drove up to Stowe to snag the last of the five 4000 footers in Vermont. Once again the summit was socked in and it started pouring when we were still about a half hour from the car. Definitely have to come back for this hike on a nice day." — LGH-Tom • Jul 18, 2015

"Great time up the mountain with my new girlfriend ( no joke... we beace official at the border the day before when the customs officer asked who I was travelling with lol) and with my dad and his girlfriend... cloudy day but it was great :)" — oli.rousseau • Jul 29, 2014

"This is my 2nd favorite hike of all time with #1 being Camel's Hump located just down the road. Mount Mansfield is a great hike and a fairly easy high point depending on the trail you take. If you are an avid hiker and love the outdoors, I suggest taking the Long Trail up and the Sunset Ridge Trial down. The Long Trial can be difficult in parts with some light bouldering along the way up, but it is nothing too difficult if you are in any shape. However, this trail is not good to take a dog with you since they will not be able to navigate some of the rock scrambles. This trail also takes you along the top ridge of the mountain, going from "The Nose" to "The Chin" (The Chin is the peak of the mountain). There is a small visitor center near the top which is a great place to stop and take a break; however, they do not have any food for sale, so be sure to bring along enough food and water. It can get quite chilly at the summit depending on when you hike. I hiked in early October and even though it was nice at the base of the mountain, I was happy that I had a sweatshirt with me at the summit! It is not as 'extreme' as Mount Washington, but you may end up being stuck in the clouds..." — BrianLada • Oct 2, 2013

"Led by Dick and Ed climbed it from Underhill State Park reached the peak with Helga. Trail went down towards Smugglers notch pass. Got drenched by a thunderstorm on the way down." — daviddiedejean • Jun 25, 2013

"About halfway up Hell Brook Tr. proceeded to bushwhack up to Bear Head, 1/2mi N of Lake o.t. Clouds (2 hrs-who in their right mind does this?). Found the trail at the top (nobody goes here - deer scat everywhere!), cont. on to Adam's Apple and took Long Tr. to Chin and Nose. Retraced back to top before coming down the LT" — SteveM_StickMan • Jul 11, 2012

"A wild weather day made for quite interesting pictures and a nice day. See my blog trip report at: http://offonadventure.blogspot.com/2011/11/mount-mansfield-111811.html and more pictures at: https://picasaweb.google.com/107414025075007608133/2011_11_18MountMansfield?authkey=Gv1sRgCPvJudqI4YaOPQ#" — Telemarkmike • Nov 18, 2011

"It was raining really hard. It felt like the winds on the top of the mountain was going to blows us off. I still have a scare on my hand when i feel. We took hell brook trail to the to the Chin. Was the deepest trail i have ever hiked. I read the trail is wet but with it raining it was 10 times worse. Most fun I've ever had climbing. Took a while to find the top because once we got above tree line with the fast winds and clouds we couldn't see very far. We stayed low to the ground and looked for the summit marker. Once we realized that we still had a ways to go we keep climbing and finally made it to the top of Vermont. We didn't stay on the top very long so we enjoyed our beers on the way down." — elbesto • Jun 12, 2011

"This isn't our first time up Mansfield, but it is the first time that I have the actual date for. The day was supposed to cloud up in the afternoon, so we set out early to get in some good views. Worked out very well. Hiked up with Gudi, DJ, Lil-Yeti and Sasha" — SoarFooters • Aug 9, 2009

"Mansfield was the climax of three days on the long trail. The ascent was in fog and cloud. We could have been at any elevation - it was impossible to tell. Nearing the summit, it started to rain. We waited, and our patience was rewarded. The clouds blew over and away from the summit, revealing awesome views." — GSDTheFlea • Jul 25, 2009