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Taft Lodge makes an ideal headquarters for hikers who wish to spend several days on and around Mount Mansfield, and the mountain has many worthwhile rewards for those who take the time to explore it.

From Taft Lodge, The Long Trail descends the east side of the mountain 2 miles to Barnes Camp, on the State Highway (No. 108) from Stowe to Jeffersonville. Meals and lodging may be obtained here, and cars (parking charge) may be left here by those wishing to climb the mountain from this point.

Taft Lodge to Barnes Camp, 2 miles, 1 hour (southbound, 2 hours). The Vermont State Forestry Service maintains picnic grounds about 1/2 mile farther up the road.

The Mount Mansfield Region

The region of which Mount Mansfield is the central and dominating feature undoubtedly contains more points of interest to the visitor than any other equal area along the Trail. Fortunately this is also one of the most easily reached portions of the Green Mountains, for excellent highways approach the foot of the mountain from both east and west, and the Toll Road to the Mount Mansfield Hotel makes access to the summit possible for those unable, or unwilling, to climb on foot. Hiking up one of the trails, however, is much more satisfying if somewhat less expeditious.

Tourists approaching the mountain from the west would logically come from Burlington, a city of 25,000, with excellent hotels (Vermont, Van Ness, New Sherwood), beautifully situated on Lake Champlain, to Underhill on Route No. 15. Turning right at Underhill, it is 2 1/2 miles to Underhill Center (18 miles from Burlington), from which The Long Trail may be reached by way of Stevensville or the Halfway House. (See "Side Trails on Mount Mansfield" and large map in front of book.)

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To reach the mountain from the east, turn north from U. S. Route No. 2 at Waterbury (Waterbury Inn) on Route No. 100 to Stowe (Green Mountain Inn), and there turn west on Route No. 108. This road runs directly through Smuggler's Notch, passing the Toll House (lower end of Toll Road to hotel), The Lodge (a fine all-year resort), the trail to Bingham's Falls (1/8 mile to the right), Barnes Camp, where it meets The Long Trail, the Big Spring, cold, clear and pure, and the Smuggler's Caves, and it affords many striking views of the towering cliffs and great boulders in the notch. Continuing north it passes Morse's Mills and joins Route No. 15 at Jeffersonville (Smuggler's Notch Inn). The beauty and grandeur of the scenery along this road are unsurpassed anywhere in New England.

Seen from a distance, especially from the east, the outline of Mount Mansfield resembles a man's face, turned to the sky, and its peaks are therefore named, from south to north, the Forehead, the Nose, the Chin and the Adam's Apple. The highest of these is the Chin (4,393 feet), the highest point in the State of Vermont. On the top of the Nose (4,062 feet) a concrete monument marks a point in the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey's primary triangulation system. The Indians called the mountain Moze-o-de-be Wadso, Moosehead Mountain, but the modern name was probably given it because it stood in the center of the old town of Mansfield, which was divided and annexed to Stowe and Underhill more than 70 years ago, though some authorities believe it was named for the English Lord Mansfield.

Along Mansfield's bare and windswept summit, which The Long Trail follows for its whole length, are found glacial boulders, curiously stunted trees and rare alpine plants, while of more human interest is a cairn of stones called the Frenchman's Pile, that marks the spot where a traveler was