Central Watershed Outings: Hiking Mount Ascutney

Hiking Mount Ascutney
The Connecticut River Valley’s Highest Peak

Story and photos by John Burk

After a steady ascent past waterfalls, diverse forests, and scenic vistas, I stepped onto the highest point of the Connecticut River valley—Mount Ascutney’s 3,144-foot summit. From a nearby observation tower, panoramic 360-degree views unfolded across the valley to landmarks such as Mount Washington and the Franconia Range in the White Mountains; distant hills of Quebec; the Green Mountains; Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire; and the Berkshire Hills and Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts.

Mount Ascutney view southwest to Mount Monadnock in southwestern New Hampshire.

One of several isolated peaks, or monadnocks, in central New England, Mount Ascutney rises high above the Connecticut River and the towns of Windsor, West Windsor, and Weathersfield, Vermont. Geologically related to the White Mountains, it formed roughly 120 million years ago as an underground mass of magma that fed a volcano. Mount Ascutney’s granite core is the remnant of a much larger eminence that was eroded by glaciers and storms over millions of years.

In precolonial times Mount Ascutney was a prominent landmark of N’dakinna, the homeland of the Abenaki. The Cowasuck, a band of the Abenaki that inhabited a settlement at the mouth of the nearby Sugar River, likely fished and hunted around the lower slopes. Most sources attribute the name Ascutney to Abenaki words for “mountain of the rocky summit.” However, some historians interpret “meeting of the waters” (the confluence of the Connecticut and Sugar rivers) or “mountain of the three brothers” as the correct derivations.

Mount Ascutney’s rich recreation history dates back to the early 19th century. In anticipation of a planned visit by the Marquis de Lafayette (a prominent French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution), in 1825 residents of Windsor cut one of the nation’s first mountain trails on the northeast slopes. In 1858 a carriage road was built along the approximate route of the present Windsor Trail, and a rustic stone hut opened near the summit.

Established during the 1930s, the 3,131-acre Mount Ascutney State Park offers amenities such as trails for hiking and mountain biking, a campground, and a 3.7-mile auto road. Adjacent West Windsor Town Forest encompasses nearly 1,600 acres on the northwest slopes, including a portion of Mt. Ascutney’s summit and West Peak. These and other contiguous public and private conservation lands comprise one of the region’s largest corridors of undeveloped forest.

Four base-to-summit trails provide an array of options for hikers. My outing followed Weathersfield Trail, a popular 2.9-mile route on the southwest slopes with roughly 2,350 feet of elevation gain. Traversing easy to moderate grades, the first segment led to Little Cascade Falls, a seasonal 60-foot waterfall on a forest stream (See my column, “Vermont’s Spectacular Waterfalls,” Spring 2024). After passing a gorge with mossy walls, I climbed to the top of a ledge with the hike’s first open views. At 1.1 miles I arrived at Crystal Cascade Falls, where Ascutney Brook plunges 85 feet over a sheer cliff. The falls were almost dry on this early summer day, but the top of the broad ledge afforded an 80-mile southwesterly view.

View across the Connecticut River to Mount Ascutney and the Windsor-Cornish Covered Bridge, built in 1886 and the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States.

Above the falls, the trail steepened as I entered a portion of West Windsor Town Forest. Melodious calls of black-throated green warblers, wood thrushes, scarlet tanagers, and other migratory songbirds resonated from the treetops. Bunchberry and bluebead lily, late-season ephemeral wildflowers that thrive in cool upland settings, were still in bloom at high elevations. Many other plants and animals benefit from Mt. Ascutney’s extensive mature forests, which include a mix of species such as red spruce, sugar maple, birch, oak, and hemlock. Some natural communities contain unusual overlaps of vegetation characteristic of high and low elevations.

Ascending the upper slopes, I reached Gus’s Lookout, a rock slab with southeasterly views and a glimpse of the summit. After passing a spring, I took a side trail to more vistas at 2,880-foot West Peak. There I met a hang glider pilot who was preparing for a flight to the southeastern Massachusetts coast, roughly 150 miles away. With numerous ravines, bowls, and rock cliffs that collect and funnel thermal currents, Mt. Ascutney is one of New England’s premier sites for hang gliding.

From West Peak I made a last 0.4-mile climb to the summit ridge. Although the true summit is wooded and capped with communication towers, the views from the observation tower (0.1 mile north of the summit) were well worth the effort.

Numerous points of interest reward hikers on the other summit trails. The oldest and most direct route,
2.7-mile Windsor Trail begins on VT 44A at the base of the northeast slopes. After passing a field and an old sawmill site, the trail ascends along a ravine to Gerry’s Falls, a 100-foot-high series of cascades on Mountain Brook. At 1.7 miles, Blood Rock Trail branches left to an overlook at Blood Rock, a ledge exposed by a landslide in 1925. Just after the junction with Castle Rock Trail, Windsor Trail merges with Brownsville Trail on the summit ridge. At the former site of the stone hut, a short spur leads to Brownsville Rock, with views of the village of Brownsville and the Green Mountains. Windsor and Brownville trails continue concurrently for 0.2 miles to the observation tower.

On the north slopes, Brownsville Trail starts on VT 44, roughly one mile west of Windsor Trail. The lower segment follows an old road to the former site of the Norcross Quarry, the largest of four quarries that operated on Mount Ascutney. The quarry provided the granite for structures such as the Bank of Montreal, Columbia University Library, and the Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont. At 2.0 miles, Knee Lookout offers views of Windsor, the Connecticut River, and central New Hampshire. Another vista near 2,660-foot North Peak provides a perspective of Killington Peak and Okemo Mountain. Brownsville Trail joins Windsor Trail at 2.9 miles.

Futures Trail, a rugged and less traveled alternative to the popular summit trails, links the state park campground to Windsor Trail. Bare Rock, roughly one mile from the trailhead, offers southwesterly views of the Connecticut River valley. At 3.4 miles a side trail leads to the remains of the “Steam Donkey,” a water-powered cable logging machine. It stands as an artifact of timber harvests that occurred on Mt. Ascutney’s slopes through the early 20th century. From the upper end of Futures Trail (4.1 miles), Windsor Trail leads to the summit in another 0.5 mile. The cumulative elevation gain from the campground is 2,850 feet.

Bunchberry, a member of the dogwood family, is a woodland groundcover found in mountainous regions.

For a less strenuous outing, the auto road (open from late May to late October) winds 3.7 miles from the state park entrance to the saddle between the summit and South Peak. Highlights include a stone picnic pavilion with scenic views, and the Windsor Vista lookout. From the upper parking area, a moderately steep ascent on Summit and Slab trails leads to the summit ridge in 0.7 miles, with 350 feet of elevation gain. Hang Glider Trail, which branches off Summit Trail, reaches West Peak in 0.5 mile.

After the hike, I caught a striking perspective of Mt. Ascutney, the Connecticut River, and the Windsor-Cornish Covered Bridge from the east side of the river in Cornish, New Hampshire. Built in 1886, the Windsor-Cornish Bridge is the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States and one of only four historic covered bridges that span the Connecticut River.

John Burk is a writer, photographer, and historian from western Massachusetts whose credits include books, guides, and articles in nature and regional publications.