May 26-31, 2023
The Cross-VT Trail is a 91-mile National Recreation Trail starting at the border of NH near Wells River and stretching west to Burlington. Most people bike it, or they walk it in sections. I’m not sure if anyone has ever thru-hiked the entire thing, including the road walks. Since it’s a National Recreation Trail, it’s on my bucket list.
For anyone who wants to end-to-end it, a couple of parking garages in Burlington offer 14-day parking for $8 a day, not that you’ll need 14 days. You’ll have to arrange a ride to the NH border from Burlington, then you can hike toward your car.
Burlington is a bustling small city and a liberal person’s paradise. It’s scenic and extremely friendly, too. I went into three different stores, and all the clerks treated me like they had known me forever. Everything feels laid-back, like it’s on the West Coast instead of Lake Champlain. The college students at UVM must love it here.
Day One. Eastern Terminus to Stillwater Campground in Groton State Forest. 19-20 miles. May 26, 2023
Greg Western, Executive Director of the Cross Vermont Trail Organization, was super helpful and gave me a ride from Burlington to the eastern terminus near Wells River. We had a great discussion during the over-two-hour drive, and he gave me a ton of new info about the route.
For those looking to hike or bike the Cross Vermont Trail, they have a website that gives you maps plus all the info you could want, including detailed turn-by-turn written directions. I took screenshots of those and referred to them often. When not on a roadwalk, the signs are usually plentiful, but the written directions were definitely needed in some road crossing and congested areas. The maps are clear and detailed as well.
You start with roadwalk that includes a busy 302, but once on the rail trails it’s a nice shady walk going by ponds and marshes and fields. Throughout the day, I’d find myself back on 302 for short stretches before heading down a country road and then back onto rail trail. Saw some cows and horses. There’s very little elevation gain, so the miles felt easy.
My stay at Stillwater was great – highly recommend. My lean-to was secluded, spacious, and clean. Just know there are no bear boxes. I didn’t bring my canister or any rope, but I got lucky and had no visitors during the night.
I had a surprisingly unbuggy day and evening. They were out in the state forest, but the numbers weren’t bad.
Day Two. May 27, 2023. Around 19 miles.
Got a 7am start from the campground and made quick work of the rail trail past Marshall and Bailey Ponds. Once in Marshfield Village, I acted on a tip Greg had given me the day before. On the maps, the section between Marshfield and Plainfield Villages is on Route 2 with very little shoulder. The reality though is that one can continue straight on the rail trail that goes across private property. It is open to hiking, and it should soon be the official route through that area. I was happy to do as Greg suggested, as otherwise I faced a miles-long road walk, and Route 2 can be dangerous.
One does revisit Route 2, but not until Plainfield and then only for a short time. I liked small-town Plainfield; their library was having a bake sale and I got some tasty treats.
Once past Plainfield and off Route 2 again, there’s a nice shady stretch of forested rail trail/bike path until Route 14. Once at 14, I walked north toward Route 2 until arriving at my East Montpelier AirBnB for the night, which was located right on the trail.
(Since there seem to be only two areas across this trail where one can legally camp, I am using hotel reward points in towns plus paying for one AirBnB).
Day Three. May 28, 2023. Between 7 and 8 miles, from Routes 14/2 and Montpelier.
The little mileage today was planned when I organized this hike back in March. I thought I might need a day with few miles after doing two 20-mile days in a row. I now know that wasn’t necessary, but I am grateful for the short day since the afternoon got hot (for Vermont) and I didn’t need to be out in the heat.
The day began with a bit of Route 2, but since it was early Sunday morning there wasn’t much traffic. After about two miles (?) of Route 2 came a bike path that is not yet reflected on the maps as the official route but it is noted as such on the website’s updates. Thank goodness, since I did not want to hike Route 2 all the way to Montpelier. The bike path was shaded and wound through a forest – lovely. Then it was back to pavement all the way to the center of the city, though most of it was on designated bike paths and not roads.
I checked into my hotel early, got cleaned up, and wandered about the busy town for a bit.
Day Four. May 29, 2023. Downtown Montpelier to Winooski Street in Waterbury (and then to hotel). Between 13-14 miles.
Today was filled with a not-that-busy Route 2 and quiet country roads. There was a bit of grassy community path, but mostly it was road walking. I didn’t mind, the scenery was pretty.
This trail was made for bikers and day walkers and not backpackers, so though I am enjoying it, I know a few hikers who wouldn’t care for this experience because of all the roads. I’d recommend it for biking, though. Be sure to print out the maps on the Cross-VT website, or at least screenshot them, since there are turns that are not obvious, and those maps are helpful.
Day Five. Waterbury to Williston. Around 26 miles. May 30, 2023
Today was a big mileage day. I walked quickly along a 14-mile straight stretch of country roads, going past the turn-off for Camel’s Hump and the Long Trail. Then it was busier road before veering off onto a lovely field/wooded off-road bit called Johnnie Brook Trail. After JB Trail came shady and secluded JB Road before walking busy Route Two for a little over a mile. Next was another country road which happily had some kind of touristy thing where I could refill my water bottles from their bike station. Then busier road, then open lovely bike path where for the first time I could see the Adirondacks in the distance. Soon I was on Route 2 again and close to my last hotel for the trip. I am now completely out of hotel reward points.
I thought I would have a difficult time with the miles, especially since it got above 80, but there were plenty of shady spots along the way, and the baseball cap I found a few days ago by the side of the road came in handy (I hand washed the cap before using it). I made sure to rest in shady spots now and then, keep myself hydrated, and snack on potato chips to help replace salt.
Day Six. May 31, 2023. Williston to Burlington. 9 miles.
Last day! I got on trail at 6:30 and walked quickly to finish before the forecasted heat arrived. Today was all sidewalks and paved bike path. It was nice to not have to walk in the road.
Made it to Burlington, sat and enjoyed the view of Lake Champlain and the haze-obscured ADKs (wildfires from Canada caused smoke alerts on NOAA), then walked another mile and a half along the beautiful Burlington bike paths to where I left my car a week ago.
Final thoughts –
This trail is made for bikers, but hikers who don’t mind a lot of country road walking and a bit of busy road walking will enjoy it.
Do your research, otherwise you will miss turns. Print out/screenshot the maps and the turn-by-turn directions from the Cross-VT Trail website.
Legal camping sites are scarce. Camel’s Hump State Park allows dispersed camping, and there are campgrounds in Groton State Forest. For me, this was another Hotel Rewards Points adventure (I used a ton last year as well on the New England Trail).
No need to have more than a day or two’s worth of food on you. I also never needed to filter water since I carried two liters and went through towns frequently.
