Silvio O. Conte NWR – Nulhegan Basin Division (VT)

First visit – August 27, 2022

My younger daughter had a date with the SAT this morning, so I took the opportunity to visit this fairly nearby wildlife refuge while waiting. I’ll be back as I didn’t have time to do all the trails today.

The visitor center is gorgeous and houses a bunch of interactive displays. I played around in there for half an hour.

The Nulhegan River Trail is a 1.5-mile loop located near the back of the refuge.

September 9, 2022

North Branch Trail

Returned today to get this trail and the other trail/boardwalks in this unit of the refuge.

This is a 4-mile loop hike with a wide brushy section before reaching the river if you go clockwise. Once close to the river, the trail is a normal woods trail. Fairly flat, nice start to the morning.

I returned to my car and drove down Route 105 to the entrance to the massive rest of the unit.

Finished my trip by visiting the vast main portion’s boardwalks and hiking the part of Gore Mountain Trail that’s contained within the refuge. I did not continue to Gore Mtn’s summit (not in the refuge) as I wanted to chill at the boardwalks, and driving through the refuge on those long gravel roads takes time.

So ends my experiences with Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Looking forward to exploring the rest of the state.