Beartown Road
Total Miles
2.7
Elevation
689.89 ft
Duration
0.75 Hours
Technical Rating
Best Time
Summer, Fall, Spring
Trail Overview
This is another of the amazing Class 4 roads in Vermont. Beartown Road travels from Manchester to Beartown via a notch between Mount Equinox (the highest peak of the Taconic range) and Mother Myrick Mountain. The road from Manchester begins as an easy but steep road, with wooded views occasionally easing to glimpses of the Green Mountains. After the switchback, the road rapidly degrades into a short but intense scramble up a rocky washout. Shortly beyond this challenge, the road turns west again as it passes through the gap and starts its descent through a rocky, steep, and narrow path.
Photos of Beartown Road
Difficulty
This path has several steep grades requiring 4WD and one significant washout requiring high clearance and lockers. The washout has multiple ledges and obstacles approaching 2 feet in height.
History
The hiking trail (historic road) that heads south from the notch was originally cut in the 1860s by Franklin Orvis, a hotelier and brother to Charles F. Orvis, the founder of Orvis sporting goods.