Green Mts Vermont: Lye Brook Falls

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This trip has been exciting for me for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I finally managed to pry my youngest child out of his room and off his video games to go camping with me. And secondly, this location came highly recommended from a coworker plus I’ve been wanting to get to Vermont to go camping for a while now anyway.

Lye Brook Falls, which can be found in the western part of the Green Mountain National Forest just east of Manchester Center, VT, is an approximate 4.5 mile out and back hike. The trail head located on Glen Road has ample parking. Even with arriving on a Saturday in mid afternoon, there were plenty of parking spots left.

I chose to use the Alltrails app for this trip to navigate the trail making sure we didn’t stray too far off course. I had also printed a trail map to use in case there was little to no cellular coverage. Much to my surprise, I had decent cellular coverage for the entire hike and where I chose to set up camp for the night.

The Trail

The trail itself overall I agree with the Alltrails rating of moderate. There were some sections that I would call easy and some I would call difficult. Overall for someone in better shape than I am, there should be no section of this trail that would be harder than a moderate difficulty level.

As a day hike with a light pack on I would absolutely do this trail again. However, at my current fitness level, without an early start to give myself plenty of time and maybe cooler temps, I won’t try this trail again with my camping pack on. To be fair, I only carried my camping pack about halfway before spurring off trail to find my camping spot and leave the pack behind.

From the trailhead you follow the trail marked by blue blazes (blue paint on the trees about 6ft off the ground) about 2 miles up to the fork in the trail. At the fork, follow the trail to the right (assuming you’re coming from the trailhead). You’ll follow this trail about another quarter mile to the falls. At which point you can climb up for a better view of the upper section of the falls or climb down to a large rock ledge overlooking the bottom section of the falls.

The trail is marked with blue blazes and enters the 18,122-acre Lye Brook Wilderness following along Lye Brook. Utilizing old logging railroad grades and old woods roads, the trail travels up a steady gradual slope. Stream crossings and areas of storm damaged trail can make some of the trail challenging, which is in keeping with Wilderness management practices. A century ago, this area had been heavily logged, with railroads, charcoal kilns, and sawmills dotting the landscape. The land has reverted back to its natural state, but those wishing to explore can still find the remains of many of these turn of the century industries.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gmfl/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=75341&actid=50

The Falls

The falls are said to be one of the tallest in Vermont. Sources researched prior to my trip here give a height of 125ft. I could see them possibly being a little taller than that. Regardless of the actual height, they are no less spectacular and worth the trip to experience.

The trail leading off the main trail to the falls is mostly downhill. There are a few narrow sections that almost feel like walking a tight rope but still easily passable with care. Along the way I found a few smaller waterfalls that were worthy of a photo.

Camping

Camping in the Lye Brook Falls Wilderness can be a little confusing. On one hand, you’re in the state of Vermont but on the other, you’re in a National Forest. So which rules do you follow? Well that’s your choice, however, I chose to follow the guidelines set by the National Forestry Agency as I was in a national forest area.

The area picked was well off the trail with the creek nearby. There was nothing spectacular about the area, just an open enough place amongst the trees to set up 2 hammocks. With the exception of the mosquitoes, it was a peaceful place listening to the sounds of the forest around us and the babbling brook playing in the background.

In Reflection

This trip with my youngest son has been one of my most enjoyable trips to date. Mostly because I got to share the experience with my son. It afforded me the opportunity to learn more about him, and that he doesn’t like this style of camping. We’re going to try a more vehicle based type of camping next and see how he does.

The only real downside was forgetting bug spray and as a result being bombarded by mosquitoes and a couple of flies. Don’t forget the bug spray!!!! I love going to places I’ve never been to yet and this place is worth coming back to if only for a day hike.

Links

Remember, If I can do it, You can do it too!!!

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