Some of the outlooks are a bit dangerous, so be sure to keep your dogs on their leashes and pay attention to children (there are signs warning this as well). Only encountered 6 people on the trail. It had steep moments but everything was very dense and stable. 183 GATEHOUSE TRAIL, WILMINGTON, VT 05363 Nice quick hike. Very manageable - very rocky and rooty. Turn off your ad blocker to see a map of this trail, Deerfield Ridge Trail from Haystack to Mount Snow, Harmon Hill via Long Trail (Appalachian Trail), Glastenbury Mountain via Long Trail (Appalachian Trail). Definitely go during week or early morning/late afternoon. This is par the course for any VT mountain :) The summit is small and the views are okay. Well kept, easy, heavily trafficked, dog friendly trail! A few different views to explore once you get there. Start from the center of town and proceed 1.7 miles North on RT 30. Follow this to an intersection with an even larger Chimney Hill sign, and here take a left on Chimney Hill road. From the trailhead, the trail climbs moderately through open hardwoods for some time before ascending steeply onto the summit knoll and intersecting one of several short spur trails. South Trail: This trail leaves the summit of Haystack Mountain and soon reaches two lookouts, one to the east and one to the south. From 2012 - 2018, ski area owner Jim Barnes offer skiing through membership in a private club. On VT Route 9, about 2 miles west of the traffic light in Wilmington, turn onto Haystack Road at a large Chimney Hill sign. We took the North side and although it is short the incline is pretty steep. The view at the summit was nice even though at tree line. Haystack Mountain Trail is a 8.0 kilometer heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Wilmington, Vermont that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. Path was well maintained. The view is pretty good. All roots and rocks or gravel. Not terribly strenuous, but a good workout. No monster inclines like some trails but still gets your blood pumping. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until November. Rocky, steep, shady and really beautiful. This is an excellent family hike even for the dogs! All Rights Reserved. Gets quite busy. This trail was short yet challenging - I did the full loop by going up the North Trail, checking out the views from multiple outlooks, then going down the South Trail and taking Long Pond Road back to my car. enjoy! Haystack Mountain is justly named as its steep side rise out of the earth from all directions; the top offers views of Long Pond, Lake Willoughby, and the surrounding area. 3.0 mi., 2 hrs. Parking is limited, so please take care to keep the road clear. It gets crowded in some spaces especially with the fallen trees. The trail is a very easy level for being all uphill. Turning southwest (left) at about 0.5 miles the trail then begins to climb steeply to the west ridge of Haystack Mountain. A little muddy but was still early in the season. The last stretch is quite steep and I saw a few folks pulling off for a rest. There are some steep parts to the hike. Two of them, as well as the peak, are located on the south trail. Intermediate. A few steep inclines. Still lots of summer foliage and flowers. North Trail: Approximately 0.6 miles past the boat access at Long Pond, the North Trail on Haystack begins at a small parking area on Long Pond Road. It was well worth it. Turn off your ad blocker to see a map of this trail, Haystack Mountain Loop [PRIVATE PROPERTY], Fall Sale! From here, it is a short walk back to the North Trail parking area (approx. I went up the North trail, down the South and brought Long Pond Rd back to the car. Awesome, steady incline to a beautiful summit. The view is great as well just be warned it’s not like most summits as there is no real flat ground to sit on and enjoy lunch while looking out, just a small un level rock face. The summit is small so trying to distance appropriately didn’t work very well. And then it gets into about a mile and a half to 2 mi of hiking. trail is a little over grown but not bad. (Rev. I went today after it rained quite a bit last night, that made coming back down interesting due to the steep grade being slippery. View Haystack Mountain Image Gallery - 5 Images. Would definitely do it again! From the North trail it's a short hike up but a challenging 30 minutes to the summit. Hike Haystack Mountain! today it was hazy, but I was able to see a good amount of the leaves from the summit! Had the trail all to myself one morning and it was pretty magical.