Pedestrian Recreation
There are presently about 25 miles of hikeable forest roads and trails in Fairlee Forest (excluding older unmapped skid roads), and another 5-10 that are open to the public on private land (Palisades Trail and Sawyer Mountain Trail). Those in Fairlee Forest connect with those in West Fairlee’s Brushwood Community Forest (BCF) and extend north to BCF’s recent addition of land formerly belonging to the town of Bradford. The 36-mile Cross Rivendell hiking trail traverses the Fairlee Forest east to west from the Appalachian Trail intersection on the summit of Mount Cube in New Hampshire to Flag Pole Hill in Vershire, Vermont.
A favorite destination within Fairlee is Bald Top Mountain, with its panoramic views of the surrounding Vermont hills and New Hampshire’s White Mountains. In 2014 the Fairlee Forest Board removed trees that had been encroaching on the view and the non-native buckthorn trees that had been replacing native shrubs on open ground. Bald Top can be reached from a number of the old forest roads, but most hikers prefer the Cross Rivendell Trail. Other nice destinations are Eagles Bluff on Echo Mountain Trail, with its view over Lake Morey; Glens Falls, reached either from the lower Cross Rivendell Trail or a path along the brook from Lake Morey Road; the downstream Connecticut River views on Palisades Trail; and big upstream Connecticut River views from Sawyer Mountain.
In winter, there is no limit to possibilities for snowshoeing in Fairlee, including in Fairlee Forest, and, although the steep terrain is extremely challenging on skis, adrenalin junkies with expert skills and the right equipment have been known to venture on the VAST trails when snowmobile traffic (never heavy) is particularly light midweek. For maps and more detailed trail descriptions please see the Maps & Trails page
