Scenes of Vermont Forums

Well, what a gorgeous day today in Southern VT. Near perfect hiking conditions with bluebird skies and VERY cool temps to start the day. (And no bugs!)

We started out at 8 this morning, a little later than expected and took 91 to 30 to Jamaica State Park. I was layered up - 47 degrees, long shirt, flannel vest and flannel shirt! I just invested in some Darn Tough socks (made in VT) and now there is no turning back! They are awesome!

Jamaica State Park is a true gem, so beautiful with endless camping sites. If I were a camper (not the tent type; for those who know me, maybe glamping? ) this is where I would choose to go. The West River was simply gorgeous, albeit on the low side, it was sunlit and with the water crashing over so many rocks made for quite a beautiful scene. I think this would be a great spot for the photographers when the leaves start to pop! The ranger at the kiosk was so helpful and explained where our trail was located. ($5.00 a person for the day hike).

The West River Trail to Overlook Trail was our destination. The old rail beds along the West River made for an easy hike and actually, I enjoyed this section the most. I think you can continue up this river trail to the Ball Dam and then on to Hamilton Falls. I will include the link at the end. The aroma from camp fires in the morning was so intoxicating, and along with the cool temps, it felt like full blown Autumn!

Some time up the road, we found the marker for the Overlook Trail, blue blazed. This is a fairly gradual, steep climb coined moderate. I had to use my hiking poles this time because of the endless roots and rocks, really had to watch my step! The Overlook was the payoff with views of the valley and mountains (we were on Little Ball Mountain). We stayed here for a snack break before we headed down the loop. There were a large group of folks at the boulders but we found a nice spot nearby. I love hikes with a destination such as a grand view, a waterfall or fire tower. There were some treacherous areas going down the loop, with sketchy parts of the trail full of rocks and roots and washouts from recent rains. We only encountered two muddy spots so I felt pretty lucky in that respect. I hope that if I do return to Jamaica State Park, I will try the hike to Hamilton Falls. We just had enough time to get up to Chester for the festival and took 30 to 100 to 11 east after we left the park for the fair.

The festival was a mob scene! UGH! I've been so many times and this was the most crowded I've ever seen it. The lines at the food booths were crazy long causing time lost to meander the craft booths. But the day was gorgeous and I enjoyed the ride on 100 and 11 to get there. I didn't buy anything this time, oh well! I'll be back up there soon! Colorado Mom, we didn't make it to the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham due to time constraints getting home to CT.

Not sure where my next hike will be but it will happen when the leaves are popped. I've had such wonderful VT hikes this summer up until now and love exploring different parts of Vermont and all the different levels of trails in different towns and villages that are just amazing! The selection of trails in Vermont for all abilities is unreal, and the views and scenery are just incredible as the icing on the cake!

As far as color, it is mostly green as summer but you can see the changes coming and the leaves are dulling on the mountains with a few flares of red and orange here and there. It sometimes felt as if we have a few more cold nights along with these endless stretches of sunshing days, it will move fast! The trees look super healthy and there is no doubt, VT is going to have an incredible foliage season.

Until then, get ready for the show! CT

https://www.trailfinder.info/trails/tra ... state-park

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/verm ... iver-trail

https://www.vtstateparks.com/jamaica.html

https://westrivertrail.org/2014/04/27/w ... a-vermont/

(Had to add this! )
https://darntough.com/

Nice report ctyanky, it sounds like you had a really great trip.

Jamaica State Park is a wonderful place, one of my favorites in southern VT. Yes, if you continue on the West River Trail, it ends at Hamilton Falls, which in my opinion is the second best waterfall in Vt after only Moss Glen in Granville. This trail is a great river hike, and when you get full foliage color, there can be some amazing reflections of color in the river. If you want to visit Hamilton Falls and avoid the full hike along the relatively long trail, you can take West Windham Road (in either Windham or Jamaica, I'm not sure which town its in), and park near the top of Hamilton Falls, and bushwhack down the steep hill that's on the east side of the falls, getting you down to the pool at the bottom of the falls. You need to be in relatively good shape to do this, the uphill return is pretty strenuous.

How low was the water level in the West River, has VT had as much effect from the drought as we have had in CT and MA?

Sounds like you had a great start to your 2022 foliage travels !!!

I'll caveat my waterfall comment by saying Thundering Brook Falls near Killington is pretty darn close 3rd place to Hamilton Falls.

Hi Ed, great to see you back here on the forum. And yes, a great day indeed. I've been up to VT several times this summer and all the days were gorgeous. Next time I go up, I'm not going to pack in other events on top of the hikes. Just too much!

As far as your question on the water levels.... I can tell you what I saw and do not have any comparisons from previous trips, but you might infer from the answer I give. Most of, if not all, the rocks were showing in the river stretch near the West River trail we took until we got to the overlook detour. The water was definitely rushing, just low enough for the river rocks to be mostly above rather than below the current. When we drove around Jamaica, the river beds were often dried up.

I would love to go to Hamilton Falls but not take the long hike up to get there unless you can tell me that it is safer than "bushwacking" down to the falls. Does this mean there is no trail or path from above? I would hesitate then. I'm totally fine with a steep and arduous climb back up if there is a path but coming down from above with no trail scares me!

The drought in Vermont is no where near what southern NE has experienced. Actually, we have had a good share of rain in northern CT, despite that they say we are still in one. We went from severe and moderate in parts and now we are abnormally dry and moderate. More rain tomorrow too. I can't speak for MA. Our trees are really looking ok and I remain optimistic. Over Avon Mountain, the reds and rubies are intense with the ones appearing now. I do feel the season may start early if we end up with low rain amounts in the next week or so. The nights are relatively cool, not cold though, but we are getting long stretches of sunshiny days. I don't see a lot of crinkly trees yet except those on cliff ridgelines due to stress.

What are the signs pointing to in your next of the woods????

PS Still want to meet up with you sometime for Enders Falls! It's been open awhile now.

ctyanky, the term bushwhack means there is no trail from the top of Hamilton Falls to the bottom. You have to scramble down about 30 yards through the woods to get down to the base of the falls (there is a large flat viewing area at the base, where the trail terminates). The slope is kind of steep, but you can grab onto trees to make it easier to get up or down. If you really want to see Hamilton falls, and are in reasonably good shape, it sure beats the 3 mile one way hike from the state park campground.

Every thing is still all green here in eastern Massachusetts, the swamp maples haven't even turned yet. The rainy weather in September seems to have helped the trees, they don't look quite as stressed as they did in late August.

We will see, the cold weather recently may help too.