A Scenic Drive---response to MJMSS

[dkramer]

Well...hmmm....half a day, huh? Well, you already have a nice idea from Arlene regarding the NE Kingdom...so here's an idea in case you want to stay closer to the inn you're staying at.<P>Start out by heading into Waitsfield. Right before you hit Route 17, there is a right turn onto Bragg Hill Road. Go up to Bragg Hill and at the clearing, check out that view!! One of the best in the Mad River Valley for sure. If you continue to the top of the hill, you will come to an intersection with Kew-Vasseur Road. Make a left (I think this might be No. Nine Hill Road...someone correct me if I am wrong). First house on the left is the house of Spike Vasseur. If he's home, he's got a lot of great maple syrup at a great price (Grade A Fancy or Medium). My family has been using the Vasseur Bros. for years. Anyway, if that road is No. Nine Hill Rd., you can continue and it will intersect Rte. 17. Make a right to go up to the Appalachian Gap (nice view at the top) or make a left to go back into Waitsfield. If I have the road slightly off, I suggest you just double back and go down Bragg Hill into Waitsfield and make two rights to get onto 17. I say go up to the top of the App Gap on 17. It's worth it. Unless you want to go into the Champlain Valley, I suggest you come back to Waitsfield down Rte. 17 afterward...and that's enough for the turning around part of this drive!!<P>Back in Waitsfield, make a left heading north on Rte. 100. Continue through Duxbury, then, Waterbury, then Stowe. Make a left on Rte. 108 in Stowe. This is the Mountain Road. Take this up the mountain (Mount Mansfield...tallest in the state 4393'), and into Smugglers' Notch. This becomes a VERY tight road once you pass the Stowe Ski areas. No trailers or busses here!! There is parking at the top of the Notch. A nice hidden spot with 1000' cliffs at either side. Then, continue down the other side (passing Smugglers' Notch Ski Resort) and into Jeffersonville. Make a right onto Rte. 15 East. Take this for a few miles into Morrisville, and take 100 South back towards Stowe (a side trip towards Elmore is also possible here). Go back through Waterbury, but where 100 splits off from Rte. 2 just south of Waterbury, stay on 2. Continue for 5 miles into Middlesex and make a right onto 100B. About 6 miles from there is Moretown. At a rather big bend in the road, you will see a steep road on your left. Take it. This is Moretown Com. Road. Stay right at the fork onto Moretown Mtn. Road. Continue for 9 miles into Northfield. At the end of the road, make a right onto Rte. 12 South. Enjoy the ride through Northfield! Follow signs for Roxbury, which will point towards Rte. 12A (a right turn I am pretty sure). A few miles away is Roxbury. A sign for Warren (8 miles away at that point) will point right, up a mountain road. Make that right and climb yet again (you're just going over the Northfield Range again like you did from Moretown). At the top of the mountain, pull over for an incredible view of the Mad River Valley. Then, continue to the bottom and a four-way intersection. make a right onto East Warren Road. Follow that road until it crosses the Waitsfield Village Bridge and onto Bridge Street whcih intersects 100 again. You are basically back to where you started.<P>There are many ways to shorten the trip. The most notable is to not go to Northfield. If you continue on 100B South through Moretown and continue straight, 100B will become 100 South (it joins in from the right), and you will end up in Waitsfield in just a few minutes.<P>I hope this was helpful. Enjoy!<P>Daniel

[sharan]

Hi Daniel,<BR>Thanks for all of your suggestions on this forum. I would love to get some of that maple syrup you mentioned!<BR>How far is it to Appalachian Gap after turning right onto 17?

[dkramer]

From the bottom (Rte. 100), it is about 5 miles to Mad River Glen Ski Area, and then maybe only 2 or so miles to the top of the App Gap from there. Those two miles are considerably steeper and windier than the first five. A very do-able drive on a nicely paved road. Number Nine Hill Road is about 2-3 miles up 17 from 100. I'm going to go check my map to figure this one out...I'll post back when I figure this out!<P>Daniel

[dkramer]

Okay...checked it out. Number Nine Road is the left off of Bragg Hill Road. If you continue on #9 Hill, you will get back to Rte. 17 about 2 miles up from Rte. 100. Make your right there to get to the App Gap. Check out Mapquest for a map if you want. The signage should be good. Since Vermont went to the 911 system a couple of years ago, the signs for the roads have gotten much better. And, all roads are named (including long private driveways, fyi).<P>One more thing, though 17 is paved, I should tell you that part of Bragg Hill Road and #9 Hill Rd. are not. They are hard packed and in very good shape. I do hope that we convert you into a dirt road driver! At least a little bit...don't want to miss the views and the syrup, do you? I assure you I do all of these roads with a Civic...not exactly a powerhouse of a car. Hope this helps.<P>Danielo

[Kerry Gough]

Daniel has done a GREAT job in the information and routes he suggested to you. Though a southerner, I stay in Waitsfield every year during foliage time and I have taken all those roads. <P>A couple of suggestions that I add to your enjoyment of the excellent routes given to you. As you go up Rt. 100 towards Stowe, be sure to stop at the Cold Hollow and taste their fresh apple cider and cider donuts, and see the cider being made. (You will come to Ben and Jerry's first, but I recommend you pass it up, as it takes a good bit of time, that can be better spent seeing the natural beauty of Vermont.)<P>As you turn left on to Rt. 108 towards Smugglers Notch, you will come to a road to the left that will take you a mile or so to the Trapp Family Lodge. It is a beautiful view from up there and is nice to see and does not take very long.<P>Your well described tour can be shortened by not going to the, but you will miss a beautiful drive by skipping it. From where you turn off 100B to go to Northfield Falls, it is only about 34 miles to make the loop and end up back in Waitsfield. You would see the three covered bridges at Northfield Falls, and Norwich University is a pretty place in Northfield. It was the founding place of ROTC. And that view from Roxbury Gap, looking back down at Mad River Valley, is one of the best!<P>When you come off of Roxbury Gap and meet East Warren Road, you can continue across to the airport. If the gliders are active, it is kind of fun to watch them a few minutes. If it should happen to be lunch time, go on down into Warren to the Warren Store. A bowl of chowder, and a delicious home made cookie for dessert, taste great out on their side porch above the flowing brook.<P>Enjoy!

[pwt54]

Great rides there. The road to Trapp's is the Luce Hill Road. It's about 300 feet pass the SHED, a great place to eat and a micro-brewery to boot. The road for the 3 bridges in Northfield Falls is called the Cox Brook Road. It starts right next to The Falls General Store. However if you go south 1/3 of a mile south to the Slaughterhouse Road there is another covered bridge there. It's the nicest of the 4 bridges there. There is another bridge on Stoney Brook Road off route 12a. Route 12a is just south of Norwich College. Stoney Brook Road is just pass the railroad overpass on the right. Have fun.

[MJMSS]

Thanks for all the advice. I am looking forward to my trip up there in a little over a week from now. I'll let you know how it went when I return home.

[MJMSS]

Thank you all so much for your recommendations. I am excited about my visit next week. It sounds like I picked a good time to see everything at peak. I'll let you know how the trip went when I return. Thanks again for taking time to answer my question.

[karielaw]

Thanks for the great information on the drives and things to see. I am always looking for things I have not seen and I think I will enjoy the Norwich/Warren area.

[karielaw]

Thanks for the great information on the drives and things to see. I am always looking for things I have not seen and I think I will enjoy the Norwich/Warren area.