Review: Green Mountain Club Northeast Kingdom Hiking Trail Map
If you are exploring Vermont's Northeast Kingdom on foot and are looking for a map that covers the major hiking areas within the Kingdom, then you should take a look at the Green Mountain Club's Northeast Kingdom Hiking Trail Map. This small map covers a number of different areas in the Kingdom and provides trailhead directions and other information about reaching the trails that are shown on the map.Having gone to college at Lyndon State in the Northeast Kingdom, one thing I always wanted was a good hiking map for the area that showed all the trails that are in the area. The White Mountain have them from AMC, as do plenty of other areas, but Vermont always seemed to not have the greatest map coverage at the time that I was in school. That is changing now with maps like this. While this map does not cover the entire Northeast Kingdom, it does provide a good look at the major hiking areas within the Kingdom and is a good starting point for anyone looking to hike in the area.
The map covers six areas of the Northeast Kingdom, which include:
- Gore Mountain in Avery's Gore, VT;
- Brousseau and Averill Mountains in Norton, VT;
- Monadnock Mountain in Lemington, VT;
- Bluff Mountain in Brighton, VT;
- Burke Mountain in Burke, VT; and
- Lake Willoughby in Westmore and Sutton, VT
Map Details
The map itself, which folds up into a small, pocket size, is made from a waterpoof and tearproof material, which makes it great for keeping in your pocket while you are hiking. The scale, which carries over to all the maps in the set, is large and gives you a close-up look at many of the trails and mountains in the coverage areas.
Each map includes a details on the mileage and directions to reach the trailheads for the trails that are shown on the maps. This comes in handy as some trailheads are located on unmaintained roads or need a bit of extended directions to find.
Trails are labeled on the map with both difficulty and mileage between trail intersections and landmarks. No matter the color marking on the ground, all the trails are marked in red dashed lines on the map. The difficult scale is fairly accurate going from easy to very difficult. Mileages are also accurate. State and public land boundaries are shown, as are shelters, campgrounds, mountain summits, viewpoints and parking areas/trailheads.
Experiences
Having found many of the trails shown on these maps either by accident or through written descriptions, I have to admit that it is nice to have them all in one place on one map. It makes it easier to plan out hikes when I am in the Northeast Kingdom and to find places that I have not already hiked.
I like how the map is made so I can keep it in my pocket while hiking. Through several walks and hikes, it has not come out any worse for the wear - no ink runs or smearing.
I really like the trailhead/parking area descriptions. Many of these trailheads are sort of "turn left at the big tree, drive a few miles, parking in the gravel pit" kind of places and the descriptions on this map makes them a bit easier to find than just having a "P" somewhere on a map.
Final Thoughts
For $4.95, this map is a deal. It gives you a good overview of the majority of hiking opportunities in the Northeast Kingdom, provides directions to the trailheads shown on the maps, and includes trail ratings and mileages. True it does not cover every trail in the Northeast Kingdom, but for a small map that can fit in your pocket, I think that it does a good job.
I would recommend the map to anyone who would like to hike in the Northeast Kingdom.
Comments
Post a Comment