Hi friends, welcome to part two of my weekend in Manchester, Vermont! I was most excited about hiking on our trip and seeing the fall foliage, and it was everything I had hoped and imagined it would be! The leaves were the perfect color and it was so amazing to be in the fresh air and beautiful surroundings. I was lucky enough to be able to take some amazing pictures while I was there, but I definitely recommend checking out Vermont for yourself in the fall if you have the chance!
I planned out two hikes for Jon and me on our trip, a 4 mile one with a pretty waterfall, and then an 8 mile hike to the top of Mount Equinox. I figured that the hikes would be a lot easier than our rock scrambling adventure in Breakneck Ridge, but little did we know what was in store.
Our first hike in Vermont was to Lye Brooks Falls to see one of Vermont’s tallest waterfalls. We went later in the day so we hiked pretty quickly to avoid the sun setting, but the sunlight on the leaves was so pretty!
The trail started out easy but there were rocks all over the path so you had to watch where you stepped and had to keep your head down. The incline was manageable, some places was a little steep but then it would level out.
We even had to cross some little streams to get across. We would hear a waterfall and think we were there, but then it would be these rivers.
It felt like we were chasing the waterfall forever, but we finally made it and got to have the waterfall all to ourselves!
The hike to Lye Brook Falls took about two hours and is a moderate hike. I would highly recommend this hike to anyone visiting Manchester.
The next day I had the crazy idea of hiking Mount Equinox. We read the reviews the night before and they all said the same thing: you will be going up a steep incline the entire 3.1 miles. The reviews were completely accurate, this hike was no joke, but worth it for the views!
This is Jon and I’s third time hiking this year so we had to take some breaks along the way. My phone health app estimated that we climbed 250 stories in about 3.5 miles. The steepness also made for a tough trek both up and down the mountain, so I definitely recommend hiking boots to avoid slipping.
It took a little less than two hours to get to the top and we were rewarded with the most incredible views! From the top of Mount Equinox you can see New Hampshire, New York, and Massachusetts. You can also drive up to the top of the mountain on the longest privately-owned toll road in the US at 5.2 miles. It will cost you $20 per car, and an additional $5 per passenger. We saved money by hiking up the mountain 😉
All smiles because we accomplished a major feat!
All in all, we spent a total of about 4.5 hours on this trail. There’s a nice visitor center at the top that has rest rooms, water, and seating so we were able to unwind a bit before the trek down. The lodge also had some cool displays which covered the history of the mountain. The hike down took about two hours because we had to go slow. The leaves were very slippery, and it was a little wet in some spots.
Mount Equinox was an incredibly difficult hike because of the insanely steep incline and it rightfully deserves its hard rating! I would not recommend this for everyone because of how challenging it is. The hike was a great workout, my heart rate was quite high the whole time and we ended up walking about 8 miles.
Thanks for reading! I hope this inspires you to go for a hike and experience the beauty of Vermont for yourselves. Next week I’ll be wrapping up my trip and sharing some fall activities in Manchester so stay tuned.
Great post 😊
Beautiful!