Groton State Forest

Continuing to explore Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, I spent a day wandering the trails of the 26,000-acre Groton State Forest, which includes several small state parks within its boundaries. First I made a stop at Seyon Lodge State Park, which has an interesting history as a sawmill site, trout hatchery and private fishing and hunting lodge, owned by Harry K. Noyes. He named it Seyon Ranch (Noyes spelled backwards).

 

The formerly private lodge is now owned by the state and can be rented by groups of up to 16.

Noyes Pond is a renowned fly-fishing destination. Spruce Mountain rises off to the west.

 

I made a short bushwhack to the south shore to get a view of the new bright white slide on Spruce Mountain that I had bushwhacked to two days earlier.

 

 

Tabletop Mountain rises to the north.

  

A sea of goldenrod along Seyon Pond Road. 

 

Then I headed over to New Discovery State Park to climb the little peak of Owlshead Mountain (1,958 ft.), which is one of the 20 summits on the Northeast Kingdom Mountain Challenge list. Though you can drive to within 0.3 mile of the summit on a gravel road, I preferred to make it a hike, albeit an easy one at 3.8 miles round trip with 500 ft. of elevation gain.

The Owls Head Trail is pleasant woods walking as it meanders through hardwood forest.

 

 

From the top of the auto road the trail is steeper as it climbs rock steps placed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

 

 

The unique stone hut at the summit was also built by the CCC.

 

Good views from the summit ledges. 

 

 

 

 

The iconic Owlshead (or Owl's Head or Owls Head) view overlooks Kettle Pond flanked by Hardwood Mountain and Kettle Mountain. 

Zoom on Kettle Pond. Mt. Ethan Allen and Camel's Hump can be seen in the distance.

The sharp peak of Spruce Mountain.

 

 

I followed a well-beaten path SE along the ledgy ridge and descended to a secluded perch with a view of Lake Groton and distant peaks in the western Whites.

Mount Moosilauke, Mount Kineo, Carr Mountain and Piermont Mountain.

 

Back at the summit ledges, a peek at the impressive cliffs of Marshfield Mountain in the NW corner of Groton State Forest.  

With the luxury of a long summer day, I drove a half-mile to the Osmore Pond Picnic Area for another short hike, visiting Osmore Pond and Little Deer Mountain.

Osmore Pond is a beautiful, quiet water body. There were loons with young out on the water.

Big Deer Mountain is seen across the pond. 

 

 

 

I followed the loop trail along the west shore.

A premier picnic spot.

A branch trail leads up Little Deer Mountain (1,760 ft.).

It's a pleasant 0.5 mile, 300-ft. climb with just one short, mildly steep section.

 

Ledges at the top offer a framed view of Lake Groton.

Zoomed. Groton State Forest has much to offer, and I look forward to returning soon.

 

Spruce Mountain (Vermont) Summit & Slide

For many years I have gazed at the lumpy outline of Vermont's Signal Mountain Range, which is prominent in the mid-distance from many viewpoints in the western Whites. The highest peaks in that range - Signal, Burnt, Butterfield and Knox - are trailless, but the pointy peak at the north end, Spruce Mountain, has a trail and fire tower. Spruce is also on the list of 20 summits on the Northeast Kingdom Mountain Challenge, which I am now working on, sort of. I had often wondered what the views from Spruce would be like. 

 

Adding to the allure of climbing Spruce was the recent appearance of a bright white rock scar on its NE shoulder, which I think I first noticed looking west from Blueberry Mountain in the Benton Range. I had also gotten glimpses of it while driving west on Route 302 in Groton, VT, en route to the Adirondacks.

 

The 1 1/2 hour drive to the trailhead on Spruce Mountain Rd. ended with a steep, winding climb up a dirt road.

The first half of the 2.1 mile, 1200-ft. elevation gain climb to Spruce follows an old logging road at easy grades.

The trail passes by a beaver wetland. 

Rocky footing! The trail soon gets steeper, but rarely at a grade more than moderate.

 

Interesting boulder cave beside the trail.

 

 

Another cave.

 

 

Mossy spruce forest on the upper mountain.

 

Much of the upper part of the trail traverses ledge slabs.

 

 The fire tower at the 3037-ft. summit is 50 ft. tall and was moved here in 1943, replacing an earlier tower.

 

 

 

A short distance NE of the tower are ledges with a good view east.

The western White Mountains sprawl in the distance beyond Noyes Pond, including the Twins, the Franconia Range, the Kinsmans, the Osceolas, Middle/South Tripyramid, Tecumseh and Moosilauke.

The massive bulk of Moosilauke.

 

The 360-degree view from the tower is quite impressive. This vista looks west to the Green Mountains.

Zoom on Camel's Hump and Mt. Ethan Allen.

 

 

Vast view to the north.

 

The cliffs of Marshfield Mountain, located in Groton State Forest, are prominent.

 

An intriguing view of the Signal Mountain Range trailing away to the south - much of which is also in the 26,000-acre Groton State Forest. Signal Mountain (3370 ft.), the highest peak, is on the left. 

 

 

A wide view east towards the Whites.

 Zoomed.

 

 

 

Looking down from the cab of the fire tower. 

 

 

After a long stint studying the views from the tower, I headed into the woods for the steep descent off the cone of Spruce, aiming for the NE shoulder and the rock scar.

 

 

Though the whack was not long at ~0.6-0.7 mile, it was slow going due to luxuriant fern growth and brush concealing the footing, mixed with numerous blowdowns.

The fern glades were gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

In places the ferns were waist-high. Somewhere in here I left Groton State Forest and entered privately owned but unposted land. Vermont has a long tradition of public access for recreation to unposted land. Of course, visitors must treat the land with respect and refrain from camping, marking routes, etc.

 

Moose bed.

 

 

This is a unique area.

Slow going through here.

 

 

I descended steeply off the shoulder through spruce forest and caught my first glimpse of the scar.

 

 

Holy cow! The scar is a short and wide slide of bright clean granite. It seems likely that the slide fell during the torrential rains of July 10-11, 2024, when up to five inches of rain caused major flooding in the nearby Barre, VT area. The slide was not visible from viewpoints in the western Whites in the spring of 2024, but it was clearly seen from Mount Moosilauke in late August of that year.

 

 

 

View east from the top of the slide. 

 

 

Looking over to Signal Mountain.

 

Wide-angle view.

When I first got here, I thought there would be no safe way to get out on the slide. Then I noticed a less steep shelf down a bit on the north side. I made my way carefully down through the woods on that side, getting this perspective from the upper north corner.

Farther down, I was able to step out onto the beautiful clean, grippy granite.

Looking up at the steep  headwall.

 

There was a gently sloping shelf suitable for sitting.

 

Looking across from my perch. Measured on Google Earth, the slide is 210 ft. long and 130 ft. wide, with an average slope of 35 degrees.

 

 

 

Tree destruction at the base of the slide. On the Lidar contour map there is a brief leveling of the slope at the base of the slide, which perhaps explains why the scar is not longer.

Parting shot of an amazing spot.

Climbing back up the slope.

 

 

Up on the shoulder, blowdowns lurking in the ferns.

A peek at the summit and fire tower on the way back.

Back through the fern glades.

 

Evening view towards the Whites.

 

Homeward bound on Spruce Mountain Trail.

Two days later I returned to the area for more hiking in Groton State Forest. My first stop was Seyon Lodge State Park, where I made a short bushwhack to the south shore of Noyes Pond for a view of Spruce Mountain and the slide.

The slide will be a prominent landmark for years to come.