Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Vermont boasts plenty of pretty panoramas. But the state’s most dramatic landscape is the view of Lake Willoughby from atop Mt. Pisgah. When a glacier came through the area 12,000 year ago, it cut through the granite like a knife, leaving sheer cliffs on each side of the deepest lake in Vermont — Willoughby is 312 feet deep in some places. From above, it looks like shimmering blue stone — more like a Norwegian fjord than a Vermont watering hole. To catch the South Trail up Pisgah, follow Route 5A to the south end of the lake — near the nudie beach. After about half a mile, you’ll see a parking lot on the left. It’s a little more than a mile to the top, and there’s a great lookout part way up. PHOTO: HIKE NEW ENGLAND

get directions or view larger map...