Mount Mansfield via Long Trail

The Mount Mansfield via Long Trail hike ascends Vermont highest peak at 4,395 feet via America oldest long-distance hiking trail, established by the Green Mountain Club in 1910. The route climbs through dense northern hardwood and boreal forest before emerging onto the dramatic ridge of Mansfield, where the rocky crest is shaped like a human profile when viewed from the Champlain Valley below, giving rise to the names for the summit features: the Chin, Nose, and Forehead.

The summit ridge supports a rare and fragile alpine zone, home to Arctic plants that survive here at their southernmost range limit. Hiking on the designated trails and rocky surfaces is essential to protect this irreplaceable ecosystem, which has survived thousands of years of harsh conditions. The views from the Chin, the true summit, encompass the Green Mountains stretching north into Canada, Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, and on clear days the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The Long Trail corridor on Mansfield also connects to the Appalachian Trail, which shares the route through Vermont. This is the signature hike of the Green Mountain State and an essential Vermont outdoor experience.