Carriage Road Walk

The historic carriage road on Mount Philo is a relic of the mountain's early development as a summer resort destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when wealthy Champlain Valley families drove horse-drawn carriages to the summit for picnics and the celebrated lake views. The road's stone-lined edges, carefully laid in the fashion of New England agricultural stonework, remain clearly defined along much of the route and speak to the considerable labor invested in making the summit accessible to Victorian-era leisure travelers. The graded road surface follows a longer, more gradual route to the summit than the hiking trails, winding around the mountain's contours through second-growth northern hardwood forest that has recolonized former pasture and carriage road margins over the past century. Stone walls crossing the forested slopes are additional evidence of the former agricultural use of the mountain's lower flanks, when the Champlain Valley's farms extended far up the hillsides before marginal lands were abandoned to forest succession in the early 20th century. The road serves today as the vehicle access route to the summit campground and picnic area, making the walk uphill a pleasant option for those wanting to earn the view on foot while remaining on a stable, easy-to-follow surface. The summit area includes tent platforms and a small lean-to shelter accessible to overnight campers who hike in.