About Hogback Mountain
The Hogback Mountain area has a wealth of natural, scenic and cultural resources. Where else in southern Vermont can you gaze out over a 100 mile view, look at a wonderful collection of flora and fauna at a natural history museum, and then take a hike around nearly 600 acres of woodland in search of those same birds and animals? Hogback Mountain Conservation Area is it.
Between Brattleboro and Bennington, Route 9, the major east-west travel corridor in southern Vermont, bisects the Conservation Area and brings you right to the famous 100 mile view. On a clear day you will be rewarded with views of Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, including Mt. Monadnock to the east and Wachusett Mountain to the south. Pull your car off and enjoy the view for a while. This part of the land includes the headwaters of the Green River watershed, wildlife habitat for a variety of mammals such as porcupine, bobcat, black bear and moose. It also includes summer habitat for Neotropical migrant birds such as the black-throated blue and black-throated green warblers. Over the ridge to the west, where the former Hogback Mountain Ski Area was located, is the Molly Stark State Park. Hiking trails from the park connect with the Conservation Area. If you are here in winter, you may also access the property from the designated VAST snowmobile trail that runs the length of the property, but please go slowly, as there may be folks out cross country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking on intersecting trails.
After you have soaked up the view, take a short walk down the road and stop in at the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum. This quaint little museum has been lovingly restored over the past few years and is a real naturalist’s treat. With over 600 specimens on display in addition to dioramas and a small raptor center, you are sure to find many things to pique your interest.
If your trip to the museum has left you eager for a more intimate connection to nature, try a hike along the trails across Route 9 to the north. The trails are used for cross country skiing and snowshoeing in addition to snowmobiling on designated VAST Trails in the winter and for hiking in the spring, summer, and fall. The trails will pass through hardwood forests dominated by sugar and red maples and beech alongside red oak, birch, and hemlock. As you hike toward the northern end of the ridge, the forest changes from hardwood to softwood, with red spruce the dominant species. This portion of the Hogback Mountain Conservation Area is part of the headwaters of the Deerfield River watershed.
When walking through the spruce and fir forest keep your eyes and ears open for chickadees, golden-crowned kinglets, red squirrels and chipmunks. Scarlet tanagers, hermit and wood thrushes, and white-tailed deer may also be seen in the quiet of the hardwood forest. If you make your way to a wetland or a stream crossing, listen for palm warblers, yellowthroats, and water thrushes. If you’re lucky, moose may be around so keep an eye out for their tracks.