The Lye Brook Wilderness Loop is an easy weekend loop in Vermont with a few different distance options. It can be completed in 2-3 days.
Region: New England (Lye Brook Wilderness, Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont)
Length: 11-23 miles (2-3 days)*
*Lowest mileage is only for the loop of the Lye Brook Wilderness. Higher mileage varies depending on which trail you use to access the loop, and whether you climb Stratton Mountain. We’ve mapped a mid-distance option, and written out a few different itineraries.
Physical Difficulty: Easy
- Wide, mostly flat trail
- Little elevation gain
- Plenty of spots for cooling off in a stream or pond on a hot day
Logistical Difficulty: Easy
- Park at one of multiple trailheads for a loop hike
- Short hike, no resupply needed
- Water plentiful
Season: Year-round
Elevation (average): ~2,000 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 2,100 feet
Hiking the Lye Brook Wilderness
This is an easy loop trail that passes through mixed evergreen and northern hardwood forests. Stratton and Bourn ponds are the gems of the hike, although only Bourn Pond is in the Lye Brook Wilderness. A third pond, Branch Pond, can be reached by a side trail. It’s a great trip for backpackers of any experience and age.
This isn’t a hike to rush. Enjoy the ponds, and listen to the loons floating on them. Cool off in a stream. I hiked the wilderness loop in two days, taking the AT / LT over Stratton Mountain to William B. Douglas Shelter on the Branch Pond Trail. The second day I hiked the Branch Pond Trail past Bourn Pond, the Lye Brook Trail to Stratton Pond, the Stratton Pond Trail to the Stratton-Arlington Road, and a short walk to my car at the AT / LT trailhead.
I had planned a different route, camping at the ponds and climbing Stratton Mountain as a day hike, but changed my plans in order to climb Stratton on a guaranteed blue-sky day. So the hike I didn’t take—and wish I had—is the one I will describe.
Start your hike at the well-marked Stratton Pond Trail trailhead, with a parking area off Stratton-Arlington Road (also known at Kelley Stand Road).
The trail ascends gradually through hardwood forests for ~4 miles to Stratton Pond. Plank boardwalks—or puncheons—on the trail keep your feet dry and off sensitive areas. About halfway to the pond the Catamount Trail—a cross-country ski trail—joins the hiking trail until diverging north of Stratton Pond.
Continue about a quarter mile past the junction with the Lye Brook Trail until you reach the pond, the shelter, the caretaker’s tent, and the AT / LT junction. The junction is well-marked with a sign indicating a right turn to ascend Stratton Mountain, straight ahead briefly along the shore to follow the AT / LT to the Branch Pond Trail. This is a good time to stop in the clearing on the pond’s shoreline and have a drink of water, a snack, or lunch.
Soon after leaving the pond the trail enters the Lye Brook Wilderness, and you’ll stay in the wilderness until shortly before returning to Stratton Pond on day two. This was a beautiful hike the day that I did it in mid-October, with a palette of bluebird skies splattered by bright yellow leaves. I met several LT thru-hikers nearing the trail’s southern terminus at the Massachusetts border, and two AT thru-hikers on their way to Georgia. I took breaks often, not because I was tired, but because I wanted to savor the day.
Soon the trail crosses a bridge over a stream feeding the Winhall River, another picture-perfect spot to stop. Fill up with water here if you’ll stay at Douglas Shelter because the small spring at the shelter can be low and hard to get water from.
Shortly afterward you’ll turn left on the Branch Pond Trail, while the AT / LT continues north.
Douglas Shelter, where I put up my tent, is a half mile down the trail.
From the shelter the trail runs along Bourn Brook for a while before turning uphill on a freshly blazed reroute, and continues off and on along old forest roads, with little elevation gain.
Soon you’ll reach the Bourn Pond North campsite, followed quickly by the West campsite, and then the South camping area. I recommend staying at the West site. It has the best pond access and flattest tent spots. It’s definitely a primitive campsite, but the pond views are superb.
Day 1 miles: ~12
On day two, break camp and hike 2.3 miles to the Stratton View Shelter, taking the Branch Pond Trail to the Lye Brook Trail. Just before leaving the Lye Brook Wilderness there’s a stream that can be too deep to wade across, and requires crossing on a large logjam where the stream enters a marshy area.
I recommend setting up camp at Stratton Pond, and then packing up for a moderately steep day hike (7.6 miles round trip) up Stratton Mountain (3,940 feet). Follow the Lye Brook Trail to the junction with the Stratton Pond Trail, and then back to the AT / LT junction you passed on day one. It’s moderate climb on the AT / LT to the wooded summit of Stratton, and the 360 views from the fire tower on top are incredible. This is the mountain where the ideas for the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail originated.
There’s a caretaker’s hut on top staffed from May to October. And a trail leads less than a mile to the Stratton Mountain ski area and the gondola that brings thousands of tourists a year to the Stratton summit.
Day 2 miles: ~9.5
After a night at Stratton Pond, hike a half mile on the Lye Brook Trail and then out to your car on the Stratton Pond Trail.
Day 3 miles: ~5.2
How to Get to the Lye Brook Wilderness
Closest Cities: Manchester, Vermont; Brattleboro, Vermont
There are multiple trails leading into the Lye Brook Wilderness.
From the Arlington-Stratton Road in Stratton:
The Appalachian Trail / Long Trail: 6.9 miles to Stratton Pond and the Lye Brook Trail
Stratton Pond Trail: 3.7 miles to Stratton Pond and the Lye Brook Trail.
Branch Pond Trail: 4.3 miles to Bourn Pond and the Lye Brook Trail; passes a short side trail to Branch Pond
From Manchester:
Glen Road, Lye Brook Trail: 7.3 miles to Bourn Pond; passes a short side trail to 125-foot-high Lye Brook Falls
Rootville Road, Prospect Rock Trail: .9 miles to the AT / LT and Branch Pond Trail junction; passes Prospect Rock, a popular day hike with a view of Manchester
From Arlington, Kelley Stand Road, which turns into the Arlington-Stratton Road, provides access to the Branch Pond and Stratton Pond trails, and the AT / LT trailhead.
From New York City or Albany, New York, the best access is on the western side of the wilderness from Route 7 in Arlington or Manchester. From the Boston area, there are multiple trailheads on the Arlington-Stratton Road off Route 100 north of Wilmington, Vermont.
For public transportation, take a Vermont Translines bus from Albany to Manchester, and a shuttle to the trailhead. The Green Mountain Club has a list of public transportation options and shuttle providers.
When to Hike the Lye Brook Wilderness
Spring: Probably the worst season for hiking in Vermont. The Green Mountain Club asks hikers to stay off trails during mud season, which can be from early April to Memorial Day. And the black flies in late May and early June are nasty.
Summer: Days can be hot and humid, but that makes cooling off in the ponds and streams so enjoyable. Bugs can persist until late July and early August.
Fall: The bugs are gone, the air cools off, and the weather is mostly dry. Occasional hot days still make the ponds and streams tempting for a dip. And the fall colors are spellbinding.
Winter: Vermont doesn’t shut down when the weather turns cold and snowy. Stratton Pond and the Lye Brook Wilderness are popular overnight backpacking destinations in the winter. The Arlington-Stratton Road is plowed from Route 100 in West Wardsboro as far as the AT / LT trailhead, and is a good place to park your car. It’s also busy with snowmobilers using the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) trails that crisscross the state. The trails do not enter the Lye Brook Wilderness. The Catamount Trail for cross-country skiers merges briefly with the Stratton Pond Trail and the AT / LT.
One-Day Itinerary: Park at the Stratton Pond Trail trailhead on the Stratton-Arlington Road, hike to Stratton Pond, follow the AT / LT, Branch Pond Trail, Lye Brook Trail, and Stratton Pond Trail back to your car. 18.6 miles
Two-Day Itinerary: Park at the AT / LT trailhead on the Stratton-Arlington Road. Hike over Stratton Mountain to Stratton Pond, and continue following the AT / LT to the Branch Pond Trail. Douglas Shelter is a half mile south on the trail. On day two continue on the Branch Pond Trail to the Lye Brook Trail, then on the Stratton Pond Trail to the Stratton-Arlington Road, and back to your car. 12.3 and 10.5 miles. Total miles, 22.8
Three-Day Itinerary: Park at the Stratton Pond Trail trailhead, follow the trail to the AT / LT junction at Stratton Pond, head north on the AT / LT, then turn south on the Branch Pond Trail to Bourn Pond for the night. On day two, hike to the Stratton View Shelter, set up camp, then day hike to the summit of Stratton Mountain. Take the Lye Brook Trail and Stratton Pond Trail back to your car. 12, 9.5, and 5.2 miles. Total miles, 26.7
Lye Brook Wilderness Terrain
It doesn’t get any easier than the Lye Brook Wilderness. Most of the land is above 2,500 feet on a high plateau with bogs, streams, and ponds. The steepest sections are the climb on the Lye Brook and Prospect Rock trails from Manchester. The AT / LT cross the northern tip for about 4.5 miles. The forests are mainly birch, beech, and maple, with thickets of evergreens. The trails sometimes follow old railroad beds and logging roads that crisscross the wilderness. Trails can be muddy, with plank bridges crossing some wet areas. A deep stream crossing at the edge of the wilderness just before Stratton Pond requires walking across a logjam.
Logistics: Permits, Camping, Water
Permits: The Green Mountain Club has a caretaker at the Stratton Pond shelter and campsite, and charges overnight camping fees. The caretaker season is typically from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend.
Camping: Stratton Pond Shelter and campsite. Stratton Pond is the largest body of water on the Long Trail, and the most heavily used location on the AT in Vermont. Bear boxes at the shelter and campsite. Stratton View Shelter is a half mile from the Stratton Pond Shelter on the Lye Brook Trail. The North Shore Trail to the campsite has been closed. Privy and fire pits at the shelter and campsite.
The William B. Douglas Shelter is in good shape considering that it’s about a mile from the nearest road, but shelter logbooks indicate it is mice-infested. I slept in my tent and used a bear canister. Privy, fire pit, no bear box.
Bourn Pond campsites. There are three: North, West, and South, all close together. North and West share an open-air privy about ten feet from the North campsite access trail that’s definitely not for shy people. The South open-air privy is up a trail away from the campsite. All the sites have fire pits enclosed by dead trees for seating. The tent areas are flat areas in the trees. Of the three, West looked the best to me for tenting and has the best water access. The shoreline at South is weedy, and water is from a stream.
Water: Plentiful. No more info needed.
Know Before You Go
Bears: The Green Mountain National Forest requires food to be hung 12 feet above the ground and six feet from a tree, or stored in a bear canister, an Ursack, or a bear box at a shelter.
Route finding: Green Mountain Club Long Trail map; Lye Brook Wilderness maps. Blazes can be sparse, but the trails are well-worn and easy to follow. The Lye Brook Trail has been rerouted away from Stratton Pond shortly after leaving Stratton View Shelter until the junction with Stratton Pond Trail in an effort to protect the fragile shoreline. The North Shore Trail to the campsite from the AT / LT has been closed. A short reroute of the Branch Pond Trail between Douglas Shelter and Bourn Pond is well-marked.
Trail Reroute at Stratton Pond: The Green Mountain Club finished a major reroute of the Lye Brook Trail away from the fragile shoreline of Stratton Pond in October 2020. That leaves access to the pond only at the Stratton View Shelter on the west end and Willis Ross Clearing on the east end, near the shelter.
Kelley Stand Road / Stratton-Arlington Road: A popular road to travel during summer and fall, but it’s not plowed all the way through during the winter. Sen. Daniel Webster, representing Massachusetts in Congress, spoke to more than 15,000 people at a Whig Party political gathering in a field off Kelley Stand Road in July 1840. A marker commemorates the spot about a mile east of the AT / LT trailhead.
