Muckross State Park

This was a great hike for getting back into the swing of things hiking-wise as warmer weather makes its appearance. As I did not snowshoe or get outdoors as much as I wanted to in the winter (work…), it proved to be a tad more challenging than I thought. Mainly due to the total distance covered and not because of any great elevation gains however; hence the “easy” designation.

Now, to be honest here, my wife and I did not begin at the park entrance and thus did not need to walk so far (about 10k steps total, maybe 4 miles). Had we done so, the walk to the falls would’ve been quite short (about 0.5 miles one way I think). However, we were not quite sure if our Honda Civic would make it up to the dirt road parking lot (it is mud season here in Vermont after all). Thus we actually dropped the car off at the Springfield I-91 Exit 7 park and ride and followed the Toonerville Rail Trail to get to the entrance. Nothing terribly remarkable about the trek, but it was nice to have a continuous view of the Black River (looked so green today, though!)

Obviously, the waterfall in the image above is the main atrraction, and it is certainly gorgeous. We stayed for a bit just to admire how pleasant the view was. At about 80 feet tall, it was very impressive, made even more so given the current time of season (snow and ice runoff galore!). For its size, though, it was oddly comforting; it probably helped that we were the only ones there (we hate crowds). I especially liked the vibnrant green moss on the rocks, somehwat reminiscent of our time in the PNW.

Aside from the falls, there were old, decaying remnants of the estate that the late Senator Edgar May, who donated the land, had on site, along with a dam that ultimately seems to control the flow of water over Muckross Falls. It seems that there are plans to keep improving the site in coming years, but for now, the facilities were… lacking, to say the least. Excited to see what may be in store in the future!

The other main feature of the park was a pond where we ended up doing some birdwatching (unfortunately no pictures of those). The binoculars I found the other day (8 dollar thrift store find btw) is really coming in handy! We spotted some ducks, geese, and a heron. A nice, calming experience.

I would totally recommend checking out these falls, and I am glad that it so close! Will return.

Link: Muckross State Park (VT State Parks)