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Mud Season Guidelines from The Green Mountain Club

Mud Season
April 15-Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend

Please help protect the fragile alpine tundra and prevent soil erosion by staying off the trails during Mud Season! This will allow the trails to dry out and reduce the amount of maintenance required each year to keep them safe and enjoyable. We know everyone is just itching to get out and enjoy the wonders of Spring - we are too!

Rain and melting snow at higher elevations are keeping many of Vermont's hiking trails wet and muddy. When hikers tramp on saturated soils, they cause irreversible erosion and damage to the trail and surrounding vegetation. The Green Mountain Club, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, and Green Mountain National Forest advocate responsible use of the state's hiking trails between sugaring season and Memorial Day weekend. Sensitive alpine vegetation on the summits of Mt. Mansfield and Camel's Hump are most vulnerable to damage. The State of Vermont closes hiking trails on these mountains from mid-April to Memorial Day.

Some of the Long Trail has been worn down to bedrock by soil erosion over the years. Higher elevation soils take longer to dry out, and their higher content of organic material slows the drying process. A trail may be dry at the trailhead, but it will get muddy if you climb very high this time of year. Trails at lower elevations, dirt roads, and recreation paths provide excellent opportunities for early spring walking.

The GMC thanks hikers for their cooperation to help preserve one of Vermont's finest recreational resources.

Mud Season Hiking Guidelines

* Walk through the mud, not around it! If a trail is so muddy that you need to walk on the vegetation beside it, turn back, and seek an alternative area to hike.
* Hike in the lower-elevation hardwood forest (unless it is muddy!) with southern exposure (south facing slopes dry out first in Spring).
* Avoid the spruce-fir (conifer) forests at higher elevations.
* The State of Vermont closes all trails on state land including those on Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield from mid-April until Memorial Day weekend. Please do not hike in these fragile areas.
o Also avoid: Stratton Mountain, Killington Peak, Lincoln Ridge (Mount Ellen to Appalachian Gap), Jay Peak.