“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”
John Muir

Woodstock Vt, Mt Peg & Mt Tom

Mt Peg

(1080ft)

Mt Tom

(1359ft)

Trail: Pick one!
Date: anytime you can
Attending: Simone, John Chicoine, & hopefully you!
Great family hiking with trails for almost every ability.

These two Mountains, (hills actually) would have no particular reason for the popularity the garner, other than the fact that they just happen to sit in the prettiest location in Vermont, overlooking the quintessential Vermont town. AND!!! The people in Woodstock realize the value of their beauty and make every effort to balance the clean pristine nature of the area and maintain the accessibility to a large population of users.

Mt. Peg is hardly more difficult than an afternoon stroll through the most wonderful countryside, with it’s end goal not necessarily being the summit of Mt. Peg, but a spectacular clearing manicured by the town with a pleasant bench located near the top of the clearing for visitors to just sit and enjoy the view of the town of Woodstock and surrounding hills. At the time Simone and I hiked Mt. Peg’s trails, we actually had to bushwhack to get to the summit. (Being peak baggers,,, we were obligated to trespass on private property to reach the actual summit, but only peak baggers would understand that drive.) We were close, We had time, It is referred to as a mountain,,, What other options did we have? By-The-By,,, If you just happen to be around Woodstock Vermont on a nice sunny afternoon we do Highly recommend you take the time to hike this trail,,, it’s a wonderful change of pace from the high peak experience and ushers you into an enjoyable sense of peace and serenity. Relax,,,, Bring a lunch, a book, and leave the watch down at the car.

Mt. Tom is the complete opposite experience of Mt. Peg… It’s still just a hill, but with mountain attitude. It’s got everything from cart roads, to steep climbs with switchbacks and all! And the views are as fine and any high peak, (just not as high.). Mt. Tom has hours, (lots of hours of hiking available all over this hill.) You can custom make your hike to include every condition you might like to enjoy. (I would love to be able to try some Cross Country skiing on the cart roads. It’s got to be some of the best Cross Country skiing in New England!) I don’t recall if they allow bicycling in the parks on the cart roads, but if they do, that would be a great way to cover all the miles in the park!

Woodstock itself is a balanced blend of “Real Vermont” & tourist town. (Just enough of both to warrant at least a full day in the vacation schedule.) There are plenty of shops, and restaurants, just in the center of town to occupy several hours without even stepping on a trail. The Woodstock area is a center of fine artisans tucked in to the serenity of the rolling hills; It’s well worth to effort to invest some time tracking down some of the private studios if you get the chance. (There’s Gold in them thar hills.) We actually stayed in Quechee VT, right next to Quechee Gorge (A great spot to stop at in itself, and the visitors center is worth checking out if you like post and beam construction. (Just 6 miles from the center of Woodstock.) River road is a wonderful bike-able road that runs parallel to Rt. 4 between Quechee and Woodstock that passes the Simone Pearce (Glass Blowing) Mill. What a great place to stop and watch the hand blown production process; it’s so open to visitors, in the off seasons when the crowds thin out you can talk to the artisans about the entire process. They were a real down to earth group of people. We never did make it to the VINS Nature center, but it does rank as the #1 visitors attraction in the Woodstock/Quechee area. (Especially if you have kids.)