Burrows Trail (Camel's Hump) Hiking Guide
Camel's Hump is the double-humped peak you see from almost everywhere around Burlington, and the Burrows Trail from Huntington is the shortest way to its 4,083-foot top. The trail was rebuilt from top to bottom between 2022 and 2024, so the footing is better than its reputation, but it is still a steep, steady climb that ends on bare rock with views to the Adirondacks and the White Mountains.
The Climb
The Green Mountain Club lists the Burrows Trail hike at 4.8 miles out and back with 2,400 feet of gain, and rates it difficult; mapping apps show the same 4.8 miles and about 2,230 feet. From the upper Forest City/Burrows lot you cross a bridge and climb moderately and steadily for 2.1 miles to Hut Clearing, where the Burrows, Monroe and Long trails meet. State parks staff note that views along the way are very limited and that the steep sections are near the top. At Hut Clearing turn right onto the Long Trail South for the final 0.3 miles, above treeline with light scrambling, to the summit.
A Rebuilt Trail
The club and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation finished a top-to-bottom rehabilitation of the Burrows Trail in October 2024, after 70 weeks of work over three seasons and nearly $700,000. Crews addressed more than 300 sites with stone staircases, check steps and waterbars, and added a few reroutes with gentler grades low on the mountain. The club reports the new treadway came through all three of the historic floods that hit Vermont in 2023 and 2024.
Parking Is the Hard Part
The upper lot sits at the end of Camel's Hump Road in Huntington, with a lower lot a short way below it. There is no fee; Camel's Hump is a free-entry state park. Roadside parking on Camel's Hump Road is prohibited, and both the state and the Green Mountain Club warn that the town of Huntington tickets and tows. If both lots are full, turn around and pick another hike. Trail Finder suggests arriving by 8 a.m. on a good-weather weekend. One more trap: the Monroe Trail's access road on the Duxbury side is also called Camel's Hump Road, so put the right town in your map.
Alpine Zone and Dogs
Camel's Hump holds about 10 acres of arctic-alpine tundra, one of only three such areas in Vermont, and a summer caretaker educates hikers on the summit. State rules require dogs to be leashed at all times above tree line, in parking areas and at shelters, and pet waste must be packed out. Stay on marked trail and bare rock; the state notes that once the thin alpine turf is broken, wind scours it out.
Seasons
The state's Camel's Hump trail guide says all trails close for mud season, from snowmelt to Memorial Day, and Vermont State Parks says they reopen the weekend before Memorial Day; even then, stay off them if they are very wet. The Huntington lot is a year-round lot, so winter hikers use it too, but the summit is fully exposed. The state warns that temperature and wind at the top can be very different from the trailhead, and that summer afternoons often bring thunderstorms.
Hiking tips for Burrows Trail (Camel's Hump)
- Arrive by 8 a.m. on weekends; if the lots are full, leave rather than park on the road.
- Set your GPS for Huntington, not Duxbury; both access roads are named Camel's Hump Road.
- Pack a warm layer even in summer; the summit is far windier than the trailhead.
- Leash dogs in the lot and above tree line, as state rules require.
- Stay on the rock walk at the summit to protect one of Vermont's three alpine zones.
Nearby trails to explore
- Mount Abraham via the Long Trail from Lincoln Gap
- Sunset Ridge Trail (Mount Mansfield)
- Mount Hunger via the Waterbury Trail
Hike this trail with TrailMates
Camel's Hump is Burlington's skyline mountain, and the Burrows Trail is the quick way up. Use TrailMates to find Burlington-area hikers heading to Camel's Hump. Download the TrailMates app to connect.