Mount Mansfield via the Long Trail from Route 108 Hiking Guide
The Long Trail's southbound climb from Route 108 is the shortest standard way onto the Chin, the 4,395-foot high point of Mount Mansfield and of Vermont. It is a relentless staircase of roots and rock that passes Taft Lodge, breaks above the trees and finishes with hands-on scrambling to the top. Expect company: Trail Finder calls Mansfield one of the busiest hiking destinations in the state.
Straight Up the White Blazes
Trail Finder, the state's trail database, lists the Long Trail South to the Chin at 2.3 miles one way with 2,700 feet of elevation gain, so about 4.6 miles out and back. Other measurements run longer: one mapping-app route from the same trailhead logs 5.27 miles and 2,743 feet. The Green Mountain Club's own loop description starts at Barnes Camp and also reaches the Chin at its 2.3-mile mark, so where you park changes the total. However you count it, almost all of the climbing is continuous; the club describes sections near the top as very steep and exposed, with some scrambling.
Taft Lodge and the Chin
At about 1.7 miles a spur leads 300 feet to Taft Lodge, a log lodge run by the Green Mountain Club and a natural place to catch your breath. Above it the trees shrink to krummholz and the trail climbs onto the open summit cone. The club estimates Mansfield holds about 110 acres of alpine tundra, the biggest share of the less than 125 acres left in Vermont, and the plants there include endangered and threatened species. Do the rock walk, keeping to stone and to the strung corridors, and turn around rather than skirt a wet ledge on vegetation.
Parking on Route 108
Trail Finder places the Long Trail parking area just south of the Smugglers' Notch picnic area on Route 108. The Barnes Camp Visitor Center lot, 7.8 miles up Route 108 from the Route 100 junction in Stowe, also serves the Long Trail, stays open year-round and is plowed in winter; the Green Mountain Club adds that hiker parking is available in the Stowe Mountain Resort lot across the road. There is no fee. North of Barnes Camp, Route 108 is gated for winter, usually from early November until early May (last season VTrans closed it November 3 and reopened it at noon on May 4).
Dogs and Footing
Trail Finder lists the Mansfield trails as open to dogs on leash. Above treeline the club wants every dog clipped to a leash and off the tundra, and it warns that some of its trails have rock scrambles and ladders that are hard on dogs. The upper scramble on this route is one of them; if your dog balks at boulders, Sterling Pond up the road is a kinder outing.
When Not to Go
The Green Mountain Club says mud season typically starts in the second half of March or early April and runs through late May, and the state closes high trails on Mansfield until the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Outside mud season, the wet-rock problem remains: the final ledges are slick in rain and fog, and the summit has no shelter from wind or lightning. Weekday mornings are the way to avoid the worst of the crowds.
Hiking tips for Mount Mansfield via the Long Trail from Route 108
- Use the Barnes Camp lot, which is plowed and open year-round, if the Long Trail pull-off is full.
- Count on the round trip running 4.6 to 5.3 miles depending on where you start.
- Save energy for the last stretch above Taft Lodge, where hands come into play.
- Leash your dog above treeline and keep both of you on bare rock.
- Turn back if the summit ledges are wet and fog is rolling in; they get slick fast.
Nearby trails to explore
- Sterling Pond Trail (Smugglers' Notch)
- Sunset Ridge Trail (Mount Mansfield)
- Stowe Pinnacle Trail
Hike this trail with TrailMates
The Long Trail from Route 108 is the most direct way to stand on top of Vermont. Use TrailMates to find Burlington-area hikers heading to the Chin. Download the TrailMates app to connect.