Ice Bed Road
OVERVIEW: A short, low-elevation walk on an old road, no longer passable by cars.
TOTAL MILEAGE: 1.2 miles one-way: 2.4 miles round trip
ELEVATION GAIN: Eastbound 250 feet; westbound: 50 feet
TERRAIN: Old road, too rough for cars
LOCATION: West: From the intersection of US Route 7 and VT Route 140 at the stoplight in Wallingford village take Route 7 south for 1.8 miles (White Rocks Inn is on the right); turn left onto Hartsboro Road for 1.0 miles to the Y; take the left branch, Ice Bed Road, for 0.4 miles to end of drivable road. Park in small turnout area on the left. Start your walk ahead on Ice Bed Road.
East: From the intersection of US Route 7 and VT Route 140 at the stoplight in Wallingford village take Route 140 east for 2.1 miles; bear right onto Sugar Hill Road for 200 feet; turn right onto Forest Road 52 (Picnic Area Road) for 0.3 miles to the Y; take the left branch for 0.2 miles to the large parking lot. Park in the parking lot. Start your walk by returning down Forest Road 52 for 0.2 miles to the Y and taking the other branch, which is (unmarked) Ice Bed Road.
ROUTE DESCRIPTION: The walk follows the nolonger- drivable Ice Bed Road, which may now be used by four-wheel-drive vehicles.
POINTS OF INTEREST: The eastern end of this hike is at the White Rocks Picnic Area of the Green Mountain National Forest. From the picnic area you could take the Keewaydin Trail up to the Long Trail and White Rocks Mountain, or the Ice Beds Trail to the White Rocks Overlook and the Ice Beds. The "ice beds" are a place at the bottom of a rock slide where there is ice year-round.
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