Killington Peak

OVERVIEW: Climb to the highest point and best view in Rutland County; Killington is the second highest peak in Vermont.

TOTAL MILEAGE: 7.2 miles

ELEVATION GAIN: 2500 feet

TERRAIN: Mostly standard trail. A steep, rocky scramble with some use of hands on final 0.2 miles.

LOCATION: From the intersection of US Route 7 (North Main Street) and US Route 4 East (Woodstock Avenue) in Rutland go east on Route 4 for 5.2 miles. Turn right onto Wheelerville Road for 4.1 miles to unmarked Brewers Corner, a sharp, 90-degree right turn with a parking area and trailhead on the left. Park in the parking area; start your hike from the back of the parking area.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION: The blue-blazed Bucklin Trail proceeds to the east for 2.0 miles on a gentle grade, generally following, and twice bridging the course of Brewers Brook. The trail then turns right, leaves the brook, and climbs steadily for 1.3 miles where it is joined from the left by the white-blazed Long/Appalachian Trail and, in another 0.1 miles, reaches Cooper Lodge. One-hundred feet above the lodge at a group of tent platforms, the Long-Appalachian Trail departs to the right while the blue-blazed Killington Spur Trail continues ahead, up the final steep, rocky, 0.2-mile scramble to the summit.

POINTS OF INTEREST: At 4,241 feet, Killington Peak is one of the few alpine, above-tree-line places in Vermont. It affords a 360-degree view including mountains of the Green, Taconic, White, and Adirondack ranges and, nearby, the city of Rutland. A trail leads east from the summit for 0.1 miles to the upper terminal of the Gondola and a coffee shop (seasonal) of the Killington ski area.

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