Lake Willoughby

Westmore, VT · Northeast Kingdom, Vermont

About

Lake Willoughby runs five miles through Westmore, a glacial trench barely a mile wide with Mount Pisgah on one side and Mount Hor on the other. The water drops more than 300 feet, deep enough to stay cold into July. That squeeze between two cliff walls is the Willoughby Gap, a National Natural Landmark since 1967, and the reason people keep reaching for Norway to describe it. The free public beach at the north end is the easy version: park, walk in, swim. Port-a-lets, no lifeguard. The south end holds the trailhead for Mount Pisgah's south trail, roughly four miles round trip, with Pulpit Rock about a mile up on a ledge hundreds of feet directly above the water. Services are thin, so stock up at the Willoughby Lake Store on Route 5A, open early and closing by evening. Foliage peaks in late September, ahead of most of Vermont, and the lots fill by mid morning.

Highlights

Glacial lake between cliffsNo fee, free parkingColor peaks late SepMud season closures in springNorth beach swimmingFalcon cliff closures Mar to Aug

Getting there

Open in Maps Official website ↗

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