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Mount Equinox, photo 1 of 3

Photo: Dougtone / CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Mountains

Mount Equinox

Manchester, VT · Taconic Range, Southern Vermont$$25 per car and driver, $30 in October; $5 per extra rider

About

Equinox Mountain tops out at 3,848 feet, the high point of the Taconic Range and one of the few Vermont summits you can reach without hiking. Skyline Drive, a private paved toll road opened in 1947, climbs about 3,200 feet in 5.2 miles from Historic Route 7A, switchbacking through hardwoods into stunted spruce at grades that average over 11 percent. Use low gear coming down. The mountain and the road belong to the Carthusian monks of the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration, the only Carthusian monastery in North America, visible from the drive but closed to visitors. At the top, the Saint Bruno Scenic Viewing Center frames the Green Mountains, the Adirondacks and, on clear days, Mount Greylock. Plan around the calendar: the road runs Memorial Day weekend through October 31, closed November into spring, and October foliage traffic backs up at the toll house early.

Highlights

3,848 ft, highest TaconicSkyline Drive late May to OctToll $25 to $30 per vehicle5.2 mi of switchbacksSummit viewing centerMonastery closed to visitors

Getting there

42 Skyline Drive, Arlington, VT 05250

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June through foliage is the window. Mud season closes the high trails every spring, some of them into early June.