The Kingdom Heritage Trail<\/span><\/h1><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span>20 Miles of Remote Hiking in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom<\/h2><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Kingdom Heritage Trail was first conceived in 1998. The plan envisioned a\u00a0backcountry path that traversed the remote and rugged working forestlands of northern Essex County, <\/span>connecting the existing footpaths on Bluff Mountain in Island Pond, Gore Mountain in Avery\u2019s Gore, and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge in Brunswick.<\/span><\/p>\nIn 2001, the Green Mountain Club became the corridor manager for hiking trails on the former , and in 2010 NorthWoods Conservation Corps youth crews began construction of the first sections of trail\u00a0 on Middle Mountain that would connect the Bluff Mountain Trail to the Gore Mountain Trail, both historical trails that had been re-established by NorthWoods crews in the preceding decade.<\/span><\/p>\nOver twenty summer field seasons, nearly 120 local teenagers and young adults from Island Pond and surrounding towns in the Northeast Kingdom worked for a cumulative 38 weeks developing the Kingdom Heritage Trail System under the guidance of Luke O’Brien, the NorthWoods Trails Director, now with VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and NorthWoods Conservation Corps leadership Ross Stevens, Dusty May, and Jon Cox.<\/span><\/p>\nThe project represents an exhaustive partnership effort, led by the Green Mountain Club<\/a>, the NorthWoods Stewardship Center, and the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation<\/a>, in collaboration with Weyerhaeuser Timber<\/a>, Sweet Tree LLC<\/a>, the US Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a>, the Town of Brighton<\/a>, Vermont Land Trust<\/a>, LandVest<\/a>, and many others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe completed Kingdom Heritage Trail system (which includes the Bluff Mountain Community Trail, Bluff Ridge Trail, Unknown Pond Trail, Middle Mountain Trail, Gore Mountain Trail, and Gore Mountain East Trail) highlights the unique natural features of the Northern Forest landscape, promotes quiet recreation and backcountry travel, honors the forest economy and logging culture of the region, and supports local economic development in communities such as Island Pond.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Map](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271408%27%20height%3D%272176%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201408%202176%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271408%27%20height%3D%272176%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div>View the Full Map<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/KingdomHeritage-Poster8-01.jpg\" "\\"KingdomHeritage")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/lite-youtube><\/div><\/div>Learn more about the history of land conservation in this region in the Resilient Forest Series by Northern Woodlands<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/5A.jpg\" "\\"5A\\"")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2010-backcountry2.jpg\" "\\"2010")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/KHT-Finishing-May-2019.jpg\" "\\"KHT-Finishing-May-2019\\"")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/KHT-Beginning-July-2011.jpg\" "\\"KHT-Beginning-July-2011\\"")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bluff-steps.jpg\" "\\"bluff")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bluff-lookout.jpg\" "\\"bluff")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2010-training.jpg\" "\\"2010")
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20 Miles of Remote Hiking in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom<\/h2><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Kingdom Heritage Trail was first conceived in 1998. The plan envisioned a\u00a0backcountry path that traversed the remote and rugged working forestlands of northern Essex County, <\/span>connecting the existing footpaths on Bluff Mountain in Island Pond, Gore Mountain in Avery\u2019s Gore, and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge in Brunswick.<\/span><\/p>\nIn 2001, the Green Mountain Club became the corridor manager for hiking trails on the former , and in 2010 NorthWoods Conservation Corps youth crews began construction of the first sections of trail\u00a0 on Middle Mountain that would connect the Bluff Mountain Trail to the Gore Mountain Trail, both historical trails that had been re-established by NorthWoods crews in the preceding decade.<\/span><\/p>\nOver twenty summer field seasons, nearly 120 local teenagers and young adults from Island Pond and surrounding towns in the Northeast Kingdom worked for a cumulative 38 weeks developing the Kingdom Heritage Trail System under the guidance of Luke O’Brien, the NorthWoods Trails Director, now with VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and NorthWoods Conservation Corps leadership Ross Stevens, Dusty May, and Jon Cox.<\/span><\/p>\nThe project represents an exhaustive partnership effort, led by the Green Mountain Club<\/a>, the NorthWoods Stewardship Center, and the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation<\/a>, in collaboration with Weyerhaeuser Timber<\/a>, Sweet Tree LLC<\/a>, the US Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a>, the Town of Brighton<\/a>, Vermont Land Trust<\/a>, LandVest<\/a>, and many others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe completed Kingdom Heritage Trail system (which includes the Bluff Mountain Community Trail, Bluff Ridge Trail, Unknown Pond Trail, Middle Mountain Trail, Gore Mountain Trail, and Gore Mountain East Trail) highlights the unique natural features of the Northern Forest landscape, promotes quiet recreation and backcountry travel, honors the forest economy and logging culture of the region, and supports local economic development in communities such as Island Pond.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div>View the Full Map<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/lite-youtube><\/div><\/div>Learn more about the history of land conservation in this region in the Resilient Forest Series by Northern Woodlands<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>
The Kingdom Heritage Trail was first conceived in 1998. The plan envisioned a\u00a0backcountry path that traversed the remote and rugged working forestlands of northern Essex County, <\/span>connecting the existing footpaths on Bluff Mountain in Island Pond, Gore Mountain in Avery\u2019s Gore, and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge in Brunswick.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2001, the Green Mountain Club became the corridor manager for hiking trails on the former , and in 2010 NorthWoods Conservation Corps youth crews began construction of the first sections of trail\u00a0 on Middle Mountain that would connect the Bluff Mountain Trail to the Gore Mountain Trail, both historical trails that had been re-established by NorthWoods crews in the preceding decade.<\/span><\/p>\n Over twenty summer field seasons, nearly 120 local teenagers and young adults from Island Pond and surrounding towns in the Northeast Kingdom worked for a cumulative 38 weeks developing the Kingdom Heritage Trail System under the guidance of Luke O’Brien, the NorthWoods Trails Director, now with VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and NorthWoods Conservation Corps leadership Ross Stevens, Dusty May, and Jon Cox.<\/span><\/p>\n The project represents an exhaustive partnership effort, led by the Green Mountain Club<\/a>, the NorthWoods Stewardship Center, and the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation<\/a>, in collaboration with Weyerhaeuser Timber<\/a>, Sweet Tree LLC<\/a>, the US Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a>, the Town of Brighton<\/a>, Vermont Land Trust<\/a>, LandVest<\/a>, and many others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The completed Kingdom Heritage Trail system (which includes the Bluff Mountain Community Trail, Bluff Ridge Trail, Unknown Pond Trail, Middle Mountain Trail, Gore Mountain Trail, and Gore Mountain East Trail) highlights the unique natural features of the Northern Forest landscape, promotes quiet recreation and backcountry travel, honors the forest economy and logging culture of the region, and supports local economic development in communities such as Island Pond.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Map](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/KHT-map_2-sided_apr2019-pdf.jpg\")
View the Full Map<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Learn more about the history of land conservation in this region in the Resilient Forest Series by Northern Woodlands<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2007-lewis-pond-overlook.jpg\" "\\"2007")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2010-backcountry-3.jpg\" "\\"2010")
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<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bluff-blazers.jpg\" "\\"bluff")
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<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Middle-MTN-Draft-for-Sept_LO-0.jpg\" "\\"Middle")
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/BC_People-Whole-Backcountry-Crew-walking-into-mist-Gore_compressed.jpg\" "\\"BC_People-Whole-Backcountry-Crew-walking-into-mist-Gore_compressed\\"")
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