Northeast Kingdom VT Part 1

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The 4 nights in Burlington went quickly but we have reservations for 2 weeks in Newport Vermont so we must continue on. This town is at the far north end of the state in an area known as the Northeast Kingdom or NEK for short. When we reserved a campsite at Prouty Beach Campground, we were unsure how much there was to see in the area but since we have never visited this region, we were optimistic there would be things to see and do. Sticking with interstate highways for most of the drive, it is 124 miles. There are some more direct routes on state roads but it wasn’t clear they were suited for a rig our size. We stick with the safer but slightly longer route.

The campground is run by the city and is fairly small place with roughly 60 sites. As we pull in, it is clear a large percentage of the sites are taken with seasonal campers. The site we have booked looks to be added in recent years by taking away some of the large parking lot used for day use visitors. It’s not the most private site but will do fine for our stay. The campground sits on the shore of Lake Memphremagog. I’m pretty sure we never mastered the pronunciation of the lake’s name but since it is the largest lake in the area, we just call it “the lake”. Some of the campsites sit on the bluff overlooking the lake. These sites are much nicer but didn’t have availability for our timeframe. There is a beach area and a nice walking path/boardwalk along the lake that gives us a nice view of our first sunset here.

Sunset Over Lake Memphremagog

The next day we set out to explore the town of Newport which is about a mile to the south of camp. It is a very cute town on the southern end of the lake. We used a few geocaches and an Adventure Lab to give us a tour of the town. One stop brought us to a pullout on a hill overlooking the lake. It’s about 400 feet above the water level and gives great views of the surrounding area including Canada just to the north.

Great View from Hill Above Town

We spent a fair amount of time walking the streets in downtown. There are lots of old buildings, small parks and a boardwalk along the water and a marina.

Pomerleau Park

Walkway Along Lake

As we continue our walk, I was drawn to a large church that sits on a hill overlooking town. It is the most prominent building that we can easily see from our campsite and I want to get a better view of the place. We discovered that the hill was definitely a workout. It appeared that Saturday afternoon services were taking place so we only get a view of the exterior but Saint Mary Church is quite the place.

Beautiful Library

County Courthouse

St Mary Star of the Sea Church

It would have been simple to just backtrack down the hill into town, but we let the hunt for a few more geocachers take a less traveled route through a cemetery and along the shore of South Bay. From where we parked, we can easily see the campground but cannot quite make out our rig.

Cemetery on Hill

View at South Bay

View of Campground from Town

That evening we get out for a short walk around camp where we get a glimpse of the boat called the Northern Star returning from its afternoon cruise. We thought this looked fun and booked a trip for the next day.

Reflecting Pond Near Prouty Beach

View of St Mary Star of the Sea from Camp

Northern Star Cruise Boat

We had checked into Northern Star Cruises and decided we would like to try out one of their boat rides. They offer the 2 hour cruise on various days of the week and at 2 different times - at least during the peak of the summertime. We had evaluated the weather forecast and picked the first Sunday at 6 PM as our first choice and had no issue getting tickets for that cruise. It cost us about $90 for the two of us once taxes were added. We ate an early dinner and made our way to the dock. The Northern Star is 65 feet long and can handle up to 49 people plus the crew. After boarding, our cruise consisted of 8 passengers and 3 crew members so we knew it wasn’t going to be a very crowded boat ride.

Northern Star at Dock

Looking North on Lake from Dock

The boat was pretty nice and obviously there was no lack of seating options. We toured around the ship to check out the accommodations. Since the weather was excellent, most of the time was spent on the rear deck that is completely open. They did have drinks and some food for sale so we could have simply waited to eat on the boat but we settle for a couple beers.

Inner Cabin

The Helm

From Rear Deck

Heading Away from Newport

Selfie Time

Our route is around a 15 mile loop that starts up the east side of the lake heading north. One of the crew members would narrate on the PA system some facts about the boat, the lake, the town or other buildings or features as we made our way slowly up the shoreline.

Kayakers in the Way!

View of the Overlook Hill from Boat

Boathouse

The majority of the homes along the shore were rather large and fancy looking. There were some more rustic looking cabins but for the most part the majority of the residents around the lake must be fairly affluent. I really liked the ones that had garages for their boats.

Mansion on Hill

Home on the Lake

Small Island on Lake Memphremagog

Rocky Shoreline

Big Boat Garage

About halfway through our ride, we approached the US Canada border. In the middle of the lake is Province Island. This ~68 acre island is predominantly situated in Canada but several hundred feet of the southern tip is part of the US. The captain pointed out now the border between the countries is delineated by a 20 foot wide treeless zone known as “The Slash”. Periodically the new trees that have grown in the gap are cut down to maintain the somewhat open pathway. From the looks of things, this section could use a trimming. We entered Canada and went around the northern end of the island before heading back south along the western shore of the lake. There was no manned border station but there is a small building on the Canadian side with a dock that is where customs is handled remotely. It wasn’t clear if our captain had informed Canada about us passing through but given this is the route of all the tours on the Northern Star, I suspect there is some sort of agreement permitting us to spend 10 minutes in Canada without needing our passports.

"The Slash"

Canadian Customs

The Slash on the West Side of Lake

It was a very calm day on the lake and a rather peaceful boat ride. We were told that the homes on the western side of the lake were the really expensive ones and we saw quite a few that would likely qualify. By taking the later cruise, we were pulling back into the dock area just a bit before sunset and the golden tones were quite nice.

A Wall of Windows

Cormorants

Newport is Aglow

We got another view of our campground before docking. We really enjoyed this experience and felt it was money well spent. After disembarking, we sat on the dock and watched the sunset before heading back to camp.

Another Campground Shot

Almost Docked

The Northern Star

Sunset After Boat Ride

It’s been over a week since we tackled a good hike. We check out some of the nearby hikes and settle on Mount Pisgah Trail. AllTrails lists it as a 4.1 mile out and back hike with 1653 feet of elevation gain. The trailhead is about a 25 mile drive to the southeast from camp. There are two large parking areas for the trail which was good because it was very crowded. The trail starts out easy enough with a small pond and bridge to get across. We can see a peak in the distance in the correct direction which we suspect is Mount Pisgah.

Small Pond at Start of Hike

We're Heading Up There

Marshy Area

After a quarter mile, the trail starts to climb. We run into many groups of hikers. Some heading down while others are ascending much faster than we are. We notice something a bit unusual as we greet them or simply hear them talking amongst themselves. They are mainly speaking French. Admittedly, Newport is just across the border from the French speaking section of Canada but we seem to outnumbered by an order of magnitude.

Bridge

Heading Up

Bright Mushrooms

Just before the one mile mark, we have climbed 500 feet and have our first decent viewpoint - called Pulpit Rock. There is a gap in the trees and a large boulders juts out giving a great view of Lake Willoughby over 650 feet below us. There is a very crowded beach area at the southern end of end of the lake with a campground just across the road.

View from Pulpit Rock

As the trail continues, it gets steeper and is very rocky with many exposed roots. Footing is fine but you do need to pay attention where you want to place your next stride.

Rock Obstacles

Bright Blue Berries

Roots

Ghost Plant

Just before we get to the summit of the mountain is a very large exposed rock outcropping. Lots of hikers were sitting there but it wasn’t until we turned around did we see there is a pretty decent view.

Almost to the Summit

There are three designated overlook points. On our way up, a young boy hiking with his dad told us we need to go beyond the first (South) overlook by a quarter mile because the views were better there. When we reached the South Overlook, there were 5 other hikers sitting on the small rock outcropping so all we could do was look over their shoulders. We continue on and check out the sign for the summit. Not too far away was a geocache hidden well off the trail. This one is a bit special because it was one of the older caches hidden on January 3, 2001 - over 23 years ago! We proceed a bit further and come upon a sign for the West Overlook. This one is a several hundred feet off the main trail and down a rather steep trail.

Summit Sign

Approaching West Overlook on Mt Pisgah

This overlook is a much larger rock outcropping which could easily fit a dozen people but we happen to be the only ones there when we arrived. The views from here are spectacular and we decide that this should be our lunch spot.

Lake Willoughby from West Overlook

Distant Wind Turbines

We know there is one more overlook further down the trail - the North Overlook. From our vantage point, we can see people stepping out onto the exposed rock to get pictures. We suspect the view from there is practically the same as what we have here. So it doesn’t seem worth the extra half mile hike so we make the West Overlook our turnaround point.

Hiker Poses for Selfie on North Overlook

The hike back down is much easier but there are still lots of sections where the rocks and roots make for a little bit of a challenge. We spot one hole in the base of a tree where someone has placed a fairy house. We completely missed it on the way up.

Last View from Up High

Mushroom Clusters

Mystery Fairy House

We came upon even more French speakers on the way back down, but didn’t stop to ask any of them why there were so many of them out on this trail today. We did try to stop at the beach we had seen from the overlook but discovered that this place was even more popular and after driving around the two parking areas, we couldn’t find a place to park, so we just head back home.