Killington, VT

For a while our route was desgignated the "Easier Route." Presumably this was for the skiers...

The long and not-terribly-winding road.

HIKED ON: September 20, 2025
There are grueling, epic challenges on the New England 4,000 footer list.  Then there are medium challenges.  Then there are a few that--while not easy by any means--are demonstrably easier than the others.  Killington is one of the relatively easy ones.  I am not complaining.  As a legendary ski mountain--where trees have been cut to make gnarly trails for the winter denizens--there are plenty of views on the way up and the way down. In fact, the relative ease made for a rather pleasant ascent...for the most part.  There was, actually, one point where we stopped for too long and my legs rebelled.  However, we were already near the top...and there were witnesses.

This hike was around 4.7 miles long and about 1,700 feet of gain. If you are using All Trails, it is labelled the "Killington Peak Loop".  We started counter-clockwise on that loop but returned the same way we came up.  Apparently there was road maintenance going on along the other leg and we weren't into picking our way through that. For the vast majority of the hike we were on a service road. I am planning a post for this week about hiking ski mountains, but for now I will say that this is a common approach, at least on the off season.  

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The view of Snowden Peak, another part of the Killington Ski..er..situation?

We started early enough that we didn't see too many people as we climbed.  That said, we were passed by a group of "best men" heading up without packs or water. They were expected later for a wedding.  The group was so amiable that I barely resented their pace and fitness.  As the day wore one we encountered others heading down.  It turns out that Killington runs one gondola all year for sightseers.  Some of them ride up and then hike down, which is not allowed for "peak baggers."  Also, the gondolas had racks for the purpose of stringing up mountain bikes.  The bikers barreling past us made it both startling and exhilarating! We tried to stay to the side of the road, particularly on our way down.  We also kept sudden movements to a minimum to give the riders enough room to maneuver.

All that was fine, of course.  When you hike on a mountain like this--particularly on the weekend--you do not expect to be alone. I was actually surprised by how much time we had to ourselves!  All that changed, however, just below the peak.  Here we and the wedding party merged with the immense gondola traffic.  There were porta-potties, an observation deck, a bar that was closed for the wedding prep, and a food-truck.  Also--behind the food truck--was a slow moving line of people heading for the top.  When I say "slow" I mean it.  Most of the people in line had been sitting for some time.  We did our best to work our way around them when we could.  Then we emerged to spectacular views.

Anyway, it wasn't all that bad.  It was just...a lot.  After a little break we turned back down.  Along the way we met at least one person who was struggling.  She had ridden up and decided to climb down.  However, she hadn't considered that even with gravity on our side there are challenges to a big, steep mountain.  Her knees were hurting and her party had slowed to help her out as much as possible.  Someone climbing up had already--as politely as possible--suggested that next time she should invest in some hiking poles.  I suspect it was cold comfort in the moment. We did our best to commiserate and cheer her on.  Then we moved on to give her and her friends some privacy.  I bring this up just as a warning.  Killington is easy for a big mountain...but it is still big!

I didn't take too many pictures from the top. It was crowded! But this is one of the many fabulous views...