Mud Season in Vermont - Trail Closures on the Long Trail

Image: www.treknature.com It's Mud Season in Vermont! It's official and that means hiking trails are closed for a period of time. The GMC has closed all high elevation trails effective immediately until Memorial Day, May 25th. For the most part, the trail closures cover the Long Trail and side trails from Mt. Ellen in Waitsfield to the Northern Terminus. Due to rain and melting snow this time of the year, many trails are wet and muddy. Staying off these muddy trails will help protect the fragile alpine tundra and prevent soil erosion. The nutrient rich soil is essential to alpine vegetation and particularly susceptible to dangerous erosion during mud season. If you can't contain your desire to go hiking in the next couple weeks try to stick with lower elevations.

Here are some tips from the GMC about hiking during mud season in vermont:

• Walk through the mud, not around it! If a trail is so muddy that you need to walk on the vegetation beside it, turn back, and seek an alternative area to hike.
• Hike in the lower-elevation hardwood forest (unless it is muddy!) with southern exposure (south-facing slopes dry out first in spring).
• Avoid the spruce-fir (conifer) forests at higher elevations.
• Watch your footing on snow and ice. Be prepared for slippery and snowy conditions no matter how warm it is at home.

Mud season in vermont is serious business, for more info about mud season, closures, and hiking alternatives check out the GMC Website.