Ode to Mud Season

A Month Called 'Mud'

‘Mud’ is an entire season unto itself in Vermont. A woefully underrated time of year, mud season features massive swings in temperature, frequent flooding, skunk cabbage pushing up through the snow, and the delightfully ubiquitous chorus of spring peeper frogs filling the evening air. As messy as it can be, this time of year means spring is here—and with it, all forms of strange, busy, beautiful life.

Variable Weather = Variable Joys

So, why do folks grumble over mud season? Beyond the retreating, blackened snow, the instability of travel surfaces, and the intense smells of the world thawing out, you mean? Well, much like stick-season (that bleak interval also known as November), mud season is kind of a mixed bag, weather-wise. To make the most of it, your recreation may look like a mixed bag, too:

Ski Like It's Your Last Chance

Think variable snow and tailgating. By noon, you'll likely be skiing in a t-shirt. Savor those spring slush bumps and thin-cover runs. Getting in those elusive warm-weather turns is worth trudging through a parking lot of ankle-deep mud. Remember, it's all gravy during mud season—in texture, anyway.

Hike Off the Beaten Track

The key to hiking and trail running during mud season is to keep trail erosion in mind. Forgo your familiar hiking haunts. Instead, visit back roads, paved paths, boardwalks, and gravel double-track routes that can handle heavy foot traffic. Rather than chasing summits, look instead for fiddlehead ferns, rare bog orchids, or tadpoles in vernal pools. Setting foot on wet, muddy, single-track trails actually ruins them—preventing delicate spring plants from taking root and making more work for trail caretakers. Most trails are closed through Memorial Day anyway. Let your favorite mountain trails dry out—save them for summer.

Ride Dirty

Bikers: mud season is the prime time for the filthiest, gnarliest back-road gravel riding of the year. If your jersey—and face—aren't splattered with mud, then you're not riding right. At the start of the season, most of us aren't in shape for speed or long distances yet. Slow down and become one with the mud on rutted and rowdy rural roads. The best part? Catching warm spring breezes that carry the scent of early flowers, green buds—and cow manure.

Get Into The Thick of It

Mud season only lasts a short while, so cherish its mixed bag of sights, smells, and sounds. Whether it's off the chairlift, on the saddle, or in a pair of waterproof boots, we hope you get out of the house and into the thick of it this time of year.