Mt. Independence Historic Park, situated on the shores of Lake Champlain in Orwell and Shoreham, Vermont, preserves one of many largest and most intact Revolutionary Struggle defensive websites in america. From 1776 by the later Revolutionary years, this peninsula and its adjoining shore had been fortified to guard the Champlain Valley and guard British entry between Canada and the American colonies. Immediately, the park preserves earthworks, foundations, interpretive trails, reconstructed buildings, and a wealthy archaeological document that collectively inform the story of navy life, engineering, and civilian expertise throughout America’s battle for independence.
The archeological buildings are linked collectively by a well-maintained path system that’s straightforward to stroll, with beautiful meadows the place households can picnic and take within the sights. There’s additionally an informative Museum on the park’s customer heart, which has an fascinating and fairly fashionable curved roof on high. Whereas I primarily visited to hike the path system, I used to be stunned at how a lot historical past I picked up alongside the way in which after studying the tutorial signage displayed alongside my route.
Whereas Mt Independence is a mere 200 ft excessive, the positioning sits on an extended, low peninsula that instantly faces Fort Ticonderoga throughout the slender, southern a part of Lake Champlain. Collectively, the 2 positions shaped a defensive barrier controlling the lake route between Canada and the Hudson River valley. In 1776, after the lack of Quebec and threats from British naval and land forces, American generals acknowledged that management of the lake could be decisive. Work at Mt. Independence started within the spring of 1776, when 1000’s of troops, engineers, and laborers constructed strains of earthworks, gun batteries, roads, barracks, shipyards, and magazines to assist a flotilla and to create a mutually supporting defensive system with Ticonderoga.
Having completed the Lengthy Path Facet-to-Facet Path Checklist in September of 2025, certainly one of my new “quests” is to hike the entire trails talked about or depicted in 50 Hikes in Vermont, printed by the Inexperienced Mountain Membership. These conversant in White Mountain Redlining will instantly perceive this “sport”, which includes compiling and climbing all the paths in a guidebook, a follow I’m calling Greenlining, as it’s going to focus solely on Vermont, the Inexperienced Mountain State. I hope to publish a primary draft of a path listing for 50 Hikes in Vermont within the coming weeks to document my progress and let others be part of within the problem. One vital distinction between 50 Hikes in Vermont and the AMC’s White Mountain Information is that fifty Hikes consists of maps that spotlight trails not talked about within the textual content, but nonetheless beckon to be hiked.
The Mt Independence trails whole 6.6 miles, however I simply hiked 8-9 miles to hike each path in its entirety and the spur trails alongside the edges. The Baldwin and Orange Trails are the one ones listed in 50 Hikes in Vermont, however there’s a map within the ebook depicting the Blue Path, so I felt compelled to hike it additionally. Doing so necessitates repeating some beforehand hiked miles, however that’s the nature of this sport.
- Baldwin Path – 1.6 miles
- Orange Path – 2.5 miles
- Blue Path – 2.2 miles
- Southern Defenses Path 0.2
It was quick climbing, although. The tread is well-maintained and pretty flat, so I used to be capable of hike at a brisk tempo. The paths are well-blazed and signed, making this a really nice and pleasing sojourn again into the previous. I hiked the paths on a Friday and solely noticed a number of individuals, although I believe the place fills up on weekends. However should you’re on the lookout for a simple place to hike with good picnic areas to convey your loved ones or mother and father, and to show your younger ones somewhat bit about our nation’s historical past, Mt Independence is definitely worth the journey.
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