Stowe-Area Hiking: Wiessner Woods

Hike Details

  • Skill Level: Easy
  • View Trail Map
  • Type: Woods walk
  • Distance: 2.8 miles
  • Time: 2 hours
  • Climb: 900’
  • Trailhead Location: Edson Hill Road, Stowe, VT 05672. From the historic village, take Route 108 north 3.5 miles. Turn right on Edson Hill Road, taking the right directly after Stowehof Inn and park on the left.

About the Hike

The Wiessner Woods is a forested trail complex which features casual, relatively-flat trails for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. As the name suggests, the Wiessner Woods is almost entirely forested with a mix of Spruce, Pine, Hardwood and Hemlock trees. Some of these pines are almost 100 years old!

The trail system can be hiked as a loop in either direction, but is most commonly hiked clockwise. From the trailhead, you will start out by hiking along a section of the Catamount Trail until you reach a trail divide with three trails branching out to the left, straight, and right. To make the clockwise loop, take a left onto Meadow Trail which will lead to the Meadow Overlook, featuring views towards Mount Mansfield that are framed by old stonewalls dating back to the 1800s when the Weissner Woods was a farm. Keep a lookout for signs of fox, coyote, and other wildlife traveling along the edge of the meadow where there is good cover and food.
As you make your way around the Meadow, you will pass a Vernal Pool on your left where Woodland salamanders and frogs lay their eggs in the spring. These pools dry up in the summer. This area also often contains an interesting flower called Pink Lady’s Slipper growing nearby. 

Continue on and you will see a few more trail intersections on your right which lead you back to the parking area. You can take either of these for a shorter hike, or continue straight on Sugarshack Lane to do the full Sugarhouse Loop. As you would expect with a name like that, you will pass right by an old sugarhouse on your left. 

Once around Sugarhouse Loop, you will come to an intersection with the Catamount Trail where you will take a left,  leading you back to the parking area. At some point along the way, you will pass a cute Gnome Home and, if you are lucky, you may even find the Gnome of Wiessner Woods!

Additional Hiking Resources

Flip through the full Stowe Hiking Guide, download it to your device or continue to browse other local hikes.