Exploring Stowe, VT: Moss Glen Falls

My 2yr Old Hiking Companion

 Another waterfall hike on our to-do list was Moss Glen Falls. From my research it sounded like a fairly simple hike from the parking lot to the view of the falls, but I was excited to see what it had to offer. I was not disappointed.

  Even though the hike to Moss Glen Falls is located off Randolph Road, on the other side of the town of Stowe, it still took under 20 minutes to get there. I took my two and a half year old daughter with me. She and I have been checking out all the surroundings of Stowe since moving in a little over a month ago.

  The trail immediately offered some fun challenge with old plank boards formed a boardwalk through a wetland boggy area. The foliage was very dense on both sides although you could see some beaver ponds to our left and you could hear the river to our right. The beaver ponds were the reason for the muddiness it seemed. This area also provided a few berry surprises in the form of wild rasberries and the very first ripe wild blackberries of the season. The beavers handy work could be seen farther up the trail in the form of downed trees across the trail.

Below the Falls

  Past the boggy section there were multiple places to scramble down to the river's edge. It was a beautiful mountain stream with lots of eddies, pools, and rocks of all sizes. I did take note that this was another place to come and swim sometime.

  After only a half mile or so we came to a big uphill scramble in the trail. This led to a beautiful overlook of the falls. The trail continued from here but I read that it only leads to a dead end with no viewpoint so we decided to spend more time down in the stream itself. We would have needed better wet clothes/shoes to make it up closer to the waterfall via the stream. But we had a great time splashing in the shallows, looking at some beautiful rocks, and soaking in another Stowe gem of nature.

Moss Glen Falls from the lookout

Holding a freshwater crayfish