Name: Halfway House Trail to Sunset Ridge
Rating: 4.9

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Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Cave · Fall Colors · Views

Overview

This is a rigorous, beautiful hike with amazing scenic views of Underhill State Park and Lake Champlain in the distance.

Description

This extremely scenic 6-mile loop is full of scrambling, steep grades, and navigating small caves with a mellow ridge descent. After parking you'll follow Eagle Cut Trail, a mellow gradual trail, to the the Halfway House trailhead. From the Halfway House trailhead, the trail begins right away with a steep climb that continues for the duration of Halfway House Trail until you reach the Canyon Trail, which traverses the ridge to the summit of Mount Mansfield. The descent on Sunset Ridge Trail is a steep but mellow trail that has scenic views up until the tree line. If you're feeling up to it, check out Cantilever Rock Overlook along the way, an off-trail short connector to a scenic overlook.

Contacts

Local Club: Green Mountain Club

Sep 23, 2026: Green Mountain Club Opens New Route of Long Trail on Belvidere Mountain in Eden

Sep 16, 2026: Autumn with GMC: Fall Things To Do Near Stowe and Waterbury

Sep 14, 2026: 2026 GMC Photo Contest Winning Photos and Other Entries

Land Manager: Vermont State Parks - Underhill State Park

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Simeon Pol

Full Details

Trail Ratings

4.9 from 10 votes

#2

in Underhill State Park

#782

Overall

4.9 from 10 votes

5 Star		90%
4 Star		10%
3 Star		0%
2 Star		0%
1 Star		0%

Recommended Route Rankings

#2

in Underhill State Park

#3

in Vermont

#782

Overall

13 Views Last Month

7,043 Since Sep 17, 2017

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Photos

Peaceful and content after a day's hiking, you're sure to enjoy the view from "The Chin" looking down on Stowe.

Apr 4, 2017 near Morristown, VT

Trekking across Mount Mansfield's summit.

May 27, 2018 near Morristown, VT

The summit of Mount Mansfield leaves little to be desired.

Mar 30, 2017 near Morristown, VT

You can drive to the summit of Mt Mansfield or or hike the 2,500 ft in elevation over a one of kind 5.1 mile trail.... you know what to do!

Feb 28, 2018 near Morristown, VT

A one of a kind view from the Chin of Mt Mansfield, looking north onto the Long Trail

Jul 6, 2019 near Morristown, VT

Sep 3, 2024 near Morristown, VT

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Check-Ins

Oct 6, 2024

Christoph Jaeger

Aug 13, 2022

Andrew R

5.7mi — 3h 20m

Apr 19, 2021

Kip JB

First of the 48 peaks - Mount Mansfield!

Jul 31, 2020

Chi Wang

Halfway House up, Sunset Ridge down, but took Long Trail instead 6mi

Jul 26, 2019

Lindsay Eichenberger

Happy Anniversary — 11h 00m

Jul 7, 2019

Andrew Parise

Very challenging , especially parts of the descent but amazing views from the top of MT Mansfield 6mi

Jun 14, 2019

Jonas Welt

Mar 19, 2019

Jorel Butkovich

Went real slow not to beat the sunrise and freeze. Saw moon set and sunrise. Beautiful - trail was snow packed and spikes not snow shoes were needed. 8mi

Feb 16, 2019

Tori Tyler

Dec 29, 2018

Sunil Narayan

Oct 16, 2018

Andrew O'Loughlin

Beautiful fall hike. Would not recommend canyon extension trail after first snow; some fairly slick technical portions on a cliff. 7.6mi

Oct 7, 2018

Eric P.

We followed this track to the tee and it was accurate. The fog took away the view but made it magical. Very nice hike with many technical sections.

Sep 24, 2018

Peter Sneeringer

Clouds covered the top but beautiful views on the way down sunset ridge. 6.2mi

Jul 2, 2018

John Robinson

2mi

May 26, 2018

Matt Strimas-Mackey

Rainy, wet conditions, but otherwise a great morning on the trail. 6mi

Jun 18, 2013

Akshay T

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Halfway House Trail to Sunset Ridge

“A rigorous loop with scenic views of Underhill State Park and that summits Mount Mansfield. ”

6.0

9.6

Loop

4,366' 1,331 m

1,845' 562 m

2,581' 787 m

2,578' 786 m

16%

66%

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Know This Trail?

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Cave · Fall Colors · Views

Overview

Description

Contacts

Shared By:

Trail Ratings

#2

#782

#2

#3

#782

Photos

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Nearby Recommended Routes

Moss Glen Falls Out and Back

White Rock and Mount Hunger Loop

Niquette Bay State Park Outer Loop

Shelburne Farms Loop

Mount Philo Loop

Cross Vermont Trail

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