Trail name(s)
Mill Trail to Bingham Falls
Location
Notchbrook Road, Stowe VT; Smugglers' Notch State Park
Permitted uses
Hiking, Hunting and fishing within legal seasons and in accordance with Vermont regulations
Prohibited uses
No motorized vehicles, bikes or horses. No cutting new trails. No overnight camping or fires.
Hours
Dawn to Dusk
Fees and Parking
There is no fee to park or use the trail, however, visitors are welcome to make a donation to the Stowe Land Trust. A QR code is posted at the kiosk to support the stewardship of this protected land. Parking is limited and many visitors park alongside the road. Use caution when crossing the road.
Pets
Dogs must be leashed or under voice control of the owner. Please pick up after your pet.
Accessibility
The main part of the Mill Trail has recently been upgraded by the Stowe Land Trust to meet U.S. Forest Service Universal Access (UA) standards. These changes included UA trail surface, upgraded bridges and stream crossings and gentler trail grades. There is now a UA side trail to the historic Moravian Cabin. Access to Bingham Falls is not wheelchair accessible at this time.
Hiker amenities
There is an information kiosk at the trailhead that has a posted map and maps to take with you along the hike. There are no restrooms and no trash bins. Please carry out all trash and waste, including pet waste. Pet waste bags are available to visitors at the kiosk. There is a boot brush at the kiosk and visitors are encouraged to wipe their boots before and after visiting this area. This will help prevent the spread of invasive plants.
Length and Trail information
This hike was done as an out and back hike. The hike is roughly 2. miles round trip and is an easy hike. There are no trail blazes but the trail is obvious and blazes are not necessary. The majority of the trail substrate is packed gravel. The trail was once a logging road and so it is wide enough for two hikers to comfortably walk side by side.
Our goal for this hike was to make our way to Bingham Falls which is part of Smuggler’s Notch State Park, and explore the waterfalls.
Our first stop along the hike was to visit the Cabin that was built in 1935 by Dr. Marguerite Lichtenthaeler. During the summer, visitors can learn more about the cabin and its history from the Stowe Land Trust’s Naturalist Program. During our visit the cabin was closed, but we were able to access the screen porch and read a historic banner that is mounted inside the porch. Thanks to the banner, we learned about this special cabin and its history with the ski tourism in the Stowe area.
A short distance from the Cabin, the trail becomes rougher and is no longer UA accessible, however it is by no means difficult to hike. We made our way along the trail, stopping along the way to enjoy the views of the West Branch of the Little River and the streams that feed into it from higher up.
As we approached the falls, we could hear the sound of the rushing water. We hiked up to the top of the falls and got closer to the rocky edge. The gorges and rounded pots that have been carved by water are very impressive, and a little bit scary if you get too close to the edge. We hiked past the falls to the next trail junction before turning around where the river is fed from two angles. On the way back we hiked down the side of the trail to see the biggest waterfall. Use caution hiking down as the water spray from the falls can cause the rocks to be slippery.
After getting our fill of the waterfall, we hiked past the cabin and took a side trail to see the Old Mill and Blacksmith Shop site. There is a bench and a picnic bench here and some information posted about the history of the site. We explored the former mill pond down to the river and then made our way back to the main trail.
This was a lovely hike. Easy to do and loaded with history, education and natural beauty.
