The mile long trail at Butternut Hill winds through floodplain forests, cedar pine forest and cobble shorelines while offering a great southerly view of Lake Champlain. There is a beautiful walk out to a point of land overlooking the water and two nice shale beaches that someday could support nesting soft-shell turtles. Portions of the trail are flooded and impassible when the lake level is higher than 97 feet. Check lake levels before you head out at http://www.weather.gov/btv/recreation.
Butternut Hill Natural Area was conserved in partnership with the Lake Champlain Land Trust and consists of approximately 77 acres of a mix of wetlands, uplands, two small agricultural fields, and over 500ft of undeveloped Lake Champlain shoreline. The two wetlands are both long, narrow branches of Lakeside Floodplain Forest divided by a low, forested ridge with a beech forest containing impressively large trees and a small patch of red cedar woodland along the rocky bluff at the lake shore.
Visit The Nature Conservancy in Vermont online for more information or contact Lynn McNamara, Critical Lands Manager for Northern VT:
The Nature Conservancy: Montpelier Office1769 South End Road, North Hero
From the South: Take I-89 N to exit 17 for US-2 toward US-7/Lake Champlain Islands/Milton. Keep right at the fork and merge onto US-2 W/Roosevelt Hwy. Continue to follow US-2 W 18.9 miles. Turn left onto South End Rd and follow for about 1.8 miles. Camp Ingalls (Butternut Hill Natural Area parking) will be on the left. Walk in along the trail behind the camp buildings.
From northern New York: Take US-2 E for 20.8 miles. Turn right onto South End Rd and follow for about 1.8 miles. Camp Ingalls (Butternut Hill Natural Area parking) will be on the left.
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