Brousseau Mountain Trail with spectacular lookout is used by hikers, summer camps, and outdoor programs
A popular trail in Essex County, Vermont is now protected for future generations, thanks to Ann Sage and Victor Peters who sold their land with a key and previously unprotected trail section to the Town of Norton. The Town conserved the land with us to protect the woodland and secure public access to the trail, permanently.
Brousseau Mountain, a local favorite
The Brousseau Mountain hiking trail in Norton leads to a spectacular lookout across Little Averill Lake and a wide swath of forestland.
A short and scenic hike, it is a local and regional favorite with hikers, summer camps, outdoor programs, especially as part of the NEK Mountain Challenge that brings visitors to the region.
Ann and Victor generously hosted a key section of the trail on their private property for decades. When they realized it was time to sell their nearly 20-acre parcel, they wanted to make sure that the public would still be able to enjoy the trail.
“The woods are my cathedral,” Ann said. “When I climbed Brousseau Mountain I noticed the air smelled different. I love the mosses and old trees. And I want others who go there to have the same experience!”
They worked patiently with many partners for over two years to find the right solution. This summer, they fulfilled their mission.
Ann Sage and Victor Peters
A gift to the community from private landowners
VLT Project Director Kerry O’Brien worked with Ann and Victor on the project.
“We couldn’t do this without the generosity and civic spirit of landowners like Ann and Victor, who took great care when selling this property to ensure the hiking trail would be open to the public forever,” she said. “It’s such a gift to the community.”
Stephane Thibault, a member of the Town of Norton’s selectboard, concurred.
“The Brousseau Mountain Trail is such an important part of our community,” Stephane said. “It’s a great hike and a beautiful view. We are thrilled that it’s protected and will be enjoyed for generations.”
The property is now owned by the town and protected through a conservation easement co-held by VLT and by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board.
The trail on the property will be managed by the NorthWoods Stewardship Center based in East Charleston, which has maintained the Brousseau Mountain Trail for years.
Bringing people outdoors in the Northeast Kingdom
The NorthWoods Center runs summers camps and outdoor programs that regularly include the trail and the summit. Brousseau Mountain is one of the 20 summits in the NEK Mountain Challenge that originated in 1999 and that NorthWoods revived in 2010. Hikers who visit all the peaks receive an official NEK Mountain Challenge patch and certificate.
“Brousseau Mountain is my favorite hiking destination to share in all of the Northeast Kingdom,” said Maria Young, who is NorthWoods’s executive director. “With expansive views to Canada and northern Essex County of Vermont, and northern Coos County of New Hampshire, Brousseau stands out for its remote and wild beauty. We are so appreciative of the landowners, Vermont Land Trust, and the Town of Norton for preserving public access here for generations to come.”
Campers on the Brousseau Mountain Trail; credit NorthWoods Stewardship Center
Maria added that the hike is a kid favorite — it is short, a relatively gentle climb, and rewards children with a dramatic clifftop summit overlook and a high likelihood of seeing one of earth’s fastest creatures in flight, the Peregrine Falcon.
The cliffs on Brousseau Mountain are home to this rare falcon, a powerful bird that can reach speeds of 69 miles/hour in pursuit of prey. Visitors are urged to watch for signs about peregrine nests, and if possible, avoid nesting areas during the incubation period of March through August.
Entire length of Brousseau Mountain Trail is now secured, and provides hikers access to other conserved forestland in Essex County
The newly conserved property now under town ownership hosts a quarter mile of the roughly 1.6-mile Brousseau Mountain Trail. Beyond the property boundary, the trail continues to the mountain summit on a privately owned parcel that was already conserved as working forest under a federal easement of the Forest Legacy Program and that allows dispersed public access. Ann and Victor’s efforts have thus effectively secured the entire trail to the summit.
It has also secured a key access point for the public from a town road to the trail on the town-owned property. There is a parking area off the town road at the end of Brousseau Mountain Road, and a right-of-way permanently accommodates hikers to the trail.
Additionally, this project provides public access to a much larger part of the landscape. The property directly connects to thousands of acres of conserved working forestland in Essex County that is open for dispersed pedestrian access, including hiking, snowshoeing, and hunting.
This land protection success was funded by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board and through private donations.
“Folks in Norton have been climbing this trail for years, and now their kids and grandkids can too,” said Gus Seelig, executive director of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. “It’s a fine hike with a lovely view at the top, and we’re glad to have partnered with Victor Peters and Ann Sage, the Town of Norton, and the Vermont Land Trust to keep this trail open for perpetuity.”
