I may have mentioned once or twice that I haven’t shared yet a backlog of places I visited this year. One such place is Quechee State Park in Vermont. Alright, true confessions. This was an impromptu stop on the way home from Angel Chuck Billy’s meticulously planned trip to the Adirondacks in New York. He never would have approved of such spontaneity! However, we were stopped in traffic for construction work along Route 4, and Dad had the brilliant idea of why don’t we pull into the visitor center to stretch our legs before continuing home! Due to the work being done on the bridge, only a short portion of the entire 1.5 mile Quechee Gorge Trail was accessible. Therefore, this ended up being a quick stop on our journey, but isn’t taking detours part of the fun of being on adventures?

On that June 2025 visit, we started at the steep stairs at the visitor center, and followed the easy on the paws path through the woods.

It runs along the Ottauquechee River, overlooking the gorge. Sorry for slouching in the below photo. I didn’t want to block the view!

Quechee Gorge is Vermont’s deepest gorge, formed by glacial activity approximately 13,000 years ago.

Along the trail, there are places to access the river. On the day we visited there was a fellow Golden Retriever swimming, and several families fishing. However, there were also signs warning about the water rising rapidly, and so please be cautious if you do dip the paws!

Between the warning signs, and our travel time constraints, we only briefly posed for photos before continuing on our way.

Dogs are allowed on-leash at this popular walking trail. We only walked approximately a half mile, along this in and out path. However, when not under construction, the trail continues under the bridge and leads to the Dewey Mills Pond boat launch. To plan your visit, go to Quechee State Park.