Vermont Route 100 Reservoir Road Extension

This forgotten Forest Service road splits off the main Route 100 corridor near Weston, climbing through dense hardwood forest to link Somerset and Grout Pond reservoirs via a challenging 12-mile mountain traverse. Built for reservoir maintenance crews in the 1960s, the road navigates steep grades, exposed granite ledges, and creek crossings that turn into ice flows come November. The route passes abandoned CCC camps and offers glimpses of pristine beaver ponds tucked into mountain valleys.

Rated difficult for good reason—articulation is mandatory on the granite shelves, and low-range crawling through boulder fields will test your undercarriage. Stock vehicles need not apply; this is skid plate and recovery gear territory. Best tackled June through October when the seasonal gate is open. No permits required, but check with Manchester Ranger District for closure updates. The payoff is solitude in some of Vermont’s most remote terrain and excellent brook trout fishing at trail’s end.