Why Explore Montgomery?

You will Montgomery in Franklin County at the junction of Routes 242, 118, and 58. Actually, the junction is Montgomery Center and Montgomery is a mile or so up Route 118 towards Sheldon in the west, but it is all part of the township of Montgomery. Places like Montgomery don’t get written up like Stowe or Burlington. There are no “big” businesses there, and Jay Peak with its winter powder hounds is just a little way up Route 242 to the north, Montgomery just doesn’t have the same “tourist town feel” as Stowe and Jay.

What Montgomery Vermont offers leaf peepers

For leaf peepers, Montgomery usually makes their bucket list for one reason, Covered Bridges!

Three of the covered bridges (CB) are within minutes of each other near the center of Montgomery and just off North Main Street. (Longley, Fuller, and Comstock).

A fourth, the Creamery Covered Bridge/Hill West CB/Crystal CB is 2 miles southwest and lies between West Hill Road and Hill West road on Creamery Road, taking traffic over the Crystal Creek. Confused by Hill West and West Hill? Don’t blame me, I didn’t name them.

I first found the Hill West Covered Bridge (aka Creamery covered bridge) some years back and to save you some trouble, you can read my article on the Hill West Bridge here.

To find the fifth covered bridge you will have to travel about a mile south of Montgomery Center on Route 118 to find the Hutchins Covered Bridge.

The nice thing about all of these covered bridges, except for the Hill West covered bridge, is that they are just off the main road and easy to find.

But Wait! There’s a 7th Covered Bridge, or is there?

The town of Montgomery lists a 6th according to the Montgomery Town Plan 2016-2021, (found on the internet), the history of the Montgomery bridges is as follows…

“The Town of Montgomery has six covered bridges that are considered historic sites. They are the following: Fuller (1890), Comstock (1883), Hectorville (1883), Longley (1863), Creamery
(1883), and Hutchins (1883). The Fuller Covered Bridge is also known as Black Falls and the Creamery Covered Bridge is also known as West Hill or Crystal Springs. The Jewett brothers,
Sheldon and Savannah, built all of Montgomery’s covered bridges between 1860 and 1890. They operated a sawmill on West Hill which allowed them to mill the wood to their specific
requirements. Stress, wind, and weight were all factors that had to be taken into account when designing the bridges. The brothers used their trademark method to design the bridges. First, the main bearing beams were positioned across the stream onto a pier foundation on either end. Then the lattice trusses were moved into position and the top beams tied. After this, the roof was secured. The Jewett brothers were able to build bridges that have lasted over a hundred years. All six of these bridges are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”

Town of Montgomery

Where is the Hectorville Covered Bridge?

Montgomery had a seventh covered bridge, the Hectorville Covered Bridge. In 2018, I talked to Darren Drevik who was the proprietor of the Phineas Swann B&B/Inn at the time, and he gave me an update.. I learned from him that the bridge was in storage. Unfortunately, it’s unknown if it is still in storage now. There was nothing on the town plan mentioned above regarding the bridge or its future.

What keeps a small Vermont town going?

Tourism is the name of the game, and while the fall foliage season fills up all the local Inns and B&Bs. According to Darren, the winter keeps them busy also with skiers since they are only 8 miles from Jay Peak.

I often talk about a Base of Operation (BOP). This is a place to stay for part of your trip while you explore the surrounding landscape. You can check out these places and find one within your price point. Phineas Swann B&B/Inn, The Inn (yes that is the name), The Black Lantern, Crofter’s Green, and Grandpa Grunts Lodge. There are also the options of staying at the Jay Peak Resort, fantastic if you have children with you on your trip with its amazing indoor water park.

Most all the dining options revolve around where you are staying. Most serve breakfast and here is a list of other places in Montgomery Center. Bernie’s Restaurant, The Belfry, Big Jay Tavern, The Inn, and up toward Jay on Route 242 is the Jay Village Inn Restaurant.

Darren also says the summer is busy for Montgomery, so make your reservations well in advance. Coming this autumn? Make them now! 🙂

New England Fall Foliage Optimum Dates

This area of Northern Vermont can start turning as early as the 23rd of September, but I prefer to wait until the first of October. I’ll risk missing the early color, but if you are set on the earlier dates then be ready to explore at a higher elevation, or take an easy drive over to the Northeast Kingdom.

Two excellent areas of earlier fall color, or higher elevations, are around Jay Peak just a few miles to the north. To the east is Route 58. Route 58 seen in the image above is also known as Hazen’s Notch. Notches are low areas between two higher peaks and this is where you will find the roads that locals take.

In general, the back roads are dirt roads just like this one, and as you can see they are pretty well maintained, but when it comes to leaf peeping, take your time.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

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