Quechee Gorge looking back towards the Quechee Gorge bridge.

Quechee Gorge looking back towards the Quechee Gorge bridge.

While cool temperatures have been the norm in Vermont the last week or so, today temperatures spiked in the region to the mid 90's. Summer is back in the north country.... at least for a few more days.

Having a rare day to ourselves, we played like tourists for a few hours and hiked down the Quechee Gorge on our way to do some shopping in Lebanon New Hampshire. Even though we have been across the Quechee Gorge bridge hundreds of times, and have sent guests down to hike the gorge, we never had the opportunity to do it ourselves. It was a nice diversion for a few minutes during our day.

The trip down the gorge is very simple. In one direction (south), it is about a half mile walk from the bridge to the gorge floor down a well marked trail. The walk was simple and straight forward and the views at the bottom were classic Vermont.

Once we were done hiking back up to the bridge, we headed in the opposite direction (north) to the Quechee Dam. The dam is a concrete structure with wooden slats on its top to control the flow of water into the gorge. A small power plant takes water from the pond behind the dam and converts it into electricity. The whole operation was "green" before "green" was in style.

The whole walk in both directions took a little over an hour. It was a nice diversion in the middle of a warm summer day. Where ever you may find yourself, keep it in the fairway and don't forget the sunscreen.