Description
Notice
North Pawlet Hills is experiencing extremely high use, imperiling public access, wildlife populations and sensitive habitat. Please consider using Trail Finder to identify other nearby trails and visit them instead. If the parking lot is full when you arrive, choose another trail to visit. Be considerate of your fellow trail enthusiasts - pass at safe distances, wear masks, and move on from viewpoints if others are waiting. As always, leave your dogs at home to protect the unique wildlife here.
Overview
Generations of Pawlet families—and visitors from around the world—have climbed the steep slopes to the top of Haystack Mountain to take in the spectacular 360-degree views of Bald and Middle Mountains, the north-south forested hills, and the serene Mettowee Valley. Locals call Haystack, Middle, and Bald Mountains the Three Sisters. This natural area features a series of rounded, forested peaks in the northern Taconic Mountains, clustered in an extensive landscape of unbroken forest.
Protecting this landscape is a collaborative effort. A local group, Friends of Haystack, successfully conserved the summit of Haystack in 2012, and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board has substantially supported TNC's efforts over the years.
Of the three peaks, Haystack Mountain is perhaps the most distinctive, with its sheer cliffs and dramatic outcrops of slate and quartzite. From the modest 1,919-foot summit you can see as far west as Glens Falls, NY, and south beyond the farms of the Mettowee Valley to Mount Equinox in Manchester.
