One Sweet Hike in Guilford

Sweet Pond State Park in Guilford, Vermont, is small, with no camping or developed facilities. However, an easy 1.5-mile loop along the shoreline — through a hardwood and magnificent hemlock forest — makes for a great hike. On a warm day earlier this spring, I set off to that small town near Brattleboro to check it out. The blue-blazed path starts at a kiosk in the parking lot, descends, swings left and continues to the bottom of a hillside. Here I saw maple trees towering above the trail. There were also unusually large striped maples — an understory tree with interesting bark and broad, tri-lobed leaves. Striped maples grow as a large, multi-stemmed shrub or small understory tree. Before continuing along the western shore of the pond, which is an artificial impoundment on Keats Brook, I explored the greenery on the shoreline. There were beds of star moss and Canada Mayflower, or wild lily-of-the-valley — the first bitter green to appear on the forest floor in spring. On this day, spikes of star-shaped white flowers shot out from their stems; later clusters of green berries appear, eventually turning to a speckled, dull red in late summer and bright red in fall. Back on the trail, I walked uphill past stone walls sloping down the hillside to the left. The trail leveled, and I stepped through a gap in the stone wall as the path moved away from the pond. Soon, I crossed an intermittent stream and caught a glimpse of the pond to the right. Crossing another stream on slabs of rock, I stopped to listen to the subtle gurgling sound of water trickling down the hillside. At the northern end of the pond, the trail crossed through a brushy wetland — with alder and cattail heads showing their fluffy, silken strands — on a planked boardwalk. The path continued to the southeast, along the eastern side of the pond. Soon, I was in a dark forest of mature oak and hemlock. Hemlocks are incredibly long-lived trees, often taking 250 to 300 years to reach true maturity. The needle-covered trail moved uphill past more giant trees, including an enormous yellow birch. There was a real primeval feeling here, quite a contrast to the sunny deciduous woods on the western shore. The trail rolled up and down through the hemlock woods. An hour into the hike, I reached a concrete and stone dam. Staying to the left, I continued downhill on the blue-blazed trail, crossed a footbridge, and emerged at Sweet Pond Road (a dirt road). A 0.3-mile walk uphill past a car-top boat launch on the right brought me back to the trailhead and parking lot. To get to Sweet Pond State Park, from the junction of Route 5 and Route 142 in downtown Brattleboro, drive south on Route 5 for 2.7 miles. At the Guilford Country Store, turn right onto Guilford Center Road and continue for 1.6 miles. Turn left onto Weatherhead Hollow Road and drive for 4 miles, then turn right onto Baker Cross Road and continue for 0.4 mile. Make another right turn onto Sweet Pond Road and continue for 1.6 miles to the park entrance sign and parking lot. SWEET POND STATE PARK Sweet Pond State Park is open for day visits; camping or overnight use is not permitted. There are no developed facilities. However, visitors can swim in the pond and pets are welcome. A sign at the park entrance reads: Sweet Pond State Park- Amiskwbi, which is the Abenaki word for "beaver pond." In the fall of 2019, state contractors completed the renovation of a historic dam that was deemed unsafe, which had required the draining of the pond. The park is named after Dr. Charles and Susan Sweet, who maintained a summer home on the property throughout much of the 20th century. The land was originally settled by the Franklin family, who farmed the land for more than 150 years beginning in 1777. The Franklin Cemetery lies within the park, just west of the park entrance.