Where to base yourself
Questions, answered
How remote is it, honestly?
It is the least populated county in Vermont, with a few thousand residents spread across mostly forest, and several townships with essentially no one in them. Services concentrate in Island Pond and Canaan; elsewhere you can drive twenty minutes without passing a shop. Mobile coverage is patchy to nonexistent in the basin.
Will I actually see a moose?
Your odds here are the best in Vermont, but nothing is guaranteed. Dawn and dusk work best, in late spring when animals come to roadside pools and again during the autumn rut. Drive slowly after dark on VT-105 and VT-114, where collisions are a real risk.
Where do people stay up here?
Small inns, motels, hunting camps and lakeside cabins around Island Pond, Canaan and the Averill lakes, plus the state park campground in season. Choice is limited and books out for hunting and snowmobile weekends, so reserve early or base in St. Johnsbury or Newport and drive in.
What is the best season?
Late September for foliage, which peaks here before anywhere else in the state, and midwinter for snowmobiling and quiet. Avoid the last week of May through mid-June unless you are prepared for black flies, which are serious in this part of Vermont.
Where to stay — Essex County
Live prices for every hotel and inn in the area — free cancellation, updated daily.
