Spruce Mountain in Plainfield, Vermont

At the base of the fire tower on Spruce Mountain

On Valentine's Day (February 14), I took a quick snowshoe trip up Spruce Mountain while visiting Plainfield, Vermont on some family business.  But fear not, I was home in time for a Valentine's Day dinner with Allison that night!

Noyes Pond from Spruce Mountain

Spruce Mountain is something of an "old friend."  I have hiked, skied and snowshoed the mountain many times on my frequent trips to Plainfield.  Most of the trail is located in the small L.R. Jones State Forest, which was Vermont's first state forest; however, the summit itself lies in adjacent Groton State Forest.

Vermont's Granite Mountains from Spruce Mountain

The mountain is not large (3,020') and the hike is relatively short (4.4 miles round trip), but there are excellent views of Vermont's sparsely populated Northeast Kingdom from the summit and fire tower.