The Presidential Range is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
in the
Green Mountains of the
U.S. state of
Vermont. All of the summits of the peaks in the range are located in
Addison County but the eastern slopes in the northern part of the range extend into
Washington County. The major peaks in the range are named for several
U.S. presidents from the period of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
through
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
All of the peaks in the Presidential Range are above and all but one are above . The highest peak in the range is
Mount Abraham at , while the second highest peak is
Mount Wilson at . Both peaks are among the
one hundred highest peaks in New England.
Description
From north to south (which corresponds to the chronological order of the corresponding presidencies), the Presidential Range includes:
*
Mount Abraham, , named after
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
, U.S. President, 1861–1865
*
Mount Grant, , named after
Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. President, 1869–1877
*
Mount Cleveland, , named after
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
, U.S. President, 1885–1889 and 1893–1897
*
Mount Roosevelt, , named after
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
, U.S. President, 1901–1909
*
Mount Wilson, , named after
Woodrow Wilson, U.S. President, 1913–1921
The three northernmost summits are in the town of
Lincoln while the other two are in
Ripton (all in Addison County). Except for Mount Abraham, the major peaks of the range are in the
Breadloaf Wilderness in the
Green Mountain National Forest.
Mount Abraham is separated from the other peaks by
Lincoln Gap, the highest vehicle-accessible mountain pass in Vermont.
Drainage basin
Most of Presidential Range lies within the
watershed of
Lake Champlain, which drains into the
Richelieu River in
Québec, the
Saint Lawrence River, and then eventually into the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Portions of Mount Roosevelt and Mount Wilson lie within the watershed of the
Connecticut River, which drains into
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
in
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
.
Trails
The
Long Trail, a hiking trail running the length of Vermont, traverses the major peaks of the Presidential Range. The trail enters the southern edge of the Breadloaf Wilderness at
Middlebury Gap on
Vermont Route 125 and winds northward along the ridge of the Green Mountains to
Appalachian Gap on
Vermont Route 17:
Apart from the Presidential Range, there are five peaks above on this section of the Long Trail. North of Mount Abraham, there are four such peaks:
Lincoln Peak,
Nancy Hanks Peak,
Mount Ellen, and
Stark Mountain. South of Mount Wilson, the only such peak is
Bread Loaf Mountain.
Thru hikers traverse of trail between Mount Wilson and Mount Abraham. Along the way, four side trails provide access to the Long Trail (Emily Proctor Trail, Clark Brook Trail, Cooley Glen Trail, and Battell Trail) with limited off-road parking at each trailhead. There are three shelters on this section of the Long Trail: Emily Proctor Shelter, Cooley Glen Shelter, and Battell Shelter. Each shelter is at the intersection of the Long Trail and the corresponding side trail.
A popular day hike begins and ends where the Long Trail crosses Lincoln Gap Road in the town of Lincoln. From Lincoln Gap, the summit of Mount Abraham is north on the Long Trail. Alternatively, the Battell Trail, whose trailhead is also in Lincoln, terminates at the Battell Shelter after . From the shelter, the summit is north on the Long Trail.
The Emily Proctor Trail and the Cooley Glen Trail share the same trailhead. A popular loop hike begins and ends at this trailhead. The loop hike takes in three peaks of the Presidential Range: Mount Wilson, Mount Roosevelt, and Mount Cleveland. A fourth president, Mount Grant, is just off the main loop, north of the Cooley Glen Shelter on the Long Trail.
References
{{Mountains of Vermont
Mountain ranges of Vermont
Landforms of Addison County, Vermont