Camel’s Hump. Abenaki Name: Tawapodiiwajo meaning “place to sit” or “saddle mountain” or “mountain seat”
Explore the Mountain in Your Backyard
Living in Chittenden County, your access to wonderful trails, rivers, and recreation possibilities are endless. Camel’s Hump, the only undeveloped 4,000-foot peak in Vermont, with its iconic silhouette, is right in your backyard, offering hiking opportunities for all interests and abilities.
Did you know? The Green Mountain Club, the century-old non-profit organization that built the Long Trail, manages and maintains the 20.3 mile of trail that criss-cross Camel’s Hump, and serves the tens of thousands of hikers who use these trails every year. We want to help you explore, connect, and protect your backyard mountain!
Explore More of Your Backyard Mountain: Learn more about sustainable trails and the rare alpine zone on Camel’s Hump’s summit.
Connect with GMC: Sign up for email and get custom hike and recreation inspiration in your inbox, including fun trail features and plant identification tips provided by our Camel’s Hump experts.
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Protect Your Backyard Mountain. By donating to the Green Mountain Club, you are supporting your backyard mountain. Can you contribute $5 to support the Camel’s Hump caretakers who protect the alpine zone, interact with hikers on the summit, and complete trail work on the mountain?
Explore Camel’s Hump Trails
This popular peak is visited by tens of thousands of hikers each year. It’s also one of the only remaining alpine zones in the state — so it takes a lot of work to keep the trails in top shape and protect the fragile environment above tree line. Want an accessible hike, a short hike with good views, or a hike all the way to the summit? We got you.
Explore More of Camel’s Hump
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Sustainable Trails on Camel’s Hump
From 2021 to 2023, Green Mountain Club led the restoration of the entire 2.1-mile Burrows Trail, one of the most popular trails on Camel’s Hump. The trail starts in Huntington and is the shortest route to the top of the mountain. It’s many people’s first experience hiking a 4,000-footer, and its popularity boomed during the pandemic. It’s steep, and well-used, so it was suffering from severe widening and erosion issues. Due to its popularity and importance for local hikers, GMC and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation invested nearly a million dollars to rebuild the entire trail, so that it will be durable and hikeable for years to come. The Burrows Restoration is a flagship example of sustainable trail construction in an era of climate change.
Burrows Trail Project
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Life in the Camel’s Hump Alpine Zone
There are only three mountains that host alpine vegetation in Vermont, and Camel’s Hump is one of them. This biologically diverse, isolated, and rare ecozone is characterized by harsh winds, cold temperatures, and rare and endangered plant species. The plants are very vulnerable to impacts of human recreation, so learn how to be a steward of the alpine zone to help ensure these special environments are preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Vermont’s Alpine Zones
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Be a Good Hiking Citizen
Camel’s Hump is a very popular mountain, and humans inherently create impact on the environment around them. We rely on the support of hikers like you to practice good hiking stewardship. These include following all parking and trail guidelines, including road and trail closures; staying on trail to protect the surrounding landscape, camping in designated areas only, packing out all waste and trash, and being welcoming and respectful to all other trail users. The alpine zone has its own special stewardship considerations: stay on trail and take care to step only on the rocks, not plants. Dogs should remain closely leashed and on rocks as well.
Protect Your Backyard Mountain: GMC caretakers work hard to ensure hikers are aware of these guidelines. By donating to the Green Mountain Club, you are supporting your backyard mountain. Can you contribute $5 to support the Camel’s Hump caretakers who protect the alpine zone, interact with hikers on the summit, and complete trail work on the mountain?
Protect Camel’s Hump
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Play Summer Hiking Bingo
So, there’s a lot to learn and love about Camel’s Hump, even if you’ve hiked it a million times! Overwhelmed? Start connecting with the mountain, and the trails around Richmond and Huntington more broadly, with our Summer Hiking Bingo game. Challenges like “identify an alpine plant” or “try a new-to-you hike” will get you out and about in no time.
