o
What and Where is Thundering Falls?
Thundering Falls is a beautiful waterfall that is part of the Vermont Appalachian Trail. It is located off of Vermont Route 100 and Route 4 on River Road in Killington Vermont. For easy access, a 900-foot boardwalk has been built that leads you right to the waterfall!
Thundering Falls is said to be the sixth tallest waterfall in Vermont. In our opinion, it is definitely worth the short hike in to see it! It is part of Kent Brook, which flows out of Kent Pond just north of where the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail split.
o
The Boardwalk!
The 900-foot boardwalk, built by the Green Mountain Club, adds amazing views of the Ottauquechee Valley. The boardwalk also makes this stretch of the Appalachian Trail available to people who use wheelchairs. This area is the first, and only, wheelchair accessible portion of the Appalachian Trial in Vermont.
Follow the boardwalk from the River Road parking area to the falls and viewing platform. We recommend bringing your camera. This 140-foot waterfall is amazing!
Our Visit
We have been to Killington to many times! However, this was the first time we found this waterfall! For us, the fun started right in the parking area. This is where we discovered a mini-fall that was flowing off of the mountain across the street from the entrance to the Thundering Falls boardwalk!
Next to this mini-fall was also a sign regarding the nearby Appalachian Trail shelters. There was a bear warning notice, as well!
When we were walking out of Thundering Falls, we met up with a hiker. He was headed across the street to the other trails and shelters! Talking with him was very interesting. One of the things he told us was that he had been hiking the Appalachian Trail for 400 miles and that he started in Pennsylvania!!
o
The walk along the boardwalk is peaceful and beautiful! You will see a lot of beautiful trees, bushes, flowers and vegetation! The day that we were there it was bright and sunny, and a dragonfly was following us the whole way!
How Can I View Thundering Falls?
Once you make your way to the end of the boardwalk, there is a viewing platform which provides an amazing view of the falls!
If you are feeling adventurous, you can do a little more hiking up the mountain to view from other areas! First, I chose to view from the platform. After viewing from the platform, I decided to climb up a littler further to get more views and pictures! I’m not a hiker and this was fairly easy to do.
o
The Green Mountain National Forest is beautiful! We also think that the Appalachian National Scenic Trail Thundering Falls Trailhead is spectacular! It is managed in partnership with the Forest Service, National Park Service, Green Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy. As you can imagine, there are also many volunteers!!
If you are in the Killington Vermont area, we highly recommend taking a little time and visiting this waterfall! For us, this was the first waterfall on our list for the day.
Other Waterfalls Near By:
Moss Glen Falls in Granville VT
Texas Falls in Hancock VT
Have you visited the Green Mountain state? Leave us a message below and tell us what you did on your visit. We love learning about new adventures!
Love the pictures and the story.
This is beautiful! I”m always looking for wheelchair accessible trails to take my mom to. 🙂
I love any “hike” that included boardwalks..and so do my knees 😉
I love waterfalls! This one is beautiful! Your photos are wonderful!
A 140 foot waterfall that is accessible up close? I also like that there is wheelchair access, because that beauty needs to be seen by everyone. I would have been nervous knowing there are potential bear sightings. It must have been a great day.
This waterfall looks so beautiful! Next time I’m in the area I will stop by. And that is amazing that they made it wheelchair-accessible! This will also help out families with little kids in strollers 🙂
We haven’t taken our kids to New England yet–but really want to! Plus we love waterfalls, so we will need to add this to our must-do Vermont list.