Franklin

Lake Carmi in the distance – photo Chris Leister

You might call this ride “Cornfields Everywhere!” or “Cows Galore!”

This is a lovely short ride, without much climbing in one of the prettiest parts of Vermont. It starts in Franklin Center and does a quick loop around the area on lovely, wide gravel roads. You are either looking out over vista views with cows in the foreground, or surrounded on all sides by corn.

We parked on the side of the road, next to a cornfield, but could easily have parked in the village center, at the library. This area boasts beautiful views of Lake Carmi, one of the largest lakes in the state, and sits nestled up against the Canadian border.

Franklin Center – photo M. Gauvin
Cows Galore! – photo M. Gauvin

We see lots of dairy farms where we live, and lots of cows, but this area takes it to the 10th degree. Much of Vermonts milk comes from this beautiful, lush and remote area of the state.

Ominous weather approaching! – photo M. Gauvin

We started this ride in the sunshine, but within a few minutes we got clobbered with some serious weather, so we had to bail and backtrack back to the car. Regardless, we recommend this ride if only for the third that we saw. It was breathtaking!

photo M. Gauvin

We ended up camping at Lake Carmi, just a few minutes drive from Franklin, and really enjoyed our time there.