Goshen
8/17/2025
Goshen, a quiet and peaceful place, is one of those out-of-the-way historic VT villages that sees very little traffic. Biking here, you will probably have the place, and the roads, all to yourself. The two big attractions are the Ruth Stone House and the beautiful Sugar Hill Reservoir at the Goshen Dam.
We parked near Route 73 on Town Hill Road, and ended up parking on the side of the road (which is allowed on VT if all four tires are off the roadway). Use CAUTION, though, because they have just replaced a bunch of culverts, the roadsides have a lot of deep, loose sand. Good place to bury a tire! We found a firm spot, but after the ride we realized that some might perfer to park in the village of Goshen, with its several town buildings and open lots.
We started this ride with a climb up to the river crossing, and continued up on Carlisle Hill. We stopped to take pictures near the Town of Goshen clerk’s office, the Goshen highway dept and Goshen Town Hall. Very old buildings!
There is some steep elevation on this ride, as it briefly hits 20% slope (it’s paved in that section) at one point.
After you pass Flora White road, it flattens out and views to the west open up. Passing Blueberry Hill cross country center, and a small pond on the west side you will soon find Goshen Dam Road on the east side.
The Moosalamoo National Recreation Area borders this route – with 16,000 Acres of land, miles of trails for summer and winter hiking, camping, biking, etc. We met two guys on bikes who had just camped at Moosalamoo Campground – a small, remote campground, accessible by car, and located at the base of Mt. Moosalamoo. They were doing several cross VT tours – ones with long days and many miles before they sleep.
There are some amazingly beautiful barns and farm buildings along the route.
Goshen is isolated partially because it lies in a hidden valley between the ridges of the Green Mountains – on one ridge is the Long Trail and on the other are low mountains next to Lake Champlain.
One of the most interesting sites on this ride is the Ruth Stone House. Ruth Stone was the Poet Laureate of Vermont from 2007 until her death in 2011 at the age of 96.
Even through adversity, she published thirteen collections of poetry and received numerous writing awards, including a National Book Award and two Guggenheim fellowships. Standing among the tangle of greenery in front of this old home, I could almost see poems escaping and perching – and preening – among the trees. Beautiful spot.
Nearby is the Sugar Hill Reservoir, a pond with a hydroelectric dam, with beautiful views of the untouched wilderness to the east and north here. There is a boat launch ramp and, on this day, we encountered one lucky local up to his waist and enjoing his own personal morning meditation.
Flora White and Hathaway Roads are an alternative way to return to the parking spot. If you go back this way, you get a nice glide down Route 73 to finish it. Paved, but has a wide shoulder and runs downhill the whole way! Fun ride in a beautiful part of the state.
