Ferdinand
9/18/2025
Ferdinand is a Vermont town with a lot of forest but few human residents- only 16 according to the 2020 census data. Route 105 runs through the northern tip of the town, with the Silvio O. Conte wildlife refuge to the north and the Wenlock Wildlife Management Areas to the south. We found a long, flat, and beautifully maintained gravel road that ran for miles into the WMA, where we did a lovely out and back for an 11 mile total ride.
South America Pond Road starts at Route 105 near the Brunswick town line. At the beginning of the road is a good parking spot / trailhead.
The road is a generous single lane, with mostly a smooth gravel surface. We saw little vehicle traffic when we were there.
The beginning of the road goes southwest for miles without much elevation gain. You turn left at 1.4 miles, and then it starts climbing a bit, with a 4 to 10% grade, for the next mile and a half.
The ride then continues without much grade change for 2.5 more miles until you come to the power line. This is the type of ride where you could easily happen upon a moose or bear (or a feral swine?) but we didn’t see any.
On this ride, you see signage for the winter snowmobile activity, and you pass an old gravel pit repurposed into a shooting range.
There is a juction in the road at mile 2.7 – and you keep right there. The left takes you on a powerline service road.
A high voltage power line running from Quebec to southern New England, crosses this route at about mile five, and traverses the town. That is where we turned around.
We definitely want to return and ride this route again. It was beautiful! and especially so in the fall.