“Vermont’s Little Grand Canyon” is the phrase thrown around to describe the mile-long Quechee Gorge. While you really cannot compare the gorge here to the mile deep, 277-mile long Grand Canyon in Arizona, it is impressive compared to all others in New England. You can overlook the entire gorge from the VT 4 highway bridge. From the bridge, it is jaw-dropping 165 feet to the river below. This provides quite a scenic and wild view of the shallow valley that the Ottauquechee River has cut its way through. As for a waterfall or a set of cascades, you cannot really see either from the bridge without a pair of binoculars. By following the network of trails that parallels the river downstream, you can get a closer inspection of the small cascades within the gorge. If you are looking for major waterfalls, you will not find any within the gorge—you have to hike to the head of the gorge where you will find a waterfall flowing below a dam, called Mill Pond Falls, but occasionally referred to as Dewey’s Mill. This falls is a horsetail that very few visitors to the gorge bother to find. It is neither powerful nor scenic, but it helps conclude a fine trip to Quechee Gorge, Vermont longest and most famous gorge.

The trails that lead to both the gorge and Mill Pond Falls begin behind the gift shop. From the parking area, walk behind the gift shop and down a short staircase where you will reach a trailhead sign. Continue beyond the sign by climbing a short staircase straight ahead of you. At this point, you will have a decision to make. You can either: take a left and continue 0.4 mile downstream to the base of the gorge, or you can take a right and head 0.3 mile upstream to Mill Pond Falls. Both trails are well-maintained and provide easy access to the gorge and falls. A trip to both the upper and lower ends of the gorge is 1.4 miles. Be sure to also witness Quechee Gorge from the highly elevated position of the highway bridge. The distance from the bridge to the river below is an astonishing 165 feet and the views are impressive.

Directions for this particular waterfall are not posted online. Please see directions in our published guidebook, New England Waterfalls: A Guide to More Than 400 Cascades And Waterfalls, or you can email us and we will happily provide them to you.

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