Bureau of Land Management National Park Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Forest Service

Missisquoi & Trout Rivers, Vermont

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Managing Agency:

National Park Service


Designated Reach:

December 19, 2014. The Missisquoi River from the Lowell/Westfield town line to the Canadian border in North Troy, excluding the property and project boundary of the Troy and North Troy hydroelectric facilities. The Missisquoi River from the Canadian border in Richford to the upstream project boundary of the Enosburg Falls hydroelectric facility in Sampsonville. The Trout River from the confluence of the Jay and Wade Brooks in Montgomery to its confluence with the Missisquoi River in East Berkshire.


Classification/Mileage:

Recreational — 46.1 miles; Total — 46.1 miles.

Missisquoi River

Missisquoi & Trout Rivers

The Missisquoi and Trout Rivers are renowned for their numerous deep, picturesque bedrock swimming holes. Some, like the Three Holes swimming area on the Trout River in Montgomery, have been featured in publications such as Yankee magazine. Clear waters add to exception scenery. Big Falls is the largest natural, undammed falls in Vermont; it is also a State Park. This geologic feature consists of three separate channels with a total vertical drop of about 40 feet (25 feet being the largest single drop). There is a 225-foot-long gorge downstream of the falls with 60-foot-high walls. The gorge ends in a large pool about 100 feet across with beaches that make for good swimming and an excellent place for a picnic or fall foliage viewing. Geologic values are also an attraction, with blue schists and serpentinites to be found. The rivers support several rare, threatened and endangered species of plants and animals, such as the spiny softshell turtle.

Being New England, it's almost a given that historic and culturally significant resources can be found throughout the area. The rivers are spanned by the greatest concentration of covered bridges of any area in the country. In Montgomery alone, there are six covered bridges still in use today. A seventh, the Hectorville Bridge from Gibou Road, is currently in off-site storage awaiting repair. All were built by the same men, the Jewett brothers, in the 1800s and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These historic bridges, along with one in Troy and another in Enosburgh, are popular destinations for sightseers and add to the unique local character of the region.