Route 14 and East Central Vermont

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Route 14 is an interesting ride with some good views and nice foliage. It is usually has peak foliage around the first week in October. It runs along the White River up to the Jct. of route 107 in Royalton. The memorial to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Religion is off route 14 in Royalton. The drive for that it on the north side of the road. At the Jct. 107 is the Eaton Sugarhouse and it’s restaurant that open for breakfast and lunch. In East Bethel you will see a covered bridge on the left. In East Randolph you will find a covered bridge on the Hyde Road on the east side of the road and one on the Braley Road on the west side of the road. You will also see the Chelsea road on the east side of the road. This road is a paved secondary road that goes to route 110 and is a nice ride. Just north of East Brookfield is route 65 on the west side of the road. This road goes to Brookfield and the Floating Bridge. The road is paved up to the village where it turns to dirt for a few hundred feet. You can drive over the floating bridge if you wish, but try not to splash the fishermen. By the way, route 65 does continue west to route 12 but it is dirt all the way and can be bumpy. Route 14 from Williamstown to Barre is built up and not too scenic, but you may have to use it to get to other roads like route US 302 east and the other section of eastcentral Vermont. The other section of eastcentral Vermont is a wonderful area with places that have names that are magical to us Vermonters. Groton, Peacham, Barnet, Ryegate, Topsham, Wait’s River, Wells River, Post Mills Orange, Goose Green, and of course, Ticklenaked Pond. ( I’m not kidding!!) The main state routes are routes 302, 25 and 232. All of these roads are nice rides and great color. Route 232 through the Groton State Forest is a favorite of mine. The trees are young so you don’t have to strain your neck and the white birch trees really add to the fabulous colors. As you can see there are not many State routes here. There are a lot of paved secondary roads here, however. And they are great rides. There is one ride that uses a series of these secondary paved roads that starts in Danville and ends on route 113 in Vershire. I’ll start from Danville but I’ll try to set it up so you can start from Vershire also. Take route US 2 to the flashing yellow light in Danville and the village green on the south side. There are 3 roads in the green. You want the middle one, the Peacham Road. (the Brainerd Road next to it is a paved road to route US 5 in Barnet.) Drive the Peacham Road south through Peacham to Route US 302 in Groton where it’s name changes to the Minard Hill Road. Take route US 302 west to the Powder Springs Road on the south side of the road near a church. Drive the Powder Springs Road to to route 25 in East Corinth where it’s name changes to Village Road. Take route 25 south or east about 2 ½ miles and look for the Chelsea Road on the south side of the road. Drive the Chelsea Road down through Goose Green (don’t blink) and to the Eagle Hollow Road and bear right to continue the Chelsea Road. (Eagle Hollow Rd ends at route 113 also.) Drive along until you come to a sharp left curve and the Heath Road on the right. Drive the Heath Road ¼ mile and look at the old church while it’s still there. Go Back to the Chelsea road and finish it to route 113 in Vershire. Lots of views on this ride.
Looking at a Vt. Map you can see some good “loops’ using routes 12, 14 and 110 in any combination. There are some other “loops using 110, 113, 132 US 5 or the Academy Road at Thetford Hill as an alternative. Lets talk about that road. When you come into Thetford Hill there is a 4 way intersection, Academy Road is the paved road on the south side of route 113. You drive this road through the covered bridge in Union Village to get to route 132. This road starts out as Main Street on route 132. I prefer to use this road to link up routes 113 and 132. You notice I’m not using left or right turns but north, east, south, or west. That’s because I’m not sure how you will be driving these loops. Now, there are a few things to discuss about route 110. There are 6 covered bridges on this road. I’ll name the roads they are on going south to north. The Howe bridge is on the east side of route 110. You can’t miss it. The next one is on Howe Lane off the west side of Rt. 110. Howe Lane loops back to Rt.110 so drive right through the bridge to Rt. 110. The next one is in the village of Tunbridge on the left side across from the General Store. The next one is on the Larkin Road off the east side of Rt. 110. You might be able to see it from Rt. 110. The next one is on the Bicknell Hill Road of the east side of Rt. 110. The next one is just up the road on the Moxley Road. It’s off the east side of Rt. 110. (NOTE; you can reach both of these bridges using the Moxley Rd. If you use the Bicknell Hill Rd., turn left after the bridge. If you use the Moxley Rd., just drive through that bridge and go until you see the other bridge and drive through that bridge. It’s a short dirt road with good views.) Just north of Moxley Road on the west side of Rt. 110 is the East Randolph Road. This a paved secondary road that goes to route 14 in East Randolph about ½ mile above the Braley Road and that covered bridge. It’s a nice ride. For you folks that would rather do covered bridges than foliage this is a great shortcut. One more thing about route 110 before we end. About a mile north of Tunbridge Village and about 2 miles south of North Tunbridge on the west side of Rt. 110 is the Whitney Hill Road. It is a dirt road, but it has one of the prettiest Round Barns in the State. It’s on a side hill with a beautiful long view in the background. Continuing straight ahead you will come to an old one room schoolhouse on the west side. At the west side of the schoolhouse is the crumbling remains of the old 2 seat outhouse and past that you will see the old rope ski tow in the field. Continue the Whitney Hill rd to the end at the Dickerman road and turn right to get to Route 110. You will be about ½ of a mile north of the Larkin Road and it’s covered bridge.