Best Route to Sugarbush from 89 N?

[xwhaler]

Will be heading up after work next Tuesday, staying near MRG (Hyde a Way) and skiing Mt Ellen on Wed.
Have seen reports in the past that Exit 5 (Roxbury Gap) is not recommended for winter travel.
Is this still the case?

I will either be in a FWD sedan (if no snow in forecast) or a 4x4 truck (if snowing anytime between Tues AM-Wed night)

If Exit 5 is not reccomended, are Exit 3 and 9 about exactly the same as Google maps depicts?

It's been 5+ yrs since I was up there coming directly from the south---usually am already staying up near Burlington when I hit Sugarbush. Don't know if the road situation has changed recently?

 

[Smellytele]

I have done Roxbury when it doesn't snow - I have taken the 100b route in Middlesex exit 9 other times (gps sends me this way). only 10 mins difference and better roads.

 

[Newpylong]

100B in Winter.

 

[dlague]

Depends on the weather, but we have taken three different routes and it did not seem to make that much of a difference.

Xt 5 going over Roxbury Gap is the shortest but with bad weather can be a little freaky (been there done that)
Xt 3 Route 107 to route 100 - twisty turny and hilly
Xt 9 Route 100B to Route 100 - Best path if conditions are not that great

The estimated time different between them all is about 8 minutes - I have driven all 3 and arrived about the same travel time from Concord, NH

 

[buellski]

You can also take Exit 3 in Bethel and use Camp Brook Rd./Bethel Mtn. Rd. to get over to 100. It's all paved.

https://goo.gl/maps/9nnyYYDwP942

 

[Whitey]

You can also take Exit 3 in Bethel and use Camp Brook Rd./Bethel Mtn. Rd. to get over to 100. It's all paved.

https://goo.gl/maps/9nnyYYDwP942

I've gone this way several times (in winter) over the last couple of years. It's not bad. Pretty good route.

 

[buellski]

I've gone this way several times (in winter) over the last couple of years. It's not bad. Pretty good route.

I agree. They keep the road in good shape and there's quite a bit of use since it's the most direct route between Rochester and Bethel. It's a great motorcycle road in summer too!

 

[dlague]

You can also take Exit 3 in Bethel and use Camp Brook Rd./Bethel Mtn. Rd. to get over to 100. It's all paved.

https://goo.gl/maps/9nnyYYDwP942

My GPS is telling me that it is about a mile shorter but takes about 3 minutes longer than sticking to the main route. I guess it depends how someone drives or who you might be stuck behind which applies to any of these routes.

 

[buellski]

My GPS is telling me that it is about a mile shorter but takes about 3 minutes longer than sticking to the main route. I guess it depends how someone drives or who you might be stuck behind which applies to any of these routes.

Going through Roxbury is on a winding, dirt road over the ridge. It's not bad, but Camp Brook and Bethel Mtn. are paved the entire way. I've only gone across through Roxbury in the summer. I have no info on what it's like in winter.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

my gps sent me via exit 5 on 1/9. gorgeous drive. wouldn't recommend it with fresh snow.

 

[WWF-VT]

I have a place at MT Ellen and 90% of the time take Exit 9 off of 89 N. Exit 3 adds too much time, Exit 5 and over the gap could be snow or mud or stuck in a line of slow vehicles.

 

[Brad J]

I used to take exit 3 in the 80's and early 90's and it was fairly rough , and i didn't think it was all paved, sounds like it has been vastly improved , can anyone confirm from those days??

 

[thetrailboss]

I've gone this way several times (in winter) over the last couple of years. It's not bad. Pretty good route.

+ 1.

Used to drive this route a lot. Nice views of Killington at the top. It's direct. Not far from Middlebury Snow Bowl or Sugarbush when you drop into Rochester. It cuts off a lot of the 107/100 route.


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[thetrailboss]

I used to take exit 3 in the 80's and early 90's and it was fairly rough , and i didn't think it was all paved, sounds like it has been vastly improved , can anyone confirm from those days??

Yes, paved and modernized probably in the last 20 years or so. It's always been that way when I've driven it.


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[WWF-VT]

Yes, paved and modernized probably in the last 20 years or so. It's always been that way when I've driven it.

It's paved but the Bethel Mountain Rd has nasty frost heaves, you have to slow down often if you value your suspension.

 

[thetrailboss]

It's paved but the Bethel Mountain Rd has nasty frost heaves, you have to slow down often if you value your suspension.

That's true.

 

[dlague]

Going through Roxbury is on a winding, dirt road over the ridge. It's not bad, but Camp Brook and Bethel Mtn. are paved the entire way. I've only gone across through Roxbury in the summer. I have no info on what it's like in winter.

I did it on a night with freezing rain and it scared the shit out of me.



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[Whitey]

My GPS is telling me that it is about a mile shorter but takes about 3 minutes longer than sticking to the main route. I guess it depends how someone drives or who you might be stuck behind which applies to any of these routes.

MY GPS said that the route I took to Crotched on Sunday should take 1:26. I made it in 1:10, only took one short detour off of the GPS route. For some reason I had a bad feeling that I would hit a speed trap somewhere so I never went more than 5MPH over the speed limit, so it wasn't because I was speeding.

I think GPS's struggle with estimating the time on back roads &/or mountain roads and tend to overestimate the amount of time it will take. A lot of it may also have to do with the fact that if I am driving a mountain road it doesn't slow me up much because I've done a lot of winter/back roads driving. But if my wife were to drive the same route - good g0d, we might not make it there until the next morning. So the GPS is going to split the difference between the two of us and overestimate how long it will take me to drive those roads.

 

[dlague]

MY GPS said that the route I took to Crotched on Sunday should take 1:26. I made it in 1:10, only took one short detour off of the GPS route. For some reason I had a bad feeling that I would hit a speed trap somewhere so I never went more than 5MPH over the speed limit, so it wasn't because I was speeding.

I think GPS's struggle with estimating the time on back roads &/or mountain roads and tend to overestimate the amount of time it will take. A lot of it may also have to do with the fact that if I am driving a mountain road it doesn't slow me up much because I've done a lot of winter/back roads driving. But if my wife were to drive the same route - good g0d, we might not make it there until the next morning. So the GPS is going to split the difference between the two of us and overestimate how long it will take me to drive those roads.

agreed!

 

[Whitey]

Going through Roxbury is on a winding, dirt road over the ridge. It's not bad, but Camp Brook and Bethel Mtn. are paved the entire way. I've only gone across through Roxbury in the summer. I have no info on what it's like in winter.

I've done Roxbury Gap several times mid winter. They actually do a good job plowing it but the top section is a dirt road. If you have good tires - climbing to the top isn't really too bad. On the way down the trick is to use your transmission - switch into drive2 or drive3 and let the transmission keep your speed down. It is windy, so if you're hitting the brakes a lot you run the risk of sliding/losing control if it's slick/snowy.

I've done it at night in a snow storm and made it OK. But I was also driving a Tacoma w/ 4WD and 400 lbs of sand in the back. But if you gave me a car with a decent set of tires on it - I'd go that way. One of my snowy rides thru there a couple of years ago I ended up following a guy driving a tractor trailer thru there. He made it OK. I was pretty impressed with that piece of driving.

If you get behind someone who is struggling with driving it, you can get slowed down. But usually I can find a spot somewhere along the road where it's straight enough that I can get by them.