★ 4.4The northeasternmost corner, making up part of the Northeast Kingdom.
Vermont’s least-populated, most-forested corner — moose country, big skies and genuine quiet.
Where to stay in Essex County
Island Pond is the only place in the county that functions as a base with services around it, and it is where most visitors sleep, on or just off VT-105 and VT-114 within reach of a shop, a fuel pump and the snowmobile trail network. Further north, Canaan and the Averill lakes near the Quebec and New Hampshire lines give you cabins and camps in genuinely empty country, with the trade-off that the nearest groceries can be twenty minutes away and the phone signal will not save you. Many people accept the drive instead and base outside the county in St. Johnsbury or Newport, coming up for the day. Whatever you choose, book long before hunting season and the snowmobile weekends, when the handful of rooms up here goes at once.
Hand-checked stays
Stays in Essex County
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★ 4.0On the ground
Things to do in Essex County
- Island Pond villageA remote railroad village wrapped around its namesake pond — the unofficial capital of the far Kingdom.
- Brighton State ParkSandy beach, boat rentals and lakeside camping on Spectacle Pond.
- Moose watchingRoute 105 and the Nulhegan Basin are among the most reliable moose-spotting corridors in the state.
- Nulhegan BasinPart of the Silvio O. Conte refuge — boreal forest, logging roads and paddling far from any crowd.
Getting around & the essentials
Transport
There is no public transport of any kind here. Most people come off I-91 at Lyndonville and take VT-114 north to Island Pond, roughly half an hour, or follow US-2 east from St. Johnsbury and then VT-102 up the Connecticut River. Burlington International is about two and a half hours away and Montreal a similar drive; bring a full tank, a paper map and winter tyres in season.
Good to know
Common questions
How remote is it, honestly?
It is the least populated county in Vermont, with a few thousand residents spread across mostly forest, and several townships with essentially no one in them. Services concentrate in Island Pond and Canaan; elsewhere you can drive twenty minutes without passing a shop. Mobile coverage is patchy to nonexistent in the basin.
Will I actually see a moose?
Your odds here are the best in Vermont, but nothing is guaranteed. Dawn and dusk work best, in late spring when animals come to roadside pools and again during the autumn rut. Drive slowly after dark on VT-105 and VT-114, where collisions are a real risk.
Where do people stay up here?
Small inns, motels, hunting camps and lakeside cabins around Island Pond, Canaan and the Averill lakes, plus the state park campground in season. Choice is limited and books out for hunting and snowmobile weekends, so reserve early or base in St. Johnsbury or Newport and drive in.
What is the best season?
Late September for foliage, which peaks here before anywhere else in the state, and midwinter for snowmobiling and quiet. Avoid the last week of May through mid-June unless you are prepared for black flies, which are serious in this part of Vermont.
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Nearby towns
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