Visiting Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell, Vermont

Mount Independence is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend.

Exhibits at the Visitor Center open a window into the world of the Revolutionary War soldier. Learn how Americans built a bridge across Lake Champlain in the middle of a Vermont winter. View archeological treasures pulled from the soils of the Mount that provide clues to the living conditions at a late 18th century military complex. Listen to the authentic words of British and American soldiers. And much more.

If you’d like to stretch your legs, seven miles of hiking trails will take you through beautiful meadows and woodlots, past the sites of the great hospital, blockhouses, officers quarters and the great star-shaped fort. Magnificent vistas overlook the lake, historic Mount Defiance, and the mighty walls of Fort Ticonderoga. Picnic beside the remains of one of the cannon batteries that held British forces at bay, while you watch a squadron of dragonflies dance above the lake surface.

Directions

Mount Independence is located in Orwell, Vermont. From route 22A, turn west onto route 73 at the blinking light. Where 73 bears to the right, continue straight. The next time the road forks, about four miles, bear right and follow that road till you reach the Visitor Center. Park across the road.

Admission is free for Coalition members.