Breakneck Brook Forest
Bethel, VT 05032
Windsor County, Vermont
Ranch Description
The Breakneck Brook Forest is in central Vermont in the Town of Bethel, high on the western slopes of the Northfield Mountain Range. The land's high elevation offers fine views of the Green Mountain National Forest from an easily developed future homesite. The town road that bisects the land offers subdivision opportunities in the future. The Village of Rochester is close by and offers a full array of small-town amenities. Killington ski resort is a scenic commute to the south.
Location
The land is located in Bethel, with the property situated at the Town's western end on the west slope of the Northfield Range. Bethel Village is 10 miles to the east, in the White River Valley, and offers a variety of stores and basic services. Randolph Village (also in the White River valley) is 12 miles from the property and is a small but vibrant community bolstered by the presence of the Chandler Center for the Arts, Gifford Medical Center, and Vermont Technical College. The Town of Rochester is just 5 miles down the road, a border town of the Green Mountain National Forest, with a mix of small shops including a hardware store, a bookstore, a café, a full-service mountain bike shop, several restaurants, and a grocery store. Killington Ski Resort is 19 miles to the south. Hartford, Connecticut, is 3 hours south, and Boston is 2.5 hours southeast.
Access
The access is provided by the Hooper Hollow Road, gravel, Class 3; year-round town maintained road. This road ends shortly beyond the property - few vehicles and little road noise offer a quiet location. The road bisects the property with +/-2,280' of road frontage on the east side and +/-1,270' on the west side. Both sides of the road offer a solid building site with views allowing for easy future subdivision along the road. The east side of the road has an existing driveway into the land's largest clearing, while the western side of the road offers terrain that supports a simple driveway option into a small meadow. In addition, poles - likely a telephone line, runs along the road frontage.
Site Description
The property is ideal for a seasonal or year-round home given the town maintained road frontage and easily developed terrain. On the east side of the road, the land gently slopes, and upon entering the driveway, a large, level clearing exists, giving way to a great potential location to build a home. The south-westerly views from the uphill side of the clearing are long and focus on the mountain peaks of the Green Mountain National Forest within the upper White River Valley. In addition, this side of the land offers full sun with its west and southern exposure.
The western side of the road also offers a homesite option with a potential driveway possible from the level terrain where the road frontage begins. This future driveway leads to a small existing meadow with similar views offered to that of the eastern side of the land with tree clearing. This western side of the property also provides a future subdivision option along the town road. The property is located high on the western slopes of the Northfield Range and offers an elevation of 2,000' at the land's northern corner, falling to a low elevation of 1,680' where Breakneck Brook leaves the land.
Much of the land has well-drained, productive soils. Breakneck Brook originates just north of the land and roughly bisects the property, eventually draining into the White River, 2 miles downstream. The water runs fairly low during the dry summer months, being a high elevation stream; however, the stream descends sharply in some areas creating cascades over rocks and fallen logs with banks rising to steep forested slopes.
Timber
The forest resource consists of a mix of young +/-20 acre stands and, areas consisting of a mix of 80-year-old and 20-year-old trees. Much of the land was formally farmland, as evidenced by old stone walls and wire fencing. Species are a mix of maples, red spruce, and white pine. Given the surrounding landscape includes mountainous terrain and many large ownerships, large mammals such as black bears, moose, coyote, fisher cats, and white-tailed deer are common. The property is located in a heavily forested area with the Northfield Range just to the west. These conditions create a habitat where large game mammals such as moose, black bear, white-tailed deer, coyote, and fisher cats are common.
