Kelley Stand Road is an unpaved road running between East Arlington and

Stratton, Vermont Stratton is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 440 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.9 square miles (121.5 km2), of which 46.4 ...

, in southern Vermont. It travels over a high plateau adjacent to the

Lye Brook Wilderness The Lye Brook Wilderness is one of eight wilderness areas in the Green Mountain National Forest in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The wilderness area was created by the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975, wh ...

in the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF). The road originally served numerous logging camps and early settlements during the nineteenth century. From Stratton, the road continues eastward to West Wardsboro as a paved, year-round road. The western portion is dirt and not plowed or maintained during winter months.

History

The road is named for the Kelley Stand, an "old-time tavern", which was still in operation along the route circa 1913. Kelley Stand Road is notable as the site of Daniel Webster's famous Kelley Stand speech of July 1840; a historic marker commemorates the spot. The road is near the location near where Benton MacKaye first conceived his idea of a hiking trail that ran along the

Appalachian Mountain range The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

of the eastern United States.

Appalachian Trail and Long Trail

The Appalachian Trail (AT), and likewise the Long Trail (LT), which share the same path in the southern Green Mountains of Vermont, cross Kelley Stand Road before the trail crosses over the summit of Stratton Mountain, which lies to the north of the road. Overnight AT/LT trailhead parking is available on the road, which also serves as an access point for other nearby trails. Northbound from Kelley Stand Road the next AT/LT shelter is the Stratton Pond shelter at AT mile point 1625, and to the south lies the Story Spring AT/LT shelter at mile point 1615.

Damage from Tropical Storm Irene

On August 28, 2011,

Tropical Storm Irene The name Irene was used for thirteen cyclones worldwide: 12 tropical and one extratropical. Of the tropical cyclones named Irene, seven were in the Atlantic, two were in the South Pacific, and the Western Pacific, South-West Indian Ocean and Austral ...

caused major damage to the road. Until scheduled repairs were made by the

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, it remained inaccessible from the Arlington side. Destinations could still be reached from the Stratton side. In September 2014, Kelley Stand Road was completely reopened from the Arlington side, after three years of reconstruction costing $3.8 million.

References

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External links

Arlington, Vermont

Appalachian Trail Shelters
Roads in Vermont