Our family had an epic day in Stowe, VT on Saturday. We live about 1.25 hours away, so we made it a day trip. We easily visited all the waterfalls I wanted to see since they are all short hikes. Continue reading to learn more about our day, which will help you decide whether to visit one, two, or all three waterfalls during your trip to Stowe.

We arrived around 11:30 am and started our day at Moss Glen Falls (note: there is a waterfall with the same name in Granville, VT so make note of that when putting it in your GPS). Moss Glen Falls is just off VT Route 100. Take a turn on to Randolph Road and then a right on to Moss Glen Falls Road, less than a 1/2 mile you will see the parking area on your left. With it being a Saturday, it was a bit busy so cars were parked down the road a bit from the parking lot. It honestly wasn't as busy as I expected and it was still a very short walk from where we parked to the trail head. The hike in itself is short-about 10 minutes to the waterfall. The majority of the hike was on a boardwalk/wooden walkway until you got closer to the woods and stream. As we approached the waterfall we went straight to the stone steps which give you the view of the waterfall from above. If you can't do steps, you will want to skip this part as there are a lot of them to get to the top. Once you get to the top, they have railings to keep everyone back from the edge of the cliffs so there is limited space on a busy day. We waited a few minutes for people to view and move on so I could snap a few pictures and take it all in and then let others take their turns. What a view from the top but the base was where it was at! Head back down the stone steps and you will want to make your way upstream (very short walk-just around the corner) toward the waterfall. The towering rock walls surrounding the waterfall first captured my eye. I felt so small in such a beautiful space and couldn't get over the beauty of the large rocks. As you get a little closer you notice the waterfalls starting to cascade out. There are some large rocks to climb on to take in the view of the 85' waterfall. There is a swimming hole at the base that people were enjoying and portions on the lower end of the waterfall where a group of kids were sliding, climbing and splashing around having an absolute blast. We unfortunately had forgotten to start the day in bathing suits so we waited for the next waterfall to enjoy a swim. This just means we have to go back again to enjoy it some more 😉. We waded in the water for quite a while and just took in the scenery from the base. There were a lot of people in and out but not overly crowded as there was tons of space to spread out. We spent about an hour here before we moved on.

It was kind of an unplanned day so we didn't have time to pack lunch (only snacks). We took a quick stop at the Alpinemart on Mountain Road in Stowe to grab lunch and use the bathroom. They are under 10 minutes from Moss Glen Falls. There are ton of great restaurants in the area but our goal for the day was to enjoy the waterfalls so a quick lunch was our goal.

Our next stop was Sterling Gorge. It's a 10 minute drive from Moss Glen Falls (or 5 minutes from AlpineMart). This was also easy to find by putting "Sterling Falls Gorge" on the GPS. Take Sterling Gorge Road to Catamount Trail. They have a small parking lot that was full but we were able to park on the road. After parking there are a set of signs that direct you to the "Sterling Fall Gorge Interpretive Trail". You basically turn around from the signs and go down a trail and shortly after there will be a large bridge to cross. There are informational signs to read along the path that explain the history and geology. This walk was also about 10 minutes but it was a little more challenging than Moss Glen Falls due to all the tree roots and rocks. This entire walk cascaded along the gorge which was a sight to see but you of course have to take extra caution due to the steep cliffs. The gorge is pretty far down at most areas. We followed the path and informational signs and ended up downstream from the waterfall. We decided to walk upstream by wading up through the waters versus take the trail. If you are physically able to do so I highly suggest this as it was so pretty! It was so lush and green and was that much more rewarding when we made it to the waterfall. There was nobody at the waterfall while we were so that made it extra special to enjoy. This was a beautiful and quiet spot with a large swimming hole at the base. We spent about an hour and 15 minutes on this hike as we were at the swimming hole/waterfall for about 40 minutes. The majority of this hike was well shaded as it's all wooded so that was nice for the hot and humid day that it was.

Our final waterfall of the day was Bingham Falls on Mountain Road/Route 108. These falls are clearly more well known. It was very busy. Tons of parking on both sides of the road. Luckily cars are constantly going in and out so we were able to find a parking spot. We were parked on the opposite side of the trailhead so it took us a bit to find it. We basically just started watching where the people were walking towards as the left their cars. This hike was also again a short one but was the most challenging. There was a spot to enjoy the waters more upstream but to get down to the waterfalls took climbing down steep sets of rock stairs which were wet from all the traffic. My kids did well but it did take being cautious and slow due to the conditions and amount of people going up and down the trail. We got close enough on the trail to take pictures of the waterfall but due to the amount of people we went downstream from the waterfall to enjoy the cool waters. Even with lots of people there was plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the area. Please take note that they have signs at the trailhead saying that swimming is not recommended. Again, we did not get in the water at the swimming hole so I can't give opinion on whether it was safe or not. There were tons of people jumping in but I didn't notice many younger kids. I would take caution and have an adult check the area first. A little downstream from the waterfall I did notice the current was stronger as I saw one kid fall in the water and their father had to grab them. So I believe the current from the waterfalls was stronger at Bingham. We spent 1 hour total on this hike.

After our waterfall visits we had hoped to take the Toll Road up Mount Mansfield but it unfortunately closed at 4:30pm (we got there at 4:35PM). The Gondola Rides up Stowe Mountain was our second choice to hit but that also closed at 4:30pm. If we had started our journey about an hour earlier then we would have had plenty of time to do it all. Luckily we live close enough that we can make the trip to do it another time.

Summary of our day:

👉Waterproof hiking shoes or sandals would have been ideal! My kids wore Crocs and managed well, but better shoes would have been safer. I wore flip-flops 🫣, so something with more support would have been preferable for Bingham Falls. I noticed that people wore a range of footwear, from being barefoot at Bingham Falls to flip-flops and sandals. Sneakers could work, but they aren't ideal for wading in the water.

👉I highly recommend visiting all three waterfalls to decide which one you like best. If you want to avoid more challenging conditions and crowds, I would skip Bingham and visit the other two instead. Perhaps replace Bingham with a gondola ride!

👉I also would have started our day a bit earlier, but we did quite well considering it was an unplanned day. The only way it could have been more perfect would be by ending with the toll road or a gondola ride.

👉It was a hot, humid day, but all the hikes were much cooler, and you couldn't feel the humidity.

👉Remember to always pack snacks and waters when traveling with kids to keep them hiking happy.

👇Enjoy these pics for a glimpse into the day. Click on each pics for captions. Follow me on FB and/or Insta for video footage of all these Wonders of Vermont.

Moss Glen Falls, Stowe, VT Photos-click on pics for caption.

Sterling Falls Gorge, Stowe, VT-click on the pics for caption.

Bingham Falls, Stowe, VT-click on the pics for caption.