Vermont has no commercial drive-thru safari parks. It does have two classic roadside wildlife experiences, and both are at their best right now: thousands of migrating snow geese at a roadside viewing area in the Champlain Valley, and moose on the remote highways of the Northeast Kingdom.
- Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (Addison)
- Northeast Kingdom Moose Roads – Routes 105 & 114 (Island Pond)
DEAD CREEK WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA
Type: State wildlife management area with a free roadside goose viewing area, visitor center, and gravel back roads, managed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. It’s Vermont’s premier birding site.
Location: Dead Creek WMA, 966 Route 17, Addison, VT 05491 (Champlain Valley, about 45 minutes south of Burlington). The Goose Viewing Area is a long pull-off on the south side of VT-17, about 1 mile west of VT-22A.
Phone: Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (802) 828-1000
Website: Vermont Fish & Wildlife – Dead Creek · Dead Creek Brochure (PDF) · Otter Creek Audubon – Dead Creek
Social Media: Vermont Fish & Wildlife on Facebook
Size: About 2,858 acres of marsh, farm fields, and forest
Animals:
- Thousands of migrating snow geese and Canada geese. Recent fall counts have been around 5,000 snow geese, down from about 20,000 in past decades.
- Ducks, shorebirds, bald eagles, hawks, and falcons, plus short-eared owls, rough-legged hawks, and snowy owls in winter
Admission: FREE
Hours & Viewing Spots:
- The roadside Goose Viewing Area pavilion on VT-17 is open daily.
- The Visitor Center (opened 2017) is open April – November, with hours that vary by season.
- Gage Road (gravel) gives another view of the refuge, and is good when the geese are in the back fields.
- The Woodcock Pond Viewing Area has a platform overlooking the pond.
Best Time:
- Snow geese peak from late October to early November.
- The best viewing is the hour before sunset in the first two weeks of November, when hundreds of geese fly in to feed and roost.
Rules & Tips:
- Part of the WMA is a designated refuge closed to all entry. View it only from the Route 17 pavilion.
- Waterfowl hunting is permitted in the open parts of the WMA in season, so wear bright colors if you walk the trails in fall.
- Pull fully off VT-17, a busy road.
- Bring binoculars.
NORTHEAST KINGDOM MOOSE ROADS – ROUTES 105 & 114
Type: Free self-drive moose viewing on remote state highways through Vermont’s main moose range
Location:
- VT Route 105 from Island Pond to Bloomfield (the “Ferdinand” stretch)
- VT Route 114 from East Burke through Island Pond to Canaan
- Both are in Essex County in far northeastern Vermont, about 2.5 hours from Burlington.
Phone: Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (802) 828-1000
Website: Vermont Fish & Wildlife · Brighton State Park (Island Pond)
Length: Route 105 between Island Pond and Bloomfield is about 18 miles of mostly unbroken woods and wetlands. Route 114 runs about 53 miles through the Kingdom. Both are among the four Vermont roads where moose are most often seen.
Animals: Moose, plus white-tailed deer, black bears, loons, and bald eagles
Admission: FREE
Viewing Spots:
- Route 105 near Ferdinand, about 5 miles east of Island Pond. There’s a long straightaway with a roadside viewing deck where moose often appear at dawn and dusk.
- The moose viewing platform at Route 105 and Notch Pond Road in Brunswick
- The viewing platform near the Wenlock Wildlife Management Area
- Route 114 in both directions near Island Pond and Averill. Look for muddy “moose wallows” along the road.
Best Time:
- Dawn and dusk.
- Late spring through early summer has the most roadside sightings, and early fall during the rut is also good.
- Sightings aren’t guaranteed. Moose are harder to spot in Vermont than many visitors expect.
Rules & Tips:
- Drive slowly, especially after dark. Moose are nearly black, very hard to see, and heavy enough to total a car. Watch for “Moose Crossing” signs, which mark past collision spots.
- Pull fully off the road and watch from your car or the platforms. Never approach a moose, especially a bull in rut.
- Vermont’s moose hunting season runs in October in parts of the Kingdom. Check Vermont Fish & Wildlife for dates.
- Base yourself at Brighton State Park (closes mid-October) or in Island Pond.
- New Hampshire’s famous Route 3 “Moose Alley” in Pittsburg is about 45 minutes east.
Explore Drive-Thru Wildlife Parks in Neighboring States:
New York · Massachusetts · New Hampshire