Shrewsbury Peak via Black Swamp Trail

My 17 year old son and I hiked up to Shrewsbury Peak today. At a good pace we made it in one hour up and 45 minutes down. As many said in past reviews the trailhead parking lot is closed and has been for awhile. We parked at the new trail head 0.8 miles away. We noticed going up to the "old" trailhead and at the first half of the hike that the blue marking are few and far between. The second half of the hike was marked much more frequently. We saw a lot of moose droppings and loved the view at the top. Though this is a relatively short hike it is fairly steep, so maybe not best for small children.

Trail was well-maintained and parking was open at the trail-head. It took me an hour to get to the peak. The review written by Jim Richardson below is very accurate.

Definitely not my favorite trail. When I hiked (5/16/2020) the road to the trail head was closed so it added another 2 miles each way. At risk of sounding like a hiking snob....once I got to the trail I thought it was pretty boring and not very well maintained. The last 2/10s of a mile or so was still very snowy (1.5 ft in many places).

Great trail for 10+ ages. We did it in 3 hours including lunch at the top and missing a major left turn. If you find yourself in tall grass and on a trail that really might not be the trail- turn around and look for that turn. Great view thanks to someone who topped some pines. And btw the sign after approx 1 mile saying one mile to the peak is wrong. It’s about 1.3 or 1.4 to the top from there. It gets a little steep near the top but we never needed to use our hands. Great day in VT.

Really great view at the top, but you have to climb over a few fallen trees. Very fun quick hike

No way this trail is hard! Up to the shelter, I consider it easy. From the shelter to the top is moderate. Beautiful hike with a small view when you take the left on top.

Challenging but beautiful trail with a decent view at the peak. I hiked all the way to the peak with my wife, 11 year old daughter, 4 year old daughter, and 2 year old daughter (in a carrier on my back), if you are out of shape probably should prepare for this hike before attempting. This trail is pretty steep and having excellent cardio is a must. Bring plenty of water and food. Also, unless your children are like mine and do very well with hard hikes I wouldn’t bring your children. Starting at he CCC road it about 2 hours to hike to the peak and about 1-1/2 to get back. -Caleb

Steep hike with no view at the top.

I enjoy this trail as an afternoon challenge. While it’s not very kid-friendly, I have taken my young children up it to the peak. Not for the faint hearted or out of shape.

First of all, this trail is not kid friendly. as two adults, we had trouble hiking this trail. A large portion of the trail is very steep, which I would not say is suitable for children. The view was not all that great - it was only seen through trees and there were a ton of bugs for the top portion and at the peak. It took approximately 3 hours to complete. Be sure to download the map, as there are several ambiguous forks along the trail.

I hiked the trail with my friend and her 1.5 year old son. This trail is not kid friendly! It became pretty steep and rocky towards the top. If you have to carry a kid on your back I suggest not going up this trail! The view at the top was pretty, minus some trees in the way. We didn't see a single person on the trail today. It was marked well enough for us to easily navigate our way.