Spruce Peak Shelter

Spruce Peak Shelter is an enclosed 16-bunk log cabin shelter built in 1983 by the Brattleboro Section in cooperation with the US Forest Service.

The shelter was constructed to replace Bromley Camp, which suffered from being located too close to a road.

In the fall of 1982, members of the Brattleboro Section and the Forest Service identified a new site with water near the Long Trail on the ridge overlooking Manchester, approximately 3½ miles south of Routes 11 and 30.

Mark Brown of the Brattleboro Section drafted plans for a 12′ x 20′ semi-enclosed log structure with a 4′ x 20′ front porch, and the Forest Service hauled 9,000 board feet of red pine logs to a point near the building site early in the spring on snow cover to minimize damage to the area.

A crew from the Rutland Community Correctional Center worked through the spring peeling the logs and milling out lumber on a chain saw rig, continuing through the summer and fall to open up a large view, remove stumps, improve drainage, and expand the shelter site.

The Brattleboro Section spent a total of eight weekends through the spring, summer and fall building the shelter, with all work except the chain saws accomplished using hand tools.

Mark Brown and Doug Riggs served as the supervisors and prime movers of the project.

Logs for the structure were cut by the USFS from a stand in Peru, Vermont, that was planted in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, demonstrating the cooperative nature of Long Trail management.

A reliable piped spring is located 100 feet south of the shelter.

The shelter has remained in continuous use since its completion.

Sources

  • Long Trail News 1983 (1983). Green Mountain Club. 8.
  • Long Trail News 1983 (1983). Green Mountain Club. 6.
  • "Long Trail News." , no. November (1983).
  • Long Trail News 1984 (1984). Green Mountain Club. 10.
  • Long Trail News 1985 (1985). Green Mountain Club. 25.
  • Long Trail News 1985 (1985). Green Mountain Club. 3.
  • Long Trail News 1985 (1985). Green Mountain Club. 12.
  • Long Trail News 1990 (1990). Green Mountain Club. 19.
  • Long Trail News 1991 (1991). Green Mountain Club. 9.
  • Long Trail News 1991 (1991). Green Mountain Club. 16.
  • Long Trail News 1992 (1992). Green Mountain Club. 10.
  • Long Trail News 1992 (1992). Green Mountain Club. 4.
  • Long Trail News 1993 (1993). Green Mountain Club. 10.
  • Long Trail News 1993 (1993). Green Mountain Club. 9.
  • Ridgelines (Burlington) 1994 (1994). Burlington Section, Green Mountain Club. 1.
  • Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 48 (1995). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 3.
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  • Long Trail News 1999 (1999). Green Mountain Club. 12.
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  • Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 63 (2010). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 14.
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  • The Trail Talk (Connecticut) 2017 (2017). Connecticut Section, Green Mountain Club. 1.
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  • The Trail Talk (Connecticut) 2020 (2020). Connecticut Section, Green Mountain Club. 9.
  • Long Trail News 2021 (2021). Green Mountain Club. 18.
  • Long Trail News 2022 (2022). Green Mountain Club. 5.
  • Long Trail News 2023 (2023). Green Mountain Club. 9.
  • Footnotes (Upper Valley Ottauquechee) 2023 (2023). Upper Valley/Ottauquechee Section, Green Mountain Club. 5.
  • Stepping Stone (Bennington) 2025 (2025). Bennington Section, Green Mountain Club. 2.
  • Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 23 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1985. Pp. 33.
  • Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 23 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1985. Pp. 88.
  • Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 23 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1985. Pp. 90.
  • Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 23 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1985. Pp. 31.
  • Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 95.
  • Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 163.