Bill Hill in Thetford, Vermont provides open hilltop views of the surrounding area. The Bill Hill Trail begins within close proximity to one of Thetford’s two remaining covered bridges, a series of waterfalls on the Ompompanoosuc River, and a small sugarhouse. The short (approximately one half mile one-way) but relatively steep trail leads visitors past picturesque stonewalls and pastures, up the honeysuckle and raspberry-covered hillside, and to a peaceful spot to sit on a rock and take in the view from 800 feet up.

In 1963, Noel Perrin bought the Bill Hill property and, leaving his New York City roots, began a dual life as an academic and part-time farmer. Excerpts of his witty prose tell the story of his relationship with Bill Hill: “Bill Hill is a large lump of glacial debris behind the pasture across the road. I own it. Insofar as a thing as small as a human being can claim to own a thing as big as a hill” (First Person Rural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer). Over four decades, Bill Hill gave Perrin immeasurable joy and experience, as well as much of the material for his successful books. In return, Perrin assured that it will remain open, undeveloped, and accessible to the public through a conservation easement under the Upper Valley Land Trust.

From VT-113 in Thetford Center, turn left onto Tucker Hill Road. Take an immediate left into the first driveway after the covered bridge. Trailhead parking is on the right just past the sugarhouse.