Robert Frost Interpretive Trail

One thing is for sure—New England’s preeminent 20th-century poet sure got around. Sites where he lived in New Hampshire [1], Massachusetts [2], and Vermont [3] can all lay claim to significant chunks of his life. But perhaps none of them quite capture the spirit of his poetry more than the 1.2-mile Robert Frost Interpretive Trail located just past Ripton, near where Frost spent each of his last 22 summers.

As the path wends its way through a gentle terrain of forest and meadow, it is studded with plaques containing some of his poems set at contemplative spots along the way. The placement of the poems, which include “The Last Mowing” and “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” has an uncanny way of teasing out more meaning from the lines with the smell of pine boughs or the chirping of a lonely bird above.

In fact, the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail was developed by Middlebury [4] professor Reginald Cook, a friend of Frost’s who used to hike with him in these very woods. The only poem that falls a bit flat is the “Road Not Taken,” situated at an intersection in the path with an arrow pointing out the right direction—which is clearly the road far more often taken.