Welcome back to ‘Local Dirt’, our home for reporting our favorite local loops, class IV discoveries, and scenic dirt road cruises. Each edition provides adventure summaries, route variations, and mid-run photos to help inspire your next outing.

Exploring the quiet, unmaintained class IV roads of Vermont is a popular outing these days, and the Northeast Kingdom boasts a bounty of these untouched byways. Looking to explore some of the class IV roads close to the Outdoor Center? The route featured below covers three sections of class IV road in Albany: Centebar Road, Daniels Road West, and Pitkin Road. This trifecta of class IV roads offers varying degrees of back-roading terrain, from the gently rolling to the steep and rocky. Complete with long climbs, pastoral scenes, and mountain views, this route is an excellent option for those looking for a gravel backcountry adventure.

Here we offer a summary of the route, followed by suggestions for future outings.

Distance: 14.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,909 feet
Max Elevation: 1,793 feet
Terrain: Hilly, covering three class IV roads and some more technical sections.
Map and Strava.

Route: Starting from the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, head north on Lost Nation Road. At the T-intersection at 2.3 miles, turn right and continue on Page Pond Road for half a mile. At the three-way intersection, keep right to run briefly on Creek Road before taking the first left onto South Albany Road, at 3 miles. Climb the initial South Albany Road, making sure to turn back at the height of the hill to take in the beautiful views towards Mount Mansfield and beyond.

Continue onto South Albany Center, taking a left at the T-intersection at 4.5 miles onto Hartwell Pond Road. At 4.6 miles, take your first left onto Centebar Road. Ready yourself for a hefty hill, as the road climbs steadily for over a mile. Shortly after cresting and beginning to descend, turn left to stay on Centebar Road at 6 miles. Here Centebar turns to class IV road, passing through farm lands with views towards Jay Peak and Belvedere, and fields speckled with grazing jersey cows. Enjoy the scenery on this first class IV section of the run, descending on Centebar until it meets Barton Road at 7.4 miles. 

Turn left onto Barton Road before crossing Creek Road onto Daniels Road East at 7.6 miles. Follow Daniels Road East by Diamond Heart Farm. Continue straight towards the hillside as the road turns to class IV and joins Daniels Road West. This section of class IV is very rocky and uneven as it climbs up the southern end of Chamberlin Hill. Follow Daniels Road West as the road smooths and eventually meets Center Road at 10 miles. Turn left onto Center Road before quickly turning left again onto Pitkin Road, the first immediate left after joining Center Road.

Pitkin Road soon becomes class IV, with some rocky, muddy, and puddle filled sections. Continue straight on Pitkin Road at 10.8 miles as it turns back to a maintained gravel road, descending steeply to meet Page Pond Road at 11.7 miles. Turn left onto Page Pond Road to then turn right back onto Lost Nation Road at 12.1 miles. Retrace the initial 2.3 miles on Lost Nation Road to finish the lollipop-route back to the Outdoor Center. Celebrate your gravel and class IV adventure with a refreshing dunk in Great Hosmer Pond or a visit to one of the local eateries! 

Heidi’s Helpful Hints:

1. Be ready for some uneven terrain on the class IV sections of road. They are passable, but do not expect smooth gravel the whole way. Centebar Road is tame and Pitkin Road is a bit rocky and wet in some sections but easy to traverse. The short climb on Daniels Road West is gnarly, and feels a bit more like trail running or hard core mountain biking. 

2. If you do the route in reverse and descend Daniels Road West, remember that it suddenly becomes steep and rocky! Also be aware that it can be easy to miss the beginning of Centeber Road off of Barton Road from this direction.

3. You can shorten this route by parking on Page Pond Road to remove the starting and finishing segments on Lost Nation Road. This shortened option still includes all three sections of class IV road, and all the best views!