My family and I are so excited for our trip to VT on 8/12. We have rented a house just outside of Londonderry for a week. Is there any hope of seeing moose in Southern or Central VT and where? I realize that our chances would greatly increase if we visited the Northern Kingdom, but we'd like to keep our daily excursions to under an hour's drive (we'll have a 2.5 year old with us).

Thank you for any input!

I don't know if there are moose in southern VT at all, but moose are a very rare spot even in areas where they are more prevalent. You will definitely see white tailed deer though.

Your chances might improve if you drive back roads. Get a Vermont Atlas and Gazetteer at the bookstore so you don't get lost. (It will also give you the location of every waterfall and covered bridge.) I agree, you might see a deer. We drive back roads frequently and sometimes see deer but never a moose. Our best day in NH's lakes region was two black bears in different spots.

Viewing moose is one of the most unpredictable events of all travel. You might drive the same road, same time of year, same time of day, same weather conditions: one time, zero moose, another time, twenty.

So you MIGHT see moose in southern Vermont. Or maybe even in an upscale part of Boston (which did happen a few years ago). Or you might spend a week in northern Vermont and not see one. It's as much luck as anything else.

Best TIME of day to see moose is right after dusk. But drive carefully -- the WORST way to see a 400 kg moose is one flying through your windshield!

You don;t have to go to Vermont to see White tailed deer. You can see then in New York City (granted not Manhattan) and anyplace in the NE outside of streets of major cities.

In fact, they're a tremendous menace on the highways.

Well, I guess we'll drive slowly and keep our eyes open. It sounds like there is not one particular area to spot them. We are coming from Western NY so we have seen plenty of deer. Sadly, though, it is often in areas of high congestion because housing developers have plowed over their woods.

kcapuani....My brother lives in northern VT and I've probably visited him over 30 times and I've never seen a moose. I'll be envious if you see one on your first trip!

One time my brother was hiking on his own property and was charged at by a female moose. Luckily, he heard her crashing through the woods and he got behind a tree and ducked. The moose snorted at him and turned around and took off. Phew!

Have a great trip!

hmmm... I lived in southern vermont for seven years and never saw a moose.

By all accounts, it appears that you can, buy you may not!

Lived in S.VT for 30+years, seen a moose 3 times:

Once, walking up my driveway ( !!! )
Twice, on Route 9 between Wilmington and Bennington (Woodford Mountain). The second time, it was a mama with her twins.

They are around, but it's rare to see them here. That does not negate the following:

If driving at night, be cautious - a moose does not have reflective eyes (like a cat) making them difficult to see at night. Many people (to say nothing of the moose) have been hurt and/or killed by hitting the moose with their vehicle.

The following link is some photos taken from my backyard of some other animals you may get to see.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&h=1&y=mrgk6g

Hope you have a great time in dear, sweet Vermont!

Cyn

Those pictures are beautiful - thanks for sharing!

Is the plural for "Moose", "Mooses", or as in goose, "Meese?"

It is "moose".

kcapuani,
We were just up in Chittenden Vt. (near Killington) and heard that we missed a moose near the lake by a few days. Apparently, he has been seen quite a few times at that location.

Cyn,
Beautiful shots. We drove thru your area by default - missed the turn to the highway and ended up going all the way down to the 9. Happy accident. Your very lucky to live in such a pristine area.
Sherry

i have to laugh at this post...my stepfather lives in wilmington, and over the years have seen all manner of wildlife...moose are indeed rare, but i had a "near miss" with 2 moose in my car 4 years ago! it was 11pm, i was on my way to the house, it was obviously a dark road, and everything happened so fast! i saw 2 moose in the road, 1 scampered off when he saw the car coming, but the other didn't, and i swirved to get out of the way, and only "clipped" his leg a little bit. thank god no one was hurt, (not even the moose) and not even a scratch on my car. the moose definatley could have definately did a number on my car and the people in it!

I think it's "meese".