Hiking at Saskadena Six (formerly Suicide Six), Vermont

What the resort says about summer

According to Saskadena Six's summer activities page, hiking and biking are free, the trails are open to all, and users are asked to respect others and follow posted policies. In its fall foliage section, the resort invites visitors to hike or bike to the peak for the views, and notes that scenic chairlift rides are typically not offered. It is first of all a ski area: in summer, you get up the hill under your own power.

Check trail status before you go

The resort's biking page announces that the Saskadena Six trails are closed to all traffic because of a snowmaking pipeline project, with no end date. Confirm before you travel: 802-457-6661 or S6info@woodstockinn.com.

Two route names, dated 2014

A 2014 article by Erica Houskeeper (Happy Vermont, republished by the University of Vermont) describes two ways up to the summit: the Easy Mile, a more leisurely option, and The Face, a more demanding climb on a black diamond trail. These names come from that 2014 article; the resort's current summer page does not repeat them. The top of the ski area is at 1,200 ft (370 m) above sea level, according to Wikipedia.

Other trails around Woodstock

The same summer page names three local summits with views of the Woodstock area: Mount Peg, Mount Tom and Saskadena Six. It cites more than 60 miles of trails and pathways from the Woodstock Inn & Resort, plus more than 20 miles of colonial carriage roads in Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The Woodstock Inn points visitors to its Outdoor Hub, behind the Main Inn, for trail suggestions and maps (802-457-5530). Maps of the resort's bike networks are on Trailforks (mtbwoodstock.com/networks).

A recent name

The resort retired the Suicide Six name in summer 2022. Saskadena, which means "standing mountain" in Abenaki, was chosen with input from Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation. The "Six" comes from the hill labelled "number 6" on a local map, where Wallace "Bunny" Bertram set up his rope tow in 1936.