Mud Season in Vermont

Off-Season Vermont Spring Vacations

Ahhh… Mud Season in Vermont. Mud Season is yet another visitor season that often arrives without notice and varies in its intensity. Mud Season is a great time to take an off-season Vermont vacation. Mud Season does not affect most Vermont visitors – but if you are renting a home on a back road, dirt road, or gravel road do be advised that travel can be difficult during Mud Season. Mud Season is the time of year when the simple task of making it home after a day at work becomes a challenge. There was a time when I laughed at the sight of those jacked-up, four-wheel-drive trucks with tires bigger than my car. I stopped laughing and watched in awe last mud season when the only vehicle that was able to navigate my road was an old 4×4 with really BIG tires. Nearly everyone who has lived through a Vermont Mud Season on a dirt road has a story to share. Thank you for visiting Vermont Living. Ask us about featuring your Vermont business, contact us.

Vermont Mud Season

Click to enlarge view.

It gets really exciting around here in early Spring. Some folks are afraid to leave the house for fear the road will have melted and turned to ‘mush’ in their absence. For some ‘New England daredevils,’ Mud Season is a competitive sport that holds as much weight as hockey or football! My neighbor has a 4×4 and can’t wait for the road to get soft and become impassable for the average vehicle. He is quite proud that his old 4×4 rolls right over the two-foot ruts and sinkholes that swallow the average traveler. He enjoys slinging mud in every direction from his BIG tires. He dares to go where others fear to tread… literally!

Some years my road gets so bad even the four-wheel-drive tow trucks won’t come up here. I found that out a couple of years back when returning from a long ride late at night. The road was fine when I left earlier in the day. But a sudden warming turned the once gravel surface into two-and-a-half feet of muck. The car sunk to the bumper before my weary eyes could perceive what was happening.

A call to the tow truck operator yielded a curt response, “we’re not going up that road, we’ve already been stuck up there this week!” Several more attempts with other tow truck operators resulted in similar responses. It was the operator that broke out laughing that made me realize I was on a path to nowhere. The vehicle sat in the middle of the road, while I walked through the mud and darkness with two scared and crying children to my home in the country.

Every Spring it’s a little different. Some years we suffer very little, others we struggle to keep our sanity. Some say the severity of Mud Season depends on how deep the frost permeates the ground in winter. Others claim it’s related to the amount of rain we receive in the early Spring. While still others believe it results directly from the amount of snow left on the ground when the Spring thaw begins. Personally, I think it depends on how quickly the sub-surface defrosts…

One thing I do know, is Vermont Living took on a whole new meaning that cold, dark, muddy night when I and my children became one with our environment. Nonetheless, we wouldn’t trade the joys of Vermont Living for anything!

MUD SEASON ESSENTIALS

Title	Price	Buy
Set of 4 (FOUR) Venom Power Terra Hunter X/T XT All-Terrain Mud Light Truck Radial Tires-33X12.50R20LT 33X12.50X20 33X12.50-20 119R Load Range F LRF 12-Ply BSW Black Side Wall	$1,049.93	On Sale
Set of 4 Forceum M/T 08 Plus Mud Off-Road LT235/75R15 Tires - 104/101Q Load Range C 6-Ply BSW	$434.88	On Sale
Set of 4 (FOUR) Crosswind M/T Mud Off-Road Light Truck Radial Tires-LT235/80R17 235/80/17 235/80-17 120/117Q Load Range E LRE 10-Ply BSW Black Side Wall	$635.00	On Sale
Kumho Road Venture MT KL71 Mud-Terrain Tire - 27X8.50R14 6-ply (1891613)	$129.00	On Sale
Full set of BKT AT 171 (8ply) 40x10-22 ATV Mud Tires (4)	$1,284.00	On Sale
Set of 4 (FOUR) Haida Mud Champ HD868 M/T Mud Off-Road Light Truck Radial Tires-LT275/65R20 275/65/20 275/65-20 126/123Q Load Range E LRE 10-Ply BSW Black Side Wall	$896.00	On Sale
TIDEWE Rubber Boots for Women Multi-Season, Waterproof Rain Boots with Steel Shank, 6mm Neoprene Durable Rubber Outdoor Hunting Boots Next Camo G2 Size 7 (Pink)	$53.99	On Sale
TIDEWE Rubber Boots for Men Multi-Season, Waterproof Rain Boots with Steel Shank, 6mm Neoprene Durable Rubber Outdoor Hunting Boots Size 12 (Black)	$67.99	On Sale
Western Chief Women's Waterproof Printed Tall Rain Boots, Ditsy Dots, 10	$29.60	On Sale
Kamik womens Jennifer Rain Boot Black 8 Medium US	$61.43	On Sale
BOGS - 69172-001 11 Bogs Men's Forge Tall Industrial Steel Toe Work Rain Boot, Black, 11 D(M) US	$133.47	On Sale
Muck Boot Arctic Pro Tall Rubber Insulated Extreme Conditions Men's Hunting Boots, Bark, 12 M US	$133.67	On Sale
Hunter Women's Original Tall Black Rain Boots - 10 B(M) US	$94.00	On Sale
Muck Fieldblazer & Edgewater Classic Brown/Mossy Oak Country, 13	$87.00	On Sale
Husky Liners — Front & Rear Mud Guards \| Fits 2019 - 2024 Dodge Ram 2500/3500 w/OEM Fender Flares (Excludes Power Wagon/Excludes Dually)Front & Rear Set - Black, 4 Pc. \| 58056	$90.67	On Sale
Husky Liners - Front & Rear Mud Guards \| 2015 - 2020 Ford F-150 No Fender Flares, Front & Rear Set - Black, 4 Pc \| 58446	$76.50	On Sale
Husky Liners - Front & Rear Mud Guards \| 2009 - 2023 Ram 1500/Ram 1500 Classic, 2010 - 2018 Ram 2500/3500 w/Single Rear Wheels & with OEM Fender Flares, Front & Rear Set - Black, 4 Pc \| 58186	$109.19	On Sale
Red Hound Auto Heavy Duty Mud Flaps Compatible with GMC Sierra 1500 (2007-2013) & 2500 3500 (2007-2014) Splash Guards Front & Rear Molded Full 4pc Set (2007 Includes New Body Style Only)		On Sale
A-Premium Set of 4PCS Mud Flaps Splash Guards Mudguards Mudflaps with Hardware Kits Compatible with Toyota Tacoma 2005-2015 Pickup, (with Fender Flares), Front and Rear (Driver & Passenger Sides)	$49.99	On Sale
A-Premium 4 Pcs Black Universal Splash Guards Mud Flaps Mudflaps Mudguard Fender Flares for Car Pickup Truck SUV with Hardware Front and Rear	$37.99	On Sale