Patios that put out a water bowl without being asked. Trails that don't require leashes when nobody's looking. Breweries with a yard. Beaches off-season.
The only real restaurant on Lake Willoughby itself, on Route 5A a few minutes below North Beach — burgers, a full bar, and a patio angled toward the water. A local family took over the space after years of it sitting empty and split the operation in two: the pub runs seven days into the evening, but the kitchen keeps a tighter Wednesday-through-Sunday window. Show up on a Monday and you'll get a beer, not dinner.
Small seven-barrel, family-owned brewery on Route 5 in West Burke, about 15 minutes south of the lake — the closest real taproom to Westmore. Open seasonally, May through October, which lines up with the lake season almost exactly. Not a destination brewery on the scale of some in this region, but the right stop on the way back from a day at South Beach.
The lake's family beach, at the north end off Route 5A — a long sand crescent with a gradual drop-off, bathhouses, and Mount Pisgah's cliffs framing the far shore. Parking is free, at least for now; Westmore has floated charging for it, so don't assume that stays true forever. This is the default swimming spot for anyone with small kids, since the bottom doesn't fall away a few feet from shore.
The hike Lake Willoughby is actually known for — the South Trail runs 4.4 miles round-trip with about 1,650 feet of climbing to cliff-edge overlooks straight down onto the water. North and Long Pond approaches offer shorter or longer alternatives to the same summit. The cliffs close seasonally, typically March through August, to protect nesting peregrine falcons — check before planning a summit push.
The other side of the gap, across the water from Pisgah, with a shorter approach and a view that trades the straight-down drama for a wider look back across the lake toward its twin. Less crowded than Pisgah on a weekend morning, which is most of the argument for choosing it. Forested for most of the climb, then open ledge near the top.
The 7,682-acre state forest holding both Pisgah and Hor, plus Bald Mountain — the range's high point at 3,315 feet — and more than 12 miles of hiking beyond the two headline summits. In winter, the Bartlett Mountain area grooms roughly 12 kilometers of cross-country terrain, one of the only organized activities still running once the lake towns go quiet. Most of the forest, in any season, sees a fraction of Pisgah's foot traffic.
A fifteen-foot cascade on the Willoughby River in Barton, not Westmore — easy to miss, since most of the drop is only partly visible from the East Street bridge. Park at the river access area, walk the short dirt road upstream, and take the stairs down; ten minutes round-trip, easy grade. Rainbow trout run up from Barton and skip the falls each spring, which is the one thing worth timing a visit around.
Vermont Route 58, approaching from the north, delivers the view the lake is known for — the water opening up between the sheer faces of Pisgah and Hor from a height most people don't expect on a back road. There's no marked pull-off; drivers just stop where the shoulder allows and get out. Better in early morning light, before summer haze settles into the gap by afternoon.