The Ottauquechee River runs alongside U. S. Route 4 in eastern Vermont. Just outside the town of Quechee, the stream abruptly turns south and in the distant geological past, it has cut a narrow chasm through a buried bedrock ridge. Today, Quechee Gorge lies 165 feet below the road surface. The canyon walls are covered with hemlock, various pine and spruce conifers. Maples, beech and birch hardwoods are mixed in. A trail descends through this Vermont forest, to the river below. It's an easy walk to the river bottom and offers this Picture of the Day view northward, up through the gorge, with the Route 4 bridge adding some sense of scale. Returning back to the park and overlook above is always the more challenging leg of a hike.