Lake Willoughby History

Lake Willoughby is a deep, glacier-carved lake in Westmore, in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. It is about 5 miles long and 1 mile wide and sits between the cliffs of Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor, a gap so steep it is often compared to a Norwegian fjord. The cliffs became a National Natural Landmark in 1967. The town around it was chartered in 1781, became a summer retreat with hotels and small steamboats in the late 1800s, drew a young Robert Frost in 1909, and today is surrounded by the 7,682-acre Willoughby State Forest.

By Vermont Lake Collection · Last reviewed: October 2026

The Short Answer

How was Lake Willoughby formed?

Glaciers. Moving ice cut through the bedrock along a zone of fractured rock, carving the narrow, steep-walled gap between Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor roughly 12,000 years ago.

How deep is Lake Willoughby?

More than 300 feet at its deepest, with an average depth of about 185 feet. The Westmore Association cites recent findings of 357 feet, making it one of the deepest lakes entirely in Vermont.

Why is it called Lake Willoughby?

Nobody knows for certain. Local stories credit either early settlers named Willoughby or a man named Willoughby who drowned when his sled broke through the ice, but no record confirms either.

Did Robert Frost write about Lake Willoughby?

Yes. Frost camped near the lake with his family in 1909, and his poem "A Servant to Servants," published in North of Boston (1914), mentions "Our Willoughby!"

A Lake Carved by Ice

Lake Willoughby sits in a trough cut by glaciers. As the ice sheet moved south, it cut across the Willoughby granodiorite and the older rock around it, digging deepest where the bedrock was already cracked. When the ice melted, about 12,000 years ago, it left a lake roughly 5 miles long and 1 mile wide, covering 1,687 acres at an elevation of 1,171 feet.

The result is Willoughby Gap: Mount Pisgah rising on the east shore and Mount Hor on the west, both with sheer rock faces dropping toward the water. The cliffs were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967. They shelter alpine plants found almost nowhere else in Vermont and are a nesting site for peregrine falcons.

Westmore: A Small Town on a Big Lake

Westmore was chartered on August 17, 1781, under the name Westford, and renamed in 1787 because another Vermont town already had that name. Rugged land made farming hard, and the town never grew large: its population peaked at 485 in 1880. In 2020 it had 357 residents, the fewest of any town in Orleans County, and many of its houses are second homes.

Hotels, Steamboats and Summer People

The lake's scenery made it a destination well before the town grew. The first vacation house on the lake, the Cheney House overlooking the southern tip, was built around 1860. Small steamboats carried visitors on the lake from 1884 into the early 1900s. A secluded lodge called the Arcadia Retreat was built in a remote spot, stood empty for years, and burned in 1923.

Camps followed. Camp Songadeewin, a girls' camp, ran on the lake from 1921 to 1975. Electricity reached the south end of the lake only around 1934.

Robert Frost's Summer at Willoughby

In the summer of 1909, Robert Frost camped with his family on the Conley farm near the lake, partly for relief from hay fever. (Some local accounts date the visit to 1906.) The property later became the WilloughVale Inn. Frost bought provisions from the Conley family, and Mrs. Conley is said to be one of three women behind the narrator of "A Servant to Servants," published in North of Boston in 1914, a poem that names the lake directly.

Willoughby State Forest

In 1970 the State of Vermont acquired about 7,600 acres around the lake. Today Willoughby State Forest covers 7,682 acres across Westmore, Newark and Sutton, with more than 12 miles of hiking trails, the 950-acre Willoughby Cliffs Natural Area, and the 30-acre Marl Pond and Swamp Natural Area. The protection is a big reason the shoreline still looks much as it did a century ago.

Is There a Lake Willoughby Monster?

Not much of one. Willoughby has no long monster tradition like Champ in Lake Champlain or Memphre in Lake Memphremagog. A few odd stories do exist: an August 1868 Burlington Free Press item claimed a 12-year-old from Newport had killed "the great water snake at Willoughby Lake" with a sickle, and a visitor reported a long, dark, humped creature in 1986. Locals also tell of a hidden tunnel linking the lake to Crystal Lake, which no record supports. We pass these along as stories, not facts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lake Willoughby?
In the town of Westmore, in Orleans County in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, along Route 5A, a short drive from the Canadian border.

How big is Lake Willoughby?
About 5 miles long and 1 mile wide, covering 1,687 acres, with an average depth of about 185 feet and a maximum depth of more than 300 feet.

Why do people compare Lake Willoughby to a fjord?
Because it is long, narrow and very deep, and steep cliffs on Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor drop almost straight to the water, much like a Norwegian fjord.

When did Lake Willoughby become a National Natural Landmark?
The Willoughby cliffs were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967.

Who owns the land around Lake Willoughby?
Much of it is Willoughby State Forest, which Vermont began assembling in 1970 and which now covers 7,682 acres.