Breadloaf Wilderness is Vermont’s largest wilderness area, a protected backcountry tract of 24,986 acres within Green Mountain National Forest. Established in 1984 and enlarged in 2006, it reflects a broader conservation history shaped in part by lands Joseph Battell left to Middlebury College in 1915 and later sold to the U.S. Forest Service, helping spur creation of the forest’s northern unit. The Long Trail runs 17.3 miles through its center from Middlebury Gap to Lincoln Gap, crossing numerous summits above 3,000 feet, including Bread Loaf Mountain. The area is also known for abundant wildlife and for its rugged Green Mountain scenery.