The Ottauquechee River runs alongside U. S. Route 4 in eastern Vermont, just outside Quechee Village. Here, the stream abruptly turns south and during its the distant geological past, the river cut a narrow chasm through a bedrock ridge.
   Quechee Gorge visitors may get their first view of the 165 foot gorge from a park overlook. Often often called Vermont's Little Grand Canyon, this is the state’s deepest gorge. Its canyon walls are covered in hemlock, pine and spruce conifers, mixed with sugar maples, beech and birch hardwoods. A popular hiking trail in Quechee State Park descends through this thick Vermont forest to the river below. It's an easy walk to the river bottom and offers this grand view northward, up through the gorge with the Route 4 bridge adding some sense of scale. Upon returning to the parking lot and overlook above, the upward climb is always the more challenging leg of a hike.
   The parkland was originally owned by A.G. Dewey, who settled in the area around 1869. Here on the Ottauquechee River, Dewey established a woolen mill, employing as many as 500 people. Well known for its excellence throughout America, the Dewey Company created material for both Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankee uniforms, as well as blankets for the United States Army and Navy. In 1952 the mill was closed, relocating to Enfield, New Hampshire. By 1965 the property was turned over to the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and Quechee State Park was created.

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