Join Us for a Guided New Year's Day Hike in a Vermont State Park

A bright day for a winter hike

Vermont State Parks is excited to be hosting nine guided hikes on New Year's Day. Start off your New Year's resolutions on the right foot by getting outdoors and being active on the first day of 2012! We hope you'll join our experienced guides for a free family hike in one of our state parks.

Remember to dress for the weather, bring snowshoes (if there’s snow), and bring your own beverages/snacks. Dogs are welcome on a leash, and most importantly, have fun!

No registration is required. For status of a hike or other updates, please call 802-241-3663 on 12/31 and 1/1. See details for each hike below.

Little River State Park (morning & afternoon hikes)
Morning Hike Leader: Sherry Winnie, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (www.vtstateparks.com/)
Meet: 10:00 am at Little River State Park's Contact Station
Hike Details: 1 hr +/-, easy to moderate terrain on park roads and trails


A fresh snowfall can
make the scenery magical

Afternoon Hike Leader: Dave Hardy, Green Mountain Club (http://www.greenmountainclub.org/)
Meet: 12:00 pm at Little River State Park's Contact Station
Hike Details: 1 - 2 hrs, easy to moderate terrain on park roads and trails

Kingsland Bay State Park
Hike Leader: Bruce Acciavatti, Wonder Walks
(http://www.wonderwalks.com/)
Meet: 1:00 pm Entrance gate at Kingsland Bay State Park
Hike: 2+hours on easy to moderate park trails through designated natural area (please, no dogs on this one)

Kettle Pond State Park
Hike Leader: Greg Western, Cross Vermont Trail Association (www.crossvermont.org)
Meet: 11:00 am Kettle Pond parking area in the Groton State Forest
Hike Details: 1 hr +/-, easy to moderate terrain on park trails

Groton Nature Center Loop
Hike Leader: Susan Bulmer, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (www.vtstateparks.com)
Meet: 10:00 am at Groton Nature Center in the Groton State Forest
Hike Details: 1 mi loop trail (or longer depending on the wishes of the group!), easy to moderate terrain

Hikers going
up Mt. Mansfield

Underhill State Park
Hike Leader: John Connell, Greenmont Farm (http://www.greenmontfarms.com/)
Meet: 1:00 pm at the Underhill State Park entrance gate
Hike Details: 1+ hrs, easy to moderate terrain on park roads and trails, bring a warm beverage and a snack to enjoy at the pass!

Woodford State Park
Hike Leader: George Prouty, Pickett Hill Guide Service (www.picketthillguideservice.com)
Meet: 1:00 pm at snowmobile parking lot across from the entrance to Woodford State Park
Hike Details: 1+ hrs, easy to moderate terrain on park roads and trails

Gifford Woods State Park
Hike Leader: Scott Davison, Naturalist, Writer, and former Park Ranger
Meet: 1:00 pm at Gifford Woods State Park's winter trail access (near the regional maintenance shop)
Hike Details: 1 hrs +, moderate terrain on park trails

Molly Stark State Park
Hike Leader: Randy Knaggs, Marlboro College and Debbie Dorset, Catamount Trail Association (www.catamounttrail.org)
Meet: 10:00 am at the entrance gate to Molly Stark State Park
Hike Details: 2 hrs +/-, moderate terrain on park roads and trails following the ridge to Hogback Mountain

A special thanks to Vermont Outdoor Guide Association members for stepping up and volunteering to guide many of these hikes. We appreciate your support and help!

Even if you aren't up for a guided hike, all of the state parks are open for off-season use, and we courage you to use them (click here for trail map & guides)! There are no facilities or running water, but the park entry is free and we ask folks to park outside the gate.

We hope to see you out there!

Harpoon's "Vermont Spruce Tip" Ale Made from Vermont State Forest Spruce Tips!



Norway spruce tips

Harpoon Brewery's, Tom Graham, recently created a specialty beer for the fall/winter season named Vermont Spruce Tip Ale using spruce buds harvested from Downer State Forest in Sharon, VT (Vermont's second state forest). Drawing his inspiration from the book, The Homebrewer's Garden, Tom sought out the help of State Forester, Tim Morton who knew just the right place to harvest the beer's main ingredient, young spruce tips.

Downer State Forest has a large stand of Norway spruce that hides an understory of spruce saplings. These young evergreens offer easy-to-pick tips or buds. "Harvested at their tender, ripe, bright green peak, the spruce tips impart citrus, pine, spice, herbal and earthy notes" (from Harpoon's website, a description of Vermont Spruce Tip Ale). For the amount of beer that Harpoon wanted to produce, 200 lbs of spruce tips were needed. The process was tricky with only a two-week window for harvesting the tips. Luckily, Tom had 40 volunteers and Tim devised a sustainable spruce tip harvesting plan.



Look for this label
to try Harpoon's new ale

After the tips were harvested over a three-day period in early June, Tom needed a way to keep them fresh until the November brew date. The Vermont Foodbank offered to vaccum pack the tips before freezing. To show their appreciation, Harpoon donated over $2000 to the Vermont Foodbank.

Roughly 40% of Harpoon's annual brewing output is done in their Windsor, VT facility. Visitors are welcome daily to visit the brewery in Windsor and sample Harpoon’s locally-brewed beers straight from the source.

For more on this story, watch Tom's video describing his experience with the Vermont Spruce Tip Ale.

Save Some Green by Visiting a State Park

Trails Coordinator, Sherry
Winnie, hikes in Mt. Philo

That's right, save some green during this holiday season, by visiting a Vermont State Park (it's FREE day entry and primitive camping during the off season!) Take advantage of the fresh air and the prime views, by enjoying time outside with your friends and family in a nearby Vermont State Park. Deciduous trees have shed most of their leaves, so usually hidden views can now be seen. Below are five best hikes for friends and families to take after celebrating Thanksgiving. In addition, try doing some fun things while hiking - see below.

Take a relaxing walk in Waterbury Center State Park. The Nature Trail is mostly flat, relatively short (1/4 mi one way), and great for all ages. While walking through the old apple orchard, see if you can spot three different types of birds, a squirrel, and an animal that will soon be hibernating. It's quiet and relaxing here. The perfect place to recharge.

The Waterbury Center State Park
Nature Trail hugs the lake

An easy to moderate hike in the northwest is in Mt. Philo State Park. Take the House Rock Trail to the Devil's Chair Trail, which goes along the edge of Mt. Philo past many rock outcroppings. Once at the summit, enjoy a picnic while overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

Hiking in Mt. Ascutney
State Park

Niquette Bay State Park provides a number of options for hiking trails. Allen's Trail is an easy woodland hike where you can try to find different types of fungi nestled into the understory.

A steeper, but still moderate hike can be found in Mt. Ascutney State Park. Take the Windsor Trail to Brownsville Rock lookout and enjoy the view! You'll pass waterfalls, woodland, and many animals along the way. Try to spot 4 types of mammals while hiking.

Lake Shaftsbury's Healing Springs Nature Trail is a quiet and restorative 3/4 mile long trail looping around the lake. While passing over the waters of Lake Shaftsbury, try to spot a fish, beaver, or muskrat. Also, take in the rich history of the area as you go. More information can be found here.

Happy Thanksgiving All!