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Showing posts from November, 2015

Mellow Thanksgiving Day Hikes: Lakeside Loops

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Either way you do it: Whether you want to work off some calories after a large and satisfying Thanksgiving Day meal, or you want to work up an appetite for the feast to come, here are some easy rambles that are great for the whole family.  Each of these hikes are loop trails that circumnavigate ponds or small lakes. With the leaves off the trees you can see farther into the woods than in the summer time, and wildlife love the edge habitat the ponds create. Combine great wildlife viewing with little or no elevation change -- you've got yourself the perfect apres-meal adventure. Osmore Pond Loop Trail Groton State Forest Peachman, Vermont 2 miles, 2 hours. Effort Rating: Easy. This scenic loop begins at the Osmore Pond picnic shelter. The trail veers south, away from the pond's edge. It passes under a power line just before the junction with the Little Deer Trail (0.6 miles). Continuing around the pond, the trail crosses Hosmer Brook and heads no

Birch Bark Blast From the Past

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Greetings time travelers! This Throwback Thursday, we’re taking you back. Way, way back (Ok, not THAT far). Recently, a long-time camper reached out to us with an amazing State Park related memento from her father, and correctly thought we might like to have it. This special piece of memorabilia dates from the opening night of Lake Carmi State Park , on June 29, 1963. Her father, Gordon Bown, and family, camped at the park that first year, at site #14. On opening night, he went through the campground and collected signatures from campers at the 32 original sites (and where they traveled from)- all on a piece of birch bark from the park. The heading reads  LAKE CARMI STATE PARK Opening night campers  29 June 1963 MR. CORLISS B. CENTABAR Caretaker  On the reverse side of the well-traveled frame is a hand-written note, detailing its creation and journey: Lake Carmi State Park  Campers’ Roll on birch bark made by Gordon Bown. Birch bark obtained from block

Molly's Falls Pond to Become Vermont's Newest State Park

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News Release — Vermont Land Trust October 29, 2015 Contacts: Michael Snyder, FPR Commissioner, (802) 828-1534, Michael.Snyder@vermont.gov Elise Annes, VP for Community Relations, VLT, (802) 262-1206 or (802) 522-9855, Elise@vlt.org Deb Markowitz, ANR Secretary, (802) 828-1294, Deb.Markowitz@vermont.gov Dotty Schnure, GMP spokesperson, (802) 655-8418, Dorothy.Schnure@greenmountainpower.com CABOT and MARSHFIELD, VT – The people of Vermont will now forever have access to one of the state’s most popular and well-loved recreation areas in Central Vermont—the Molly’s Falls Pond property, known by many as the “Marshfield Reservoir”. The Vermont Land Trust today announced the sale of 1,029 acres to the Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation. Now called Molly’s Falls Pond State Park, the property boasts a 402-acre reservoir, roughly 35,000 feet of undeveloped shoreline, and over 600 acres of forestland. It is a popular spot for boaters and anglers and has a fishing access area a