Vermont State Parks

Erin and Evan live in Berlin, VT with two cats and two dogs.  Erin works and teaches at the Community College of Vermont and likes to spend her weekends gardening, going on walks, and checking out Vermont State Parks!  Evan works as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the Vermont Attorney General's Office.  In his spare time, he likes to work around the house, go swimming, cook, and check out new movies.  This summer, they will be touring our Vermont State Parks and making delectable picnics with local food. So check out this ongoing series for tips on where to get great food and places to enjoy it! Picnic in the Parks: Silver Lake State Park   This summer we’ll be checking out some of the great picnic spots in the Vermont State Parks: A true Vermont culinary adventure. For our inaugural outing, we visited Silver Lake State Park in Barnard, VT on Memorial Day (opening) weekend.  As part of this project we are hoping to feat...

On Saturday June 1 st , members of the Orleans County Border Livestock Plus 4-H Club made their way to Brighton State Park , for a morning filled with volunteering, hiking, raking, litter patrol and history. Beginning at the interpretive trail, 8 youths and 4 adults made their way up and around the trail loops grooming them, while at the same time learning about the natural and cultural history of the park and its lands.  The park’s interpretive trail booklet helped in educating them about the trail’s  biodiversity; however, Rangers Eric and Vela spoke to them about some of the interesting aspects of the park. Brighton's Native American History The rangers began by explaining how Don Eagle (for whom the park museum is named) gave the land to the  state.  They also explained that  Native Americans still utilize the park in the fall for annual get-togethers. They also entertained the group by telling them that i t has been said that the land is...

The infamous 1962 Button Bay Buttons In 1962 the International Girl Scout Roundup took place in what is now Button Bay State Park in Vergennes.  That event celebrated the 50 th anniversary of the Girl Scout organization.  Over 10,000 girl scouts from around the world camped together on the beautiful point overlooking Lake Champlain. Of course you know that state park rules forbid the removal of any item from the park, including the Button Bay buttons, clay deposits formed over time on the floor of the lake.  The Girl Scout Roundup in 1962 preceded the formation of the park, so the collecting did not break any rules.  However, a box full of buttons arrived recently at State Park headquarters from a Girl Scout in Ohio who has been feeling guilty about the buttons in her possession.  We asked for some stories about that event, and this is what she said: "Going to the water to swim was planned for us, obviously to accommodate the 10,000 campers, and my ...

As we embark on a new summer season, I would like to share our summertime adventures with you. My wife and I have two kids, a five-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. Every weekend and any chance we have, we get outside to enjoy all the outdoor activities Vermont has to offer, from camping, hiking, biking, and swimming, to visiting playgrounds, fishing, looking for birds, and going on walks.  The Vermont State Parks have helped us enjoy many of these activities. Two years ago we made a goal as a family to visit every state park in Vermont, however many years that may take us.  So far we have made it to: Crystal Lake Lake Carmi Sand Bar Niquette Bay Grand Isle Alburg Dunes Knight's Point Kill Kare Elmore Little River Mount Philo Our first two family camping trips were at Grand Isle State Park , and Little River State Par k.  Both kids did really well with sleeping in a tent for the first time.  At Little River,...

by Ranger, Eric Bouchard   At the Dinner Table: Nick Caputo, John Medose, Susan Bulmer, Eric Bouchard Pre-season, as every Ranger knows, the Regional Management comes out to individual parks to plan and coordinate seasonal activities and to also dispense both park merchandise and shared experiential knowledge. This season, prior to their arrival, Assistant Ranger Vela planned and prepared a scrumptious Asian dish for everyone to share once the meeting had ended. And so, after a healthy and lively meeting and conversation it was nice just to sit down, relax, chit-chat and just take stock in life; and just for a moment, forget about the stresses that come about in the pre-season.  Raking is our Assistant Ranger and Resident Chef Vela Mesina. 

Saturday May 4, 2013, Boy Scout Troop 804 of Newport, VT made their way to Brighton State Park for Green Up Day. Troop members and leaders worked diligently through the day to help get the park ready for the upcoming season. Rangers Eric Bouchard and Vela Mesina worked alongside the troop raking and leaf blowing from the main entrance, around the Ranger station and up close to where the sites begin. Along the way trash and other large debris was also removed. It was a very productive day and not only were we happy to have the help, but the troops seemed to really enjoy the work and felt a real sense of accomplishment after the job was done. At the end of the day,  deserving scouts were presented packets with goodies including snacks, Jr. Ranger booklets and patches by the Rangers.  We want to thank them for all of their time and efforts as well as all that they do to make the world and community a better place. You can always count on the Boy Scouts! We appreciate y...

Venture Vermont Bonus Activity #1 Venture Vermont bonus activities will be posted once a week on Facebook and the activity needs to be completed in that specific week between Monday and Sunday of that week.  Wednesday May 1st: Listen for Spring Peepers (15 pts)  The warming of spring brings many animals to life. Listen for a "pee-eep. pee-eep, pee-eep" coming  from  the direction of a pond or a marshy spot. But be careful when looking to find the frog, it is so small and well camouflaged, so look low down while searching for them. Spring  peepers  are tree frogs but prefer low branches, bushes and they usually wait until desk to begin calling.  Find out where Spring peepers live in the winter and if you can't find one to photograph, look it up and draw a picture of one labeling it with the proper species name.  Good Luck! How to Do the Challenge? 1. Download a score sheet 2. Do the fun outdoor activities listed on the score sheet b...