Vermont State Parks

Snow is in the air and, during this second week in February, so is love! There are many ways to show your beloved that you care: taking a brisk stroll beneath a winter moon, gliding through some fresh powder side-by-side, or scraping ice and snow off their car. For many lovers of the outdoors, Vermont State Parks are a romantic destination. Parks become the site of several marriage proposals and lots of weddings every year. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are our picks for the Most Romantic Locations in Vermont State Parks: Mt. Philo State Park One of the most popular hiking destinations in the state, Mt. Philo State Park is also a wonderful place to take a date! A quick hike to the top really delivers with beautiful views of the Lake Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains. Regardless of the season, Mt. Philo really captures all of the beauty and romance of the state. Little River State Park Take a romantic trip to Little River State Park for camping, hiking, swim...

By: Seyon Lodge State Park This weekend at Seyon Lodge State Park , we had a group of scrap-booking enthusiasts come and transform the conference room into a craft workshop for three days. The fourteen member club, who have affectionately dubbed themselves "The Scrappers," have been coming to Seyon Lodge to produce beautiful works of art every year for nine straight years! The group says they look forward to this weekend all year long, and that leaving Seyon is always such a hard thing to do. Never fear ladies. Next year's stay is already booked! Seyon Lodge State Park is a great place to bring your own club or organization for its next retreat. Be it quilting, knitting, beading, or scrap-booking, any kind of craft you're into, we'd love to have you!

By: Tiffany Soukup I had been hearing about "The Project" for weeks. My nephew Carsten made a project that everyone in his entire school in Pennsylvania could see and we were in it. My husband, Chris, and I have been working seasonally in Vermont State Parks for years. We've moved around to a handful of different parks, most recently calling Seyon Lodge our summer home. Most years our family has been able to come up to visit and see each place we've been fortunate to live and work at. So far, Seyon Lodge has been their favorite. If any of you reading have ever worked seasonal jobs or jobs with distinct ebbs and flows in your workload, you know how extreme it can be. Seasonal work is great because it's for a specified period of time and then it's over, but it can be pretty intense and exhausting at times. When I think of carloads of family members coming to visit on our limited off time during the season, a tiny part of me cringes at the spare, precious ...

By:  Sage Coates-Farley In Waterbury, Vermont, just off Route 2, lies one of Vermont’s many State Parks. This place is known as Little River State Park. But it’s not just any state park, it holds many memories. Picture a large lake, surrounded by campgrounds in the peak of summer. Laughing kids, the smell of campfires, and a relaxed environment. The calm Waterbury Reservoir makes nearly a perfect place for a day of leisurely kayaking as a family. I can recall many days at the parks beaches after a long paddle around the serene reservoir. I first learned how to paddle a kayak at this very place and I’m so glad I did. In the Fall. Picture a network of interlocking trails and camping grounds. But now picture this very place full of bright red, orange, and yellow leaves on the trees. And see families enjoying the last evenings of beautiful weather around a glowing bed of coals. I’ve spent many nights with my own family doing this same thing at that very same park. The sounds ...

This is a fun time of year to create artwork and crafts that celebrate the season. Using nature as an inspiration, we have found some cool art projects to decorate your home and help you get into the spirit of winter! Ice Suncatchers What you'll need: Natural items, a container, twine, freezing temperatures 1. Go outside and gather twigs, leaves, berries, pebbles or any other natural material you would like to include. 2. Fill a cake or pie tin with water and place the objects you found in the water. If you would like to hang your suncatcher, remember to include a piece of twine in the pan, placed halfway in and out of the water so it won't completely freeze. * To create different shapes, you can place a cookie cutter in the pan and place your objects inside the shape.  3. Let freeze outside overnight. Alternately, you can place the container in the freezer overnight.  4. When the pan has completely frozen, let it thaw for a few minutes or run under hot water to ...

With a fresh snowfall blanketing Vermont, it's a beautiful time to go outside, look for animal tracks in the snow, and take notice of the changing season. Before you head into the woods during this time of year, keep in mind that hunting season may be in progress. Hunting is an annual tradition for Vermonters and an important part of the state’s cultural heritage. Many people view hunting as a way to source their meat locally and build a relationship with the land. Hunting is allowed on all state lands, including State Parks, during the off-season. Though hunting season may be in full swing, the parks are still available for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, or skiing.  Please come and visit the parks, but remember to be cautious in the woods. Dress in blaze orange (dogs, too) and make yourself heard. You may be less likely to run into hunters at State Parks like Niquette Bay , Underhill , Knight Point , and Mt. Philo . When planning your hike, please note that hunte...

Photo by Krista Cheney From late September to December, the Vermont landscape undergoes a dramatic transformation from late summer’s verdant greens, to our stellar fall foliage, to bare trees and quieter woods. For Vermont residents, the time after the autumn leaves have fallen and before the first snowfall is often referred to as “Stick Season.” When you get outside during this time of year, you’ll see why: the trees, free of their leaves, look like sticks against the mid-fall sky. Some people see Stick Season as a chance to cozy up indoors, cook up some hearty fall dishes, and prepare to hibernate for the winter. Other people find this period to be particularly peaceful and rejuvenating and look forward to getting outside to enjoy all of the advantages of Vermont’s “sixth season.” There are lots of ways to gain an appreciation for Stick Season like raking up and then playing in a pile of crunchy fallen leaves or taking your kayak out for a tranquil paddle under a clear ...