Vermont State Parks

Camping fever was on the rise! Our daughter and grandkids had just spent a weekend at Grand Isle State Park. Our visit with them heightened the anticipation of our own 5 night stay, the following week. I personally wanted a lean-to overlooking Lake Champlain and the beautiful Green Mountains. Watching a sunrise from the comfort of my own shelter is appealing to me. Unfortunately the lean-to’s are popular prime sites and usually requires a year advance planning in some cases. We don’t plan that far ahead, so tent site #70 was all we could get on this busy week. On our visit to see our kids, we made sure to check out our future site. The plan was to camp for a week where all the kids could come and go at their leisure. We wanted to make sure the site could house a few tents. It was a cozy lot and lived up to what the interactive website claimed. The long term forecast predicted rain for much of our stay. We decided that “we get what we get and we don’t pitch a fit”! The week...

Hard at work on the new trail!  Stop by Little River State Park in Waterbury on Friday, September 23 rd for an official opening celebration- three miles of new mountain bike and multi-use trails in the park. Plans for these trails have been in the works for years, and will be maintained in partnership with the Waterbury Area Trails Association, a chapter of VMBA (the Vermont Mountain Bike Association.)  "These are really fun, flow- style trails- something the public is demanding more and more," says Jessica Savage, recreation program manager for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. "They even made the uphill workout fun, by providing features like bermed turns and small jumps for those who like them and ride-arounds for those who don't." Trail crews and dedicated volunteers have been hard at work at the park up until this week, helping to finish the project on time.  The public is welcome to attend the trails’ official openin...

Wright's Spikerush (Eleocharis diandra) Let's help preserve them!  The next time you’re walking along a Burlington-area beach, watch your step and keep your eyes peeled- one of the plants that you’re seeing might include a rare Wright’s Spikerush, a tufted member of the sedge family. This species is found at several beaches locally, but known to be growing at less than 20 locations worldwide . Many of us were not happy with this dry condition this year, but these rare beach plants need dry summers to grow! During wet years, the seeds stay dormant underwater. When the lake level drops during dry seasons, the seeds are exposed to air and are ready to germinate. Wright’s Spikerush seeds can like dormant under lakes for decades. Walking or biking on the beach can damage these tiny plants, which grow just below the high water line. Walk above or below, on bare sand, to avoid doing damage. Other rare beach plants that you may spot include the reddish-purple Water...

Hopefully some of you were able to catch some of the Perseid Meteor Shower that we wrote about a couple weeks ago. I sat outside for about a half an hour on that Thursday night and saw several meteors, which was a fun experience. (I tried again the following night, but it was much cloudier and I soon gave up.) But never fear, astronomy fans, there are still cool things to look at in the night sky over the next few weeks. Plus, predicted clear skies and a new moon will make for prime stargazing conditions. Here is a rundown of a few things to look for if you find yourself outside at night: Planets in Formation On September 3 rd , Jupiter, Venus and our moon will line up to provide a special sight for viewers (and a great photo-op!) Look to the west about a half an hour after sunset. The thin crescent moon should be visible, with Venus and Jupiter to the lower right, close to the horizon. The Pleiades, or “Seven Sisters” Look eastward above the horizon and you sho...

By 2016 Photo Intern Tara Schatz  Like many of Vermont’s most wild places, Groton State Forest is off the beaten path, nestled between the Green Mountains to the west and the hills of the Connecticut River Valley to the east. This is one of Vermont’s largest publicly owned areas, encompassing almost 30,000 acres, and seven unique state parks. The forest and parks offer plenty of variety for adventurers, who come here to hike, bike, paddle, fish, camp, and relax. I spent a blissful couple of days in Groton State Forest this summer. My home base was Ricker Pond State Park , but I spent lots of time exploring the lakes, ponds, mountains, bogs, and woods that make this place so special. Here are my favorite adventures in Groton State Forest. Peacham Bog  I love exploring the flora and fauna of bogs, and Peacham Bog is one of the largest and most beautiful bogs in all of Vermont. Peacham Bog Natural Area encompasses 728 acres, but the bog itself is about 200 acres....

By photography intern Matt Parsons  Ann was getting water when our neighbour approached her about giving away their firewood to us. Apparently they weren’t having as much luck with the green wood as were having. The two ladies said they were going out for the night and wouldn’t be back until late. They were leaving the next day and wouldn’t need to have a camp fire. Ann accepted and when they left, we went up to help ourselves. Even though we had permission, it did feel a little uncomfortable to us. I managed to have one bar of cell service so I called our friends at Townshend to confirm that Music night was still at 7. I told Pat where we were and she said come on down. We had fun taking short cuts that our GPS sent us on. I will never remember how we got there but we got there! When we approached the pavilion Pat greeted us with a big warm hello. She proceeded to tell us that someone else camping at Woodford was here. To our surprise we were introduced to our neighbours...

By 2016 Guest Blogger Matt Parsons This camping trip was full of surprises right from the start. This Spring our calendar was filled with birthdays, graduations and weddings. There was only a short window of opportunity before our calendar would be filled again. In our world that is NOT a surprise. Looking ahead we decided to seize the moment and combine a camping trip with a visit to my brother and sister in-law who live in Massachusetts. It was a pleasant surprise to see the “skies” in our calendar part and make room for our plans. Camping in a lean-to in another state was not our first desire but it was the most logical, To our surprise we could not find a Massachusetts State Park with lean-to’s. Throwing logic out the window we opted for our first desire; a Vermont State Park. We always love to explore new parks and the southern part of Vermont has plenty to choose from. We had recently helped our son buy a car from a good friend in Woodford. The park was not open at the tim...