Picnic in the Parks: Mt. Ascutney State Park

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by Erin & Evan Meenan

Welcome back to Picnic in the Parks.  For this edition, we visited Mt. Ascutney State Park in Windsor, VT.  There are tons of amazing things to see and do at Mt. Ascutney.  For example, at the summit there is an observation tower to climb and get a wonderful view of the surrounding area.  There is also an area to launch your hang glider.  For those of us who are less adventurous, you can pack a picnic and dine at one of the many scenic overlooks!
We decided to grab our picnic supplies at the Brownsville General Store in (of course) Brownsville, VT.  We chose one of the specialty sandwiches from the deli, a peanut butter bar made by the Woodstock Cookie Company, some chips made by Madhouse Munchies from South Burlington, VT, and a couple local sodas.  

We enjoyed our picnic lunch atop Bare Rock Summit, which you can access by hiking the Futures Trail from the campsites at the entrance to the park.  It is about a one-mile hike from the trailhead to Bare Rock.  Once you get there take time to enjoy the view.

If you reach Bare Rock and aren’t ready for lunch, we suggest you continue your hike along the Futures Trail until you reach the picnic pavilion.  The pavilion is another 1.1 miles away from Bare Rock and offers a stone gazebo, picnic benches, and several outdoor grills.  It also offers an even better view of the surrounding area.  If you want to enjoy the view and your picnic without the two-mile hike, you can simply drive your car up the mountain road and park right across the street from the pavilion.

 Enjoy your hike, your picnic and join us next time as we visit Elmore State Park.

Oh, and here is a picture of a cool snail we met along the trail.

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