Vermont State Parks

Start the New Year on the right foot with a hike in a Vermont State Park. Join a free, guided, easy, family hikes taking place in state parks and forests throughout the state. Hike leaders include professional guides and outdoor educators, sharing their knowledge and love of the Vermont outdoors. Don't need a guide? Then get outside at the state park or forest of your choice. They are always available and close by to all of us. Entry is free and you will discover a whole new world in the winter. Bring the whole family! Dress for the weather; bring snowshoes if there is a lot of snow. Bring some beverages and snacks. Dogs are welcome (on leash) unless otherwise noted. You don't need to pre-register, just show up. To check the status of the hikes call 802-249-1230. Update messages will be posted on December 31st and January 1st. Check out our website at www.vtstateparks.com  and our Facebook and Twitter feeds for more information and more hikes as they are added. Underhill S

Baltimore, Md. Each year the federal community service program, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) based in Baltimore, MD, names one project sponsor, the “Project Sponsor of the Year.” This year’s award winner is Vermont State Parks. On Thursday, November 12, 2015, Reuben Allen, Regional Ranger Supervisor, received the Project Sponsor of the Year Award on behalf of Vermont State Parks, during the awards ceremony at the Baltimore campus. In the narrative for the nomination of Vermont State Parks, a sentence reads, “this project and this individual (Reuben Allen), deserve the highest recognition from AmeriCorps NCCC for their relentless presence and care to keep the work available and meaningful.” AmeriCorps NCCC, is a full-time, team-based, residential, national service program, modelled after the U.S. military and the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, which put young men to work during the Great Depression. For the Project Sponsor of the Year Awar

A co-worker found an old issue of Vermont Life magazine while cleaning out his parents' house and brought it in to show us. Of particular interest was the article on the 1967 Lumberjack Roundup, included below for your enjoyment. The event drew thousands of people each year to Branbury State Park  and included rousing activities such as the Greased Pole Climb, Watermelon Scramble, and of course sawing, chopping, felling, hewing and birling (balancing on a floating log) competitions. There was even a "Round Up Queen" contest. Not long after the 1967 Vermont Life issue surfaced, we found a letter in the Forests & Parks archives on that old, transparent kind of typewriter paper. The memo (also included below for your enjoyment), dated April 6, 1961, was addressed to District County Foresters informing them of the newly relaxed Round Up Queen contestant eligibility requirements ..."Previously, contestants were selected from the winners of similar contests, whic