Vermont State Parks

Do you love Vermont's trails? Do you want to return some of that love? If so, grab a tool or two and meet at Big Deer campground at 9:00 am, June 16th for a fun filled day of building a trail followed by a BBQ at Boulder Beach . Come see first hand what our summer trail crews do all summer long and learn how to build a trail. Our summer trail crews roam around the state building and maintaining many of Vermont's trails.  We will meet at 9:00 AM and work till 3:00 PM. For more information: Contact Jack Brooks- Jack.Brooks@state.vt.us  Thanks for the enthusiasm and we look forward to the weekend! What to Bring: - Wear older clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty - Hiking boots or closed toe shoes - Gloves - Hat/ Sunscreen/ bug spray - Tools: We will have tools but if you bring a tool or two we would probably use it. That includes; loppers, shovels, McClouds, pic-mattocks, garden rakes, etc. We’ll have a chainsaw and 1 is enough. - Your ...

At Allis State Park I met an employee Frank, who restores structures at the state parks by replacing damaged places, such as rotting wood, while keeping the original structure as authentic as possible, resembling how it would have looked up to 80 years ago! Many structures in the state parks were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the late 1930s. Allis State Park has a large historic pavilion with a magnificent fireplace Frank was working to restore. He explained various techniques and styles of the CCC construction. I’m not using the right vocabulary, but some are notched together by the logs themselves while others are pushed together to make it look like the logs were notched together when in fact they are actually stabilized using large nails. You can see these different styles in the historic lean-tos and shelters that are in state parks like Gifford Woods and Coolidge . A cool CCC structure can be found on the top of Owl’s Head Mountain near Stillwater and B...

Knight Point fireworks Celebrate Independence Day in the traditional way - watching fireworks! Many of the state parks are celebrating with special programs or later operating hours. Check out when and where there are celebrations near you, below! A view from the top of Mt. Ascutney Sunday, July 3rd - Mt. Ascutney State Park : One of the few parks left with camping spaces!! Make your reservation soon (802-674-2060) to camp.  Then just drive up to mountain road to check out the fireworks! Get a great view from on top of the mountain and see multiple fireworks displays. Be sure to bring a flashlight for finding your way back to your campsite if you are hiking. For drivers, the road will close 20 minutes after the finale. Saturday, July 2nd - Boulder Beach State Park : If you are camping in the Groton State Forest, make sure to head over to Boulder Beach for this great celebration! Free entry after 7:30pm. Saturday, July 2nd - Brighton State Park : Island Pond puts on a ...

Jerry helps direct the large group of volunteers Jerry Prevost, sophomore dean at St. Johnsbury Academy, challenges his students to do more for the community and the outdoors. As freshman, students at the academy perform community service in the St. Johnsbury area. Once they became sophmores, Jerry wanted their experience to be further from home. "We wanted students to think more about stewardship of the Earth and Groton came to mind". Jerry continues that many of his students live near and use Vermont State Parks and with summer just around the corner, it seemed a timely opportunity for the students to help an organization that in turn protects undeveloped land and educates on some of Vermont's greatest natural resources. Special touches by the volunteers helped to make the parks even better On April 29th, Jerry along with over 175 students and faculty traveled the short distance to Groton State Forest where the group helped out Kettle Pond , Ricker Pond , Bou...