Vermont State Parks

A mouth watering array of treats to try Okie Dokie Baking is now serving delicious treats at Jamaica State Park ! If you have a sweet tooth or just need some refueling after going for a hike or taking a swim, be sure to follow your nose to the baked goods table. We're glad the owner John Kurland decided to take up a place in Jamaica. John creates mouthwatering combinations of the best quality freshest ingredients using local fruit and vegetables, real butter, real milk, and real eggs- ingredients that are simple and authentic. All the pies, muffins, cakes and cookies are made by hand one at a time. John has a long history with baking, see a short description from his website of how he got his start below. A sample of their menu John started baking with the apples from his own front yard. They were the perfect apples for baking, staying crisp and flavorful. He combined the flavors of apples, sour cream, and walnuts and created an awesome crust. At first, he baked fo...

Open for business! - The Lake St. Catherine Concession Stand Jonas Rosenthal, the town manager of Poultney for over 25 years has another tough job, organizing and running the Lake St. Catherine State Park concession stand. This isn't an ordinary concession stand though; it's a unique opportunity for high school students to gain work experience. It all started six summers ago, when Jonas, who also runs an extensive summer recreation program for youth, heard alot of complaints from kids about wanting to work, but unable to find jobs. A request for proposal (RFP) came up for the concession stand and Jonas applied with the angle of a youth employment program. The selectboard approved with the stipulation that he could run the program as long as he didn't lose any money. Paddleboating at Lake St. Catherine Jonas clarifies that a person managing it could make money, but after paying the expenses for equipment and supplies, and wages of the kids, he really doesn...

A northern pike Concessions Manager, DJ Collise, couldn't think of many things he'd rather be doing than fishing on Silver Lake . He took some time to give us the inside scoop on this sport and a little more about the man behind the fish. First, where are you from and when did you first pick up a rod? I was actually born in Cuba. Both my parents were in the navy, but I was raised in Claremont, New Hampshire. My Dad taught me to fish when I was about eight years old and I've been fishing ever since. I used to do fly fishing, but I really like catching bigger fish, so now I do spinner fishing. How long have you been fishing on Silver Lake? Hmmmm, about 5 years. What types of fish are in these photos? The long ones are northern pike the shorter ones are large-mouth bass. Silver Lake also has many catfish and perch.  They are huge! Is this a fluke or do you normally see these large fish in Silver Lake? Well, I do lots of tournaments, all over the state, so I ...

There are some new, healthy menu items at the concession stands at Silver Lake and Camp Plymouth State Parks in addition to the old standbys like ice cream and candy. Silver Lake State Park now offers fresh tossed and chef salads, summer pasta, potato and tortellini salads and a variety of sandwiches and wraps all made next door at the Barnard General Store. You can also pick up a S'mores kit - complete with marshmallows, Hershey bars and graham crackers, so you can fix up some s'mores right on the spot. Camp Plymouth State Park has also added tossed salads, with or without grilled chicken, fresh watermelon cups and and healthy sandwiches. Both parks, still offer summer classics like ice cream sandwiches, fudge bars and choco-tacos. So, what would you choose?