Vermont State Parks

Vermont State Parks is excited to announce the return of the Words in the Woods  program. These programs allow Vermonters and visitors to enjoy our state’s natural beauty while listening to and reading literature in the outdoors. Words in the Woods events are made possible by Vermont Humanities , the Vermont Arts Council , and a sponsorship by a Northeast Kingdom donor in honor of poet Judy Chalmer.

Please don't travel until it's safe to do so! Our travel posts are great for making future plans or dreaming about your next escape. Learn more about  Vermont State Parks and COVID-19 . Is your favorite outdoor space too busy with people for your comfort right now? Then take a hike back in time by visiting Amity Pond State Park in Pomfret, Vermont. Amity Pond is a park you may not know, and neither have all those other people crowding your favorite trailhead.  Rolling hills in Pomfret, Vermont Part of the enjoyment of visiting this park is your journey of arrival. This out of the way place is nestled in the rolling pastural hills of picturesque Pomfret. Vermont’s most photographed homestead, Sleepy Hollow Farm , brings hundreds of photographers to Pomfret in every beautiful Vermont season.  Pomfret is the quintessential rolling agricultural hills and historic homes that make up what we call the very best in Vermont. I was lucky enough to live in Pomfret on Galaxy Hill Ro...

This red oak wolf tree is a great place to hang out! My daughter and I enjoy our outside exploration time even more these days as our apartment has seemingly grown smaller, and we have new requirements to log into online classes several times a day. The breaks in nature are essential to deal with some of the stress of adjusting to new routines and our new reality of staying close to home. Luckily, we have plenty of nearby nature in our yard and beyond into our neighboring yards.  One of our favorite places to explore is a small strip of woods in between an apartment complex, and an abandoned pasture. Earlier I wrote about some cool mushrooms we found in there. Some of the mushrooms were growing on dropped branches from a huge red oak tree I referred to as a 'wolf tree'.  Look at out the trees you have growing in your yard, on your street, or in a nearby park. Trees that grow out in the open, on their own, not close to other trees grow in their perfect form. These lol...

Tiny mushrooms growing on a log in Woodford State Park - B. Steele A sign of spring you may have overlooked in your yard is mushrooms. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of larger fungi growing underground, or in a rotting log. There are some cool mushrooms coming out right now that you may be able to find in your own yard because my daughter and I have been finding them. Holding a puffball. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we live right in town, but we live in Vermont so even though we have an incredibly small yard, we have an abandoned pasture to explore nearby. Luckily, we have great neighbors who share this space with us, and they had the whole pasture brush hogged late last fall. This makes it easy to explore and find interesting things like mushrooms. The first really cool mushrooms we found the other day are these round, potato looking, apple sized mushrooms. Using our National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms , we identified these as tumbling puffball ...

Writing in a nature journal is a great way to spend time. Here is a little secret: things you enjoyed as a child are still super fun now. My daughter and I live right in town and have a postage stamp sized front lawn, but that doesn’t stop us from having wonderful, revitalizing outdoor adventures together just as I enjoyed with my siblings when I was eight. My daughter and I started writing and drawing in our nature journal daily. The last entry   before this was in December, and now we are packing our journal full of wonderful observations, illustrations, and descriptive words each day. We are looking closely at nearby nature, and watching the seasons change from winter to spring in our yard. This is an exciting time as spring is an awakening and rebirth of life in our yards and neighborhoods. Crocuses springing out in a front yard. You do not need to go far to find signs of spring. We had crocuses pop up out of the dried grass and winter weeds in our flower beds ...

A spider builds its web. Legs of eight, slowly creeping. Watching, waiting. Crawling, sneaking. Waiting, feeling. SNATCHING. Weaving. Wrapping. Then r e c e d i n g … Spiders hang on the cobwebs of our mind. So many limbs and eyes cautiously waiting in the shadows for their next meal until they suddenly run forward to catch it. Spiders have captured human interest from the earliest histories, from the Greek tale of a boastful weaver named Arachne being turned into a spider by the gods to the West African trickster spider god Anansi . In Vermont, we have over 100 species of spiders including orb weavers, fishing spiders, garden spiders and jumping spiders.   Although we encounter spiders in our day to day life, these masters of stealth star in many nightmares. What makes them so terrifying and otherworldly? Strange bodies . Spiders belong to the arachnid class which includes other creepy critters like scorpions, mites, and ticks. Arachnids have four pai...

A Sparassis crispa fungus or califlower mushroom decorates this tree Throughout the state of Vermont, thousands of different species of fungi co-exist amongst us. Ranging in size from microscopic to very large, these organisms serve a multitude of purposes that, without their presence, would change the face of the world as we know it. As many of us know these unique life forms can be found in many of the items we encounter daily, from foods to medicines. Though, many forms of fungi can be harmful, even deadly, their presence is essential to maintain life on earth. Breaking down organic life forms, to become a part of the earth and soil, allows ecosystems to both grow and thrive, maintaining the beautiful places we all enjoy escaping to for recreation and general enjoyment. A Polyporus spp. fungus or shelf mushroom taken in Maidstone State Park Though fungi can be found on the forest floor when snow no longer blankets it, it is after a steady rain, suc...

Matt Cioni, Park Interpreter at Elmore State Park, knows how to have a good time. In addition to fun programs like hiking to Elmore's fire tower, the Jr. Ranger Experience, Nature Art, Soda Can Fishing, and concerts, Matt offers Friday Night Game Night! Check out the events page to see when things are happening. It's a great way to get out some energy, meet new friends, and have some fun. Go to the Beach House at 7pm on Fridays to join! Rain or shine and all ages are welcome. Elmore State Park , located on the shores of Lake Elmore in north central Vermont, has 45 tent/trailer sites and 15 lean-tos. Visitors have several hiking trails to Elmore Mountain and its fire tower nearby. The day use area includes a large sandy beach, a newly renovated historic CCC bathhouse with a concession stand and cafe, restrooms and a rental pavilion, a picnic shelter, numerous tables and grills, a pet-friendly picnic area, and row boat, canoe, and kayak rentals. Call Elmore State Park for mo...

Its looking like perfect hiking weather for National Trails Days this Saturday! Check out our favorite hiking links below: Our favorite parks for hiking: Top 5 Parks for Hiking Looking to get kids out hiking for the first time? Check out Family-Friendly Hikes Want to hike with your dog? Here is what you need to know:  Pets in the Parks Did you know there are a bunch of Trail Maps and Guides online that you can download? Check out our Publications Page Want to climb some of the most popular summits in Vermont? Check out hiking maps for Camel's Hump , West Side of Mount Mansfield , East Side of Mount Mansfield and Mount Ascutney ? How about a beautiful, quiet nature trail? See our guide to Nature Trails New to hiking?  Learn about Hiking Safety Tips You also might want to check out some friends of ours: Green Mountain Club , for Long Trail and its side trails Local Motion , for trails of all kinds Moosalamoo National Recreation Area for many trai...

Birds Seen at Bomoseen State Park, Salisbury, April 15, 2011 Despite the chilly morning, Bomoseen State Park produced 35 species including a singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a singing Field Sparrow. Fox Sparrows were singing as well.  Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are back in full force. A pair of Black-capped Chickadees were excavating a broken tree stump. The lake is mostly open. Four Northern Shovelers (three male and one female) and a pair of Green-winged Teal were resting at the edge of some remaining ice at Crystal Beach. At the Lake Bomoseen/Hubbardton Marshes IBA at the north end of the lake, a Pied-billed Grebe and 78 Ring-necked Ducks were present among others. Bird list: Canada Goose 4 Wood Duck 2 Mallard 5 Bufflehead 1 Hooded Merganser 2 Common Merganser 16 Ruffed Grouse 1 Wild Turkey 7 Turkey Vulture 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Mourning Dove 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 6 Downy Woodpecker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 3 Blue Jay ...