Vermont State Parks

How to cook Corn in a Cooler What you will need : Ears of Corn Boiling Water Cooler Wash the cooler inside and out. Depending on how it has been treated, you might want to sterilize it with boiling water! Directions: 1. Shuck the corn, removing the husks and silks.  2. Rinse the ears under running water. 3. If you like snap the ears of corn in half and drop into the cooler.  4. Pour boiling water over the corn, enough to cover and then some. Close the cooler and let it be for 30 minutes 5. After 30 minutes, check the corn and ENJOY! *If you don't want to eat it right away just leave the corn in the cooler with the hot water until you are ready to eat. 

Sign up now for a 6-week Tai Chi course for beginners at Mt. Philo State Park on Wednesdays from 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM beginning September 12th! Course fee is $75 for six weeks and every single penny will be donated to the Vermont Food Bank ! Each dollar donated to the food bank results in six meals, so if ten people sign up, we can contribute 4,500 meals to hungry Vermonters! Classes will be held at the Summit Lodge at Mount Philo. The folks at White Cloud Living Arts Foundation  are generously donating their time and talent to teach the classes. Pre-registration is required and class is limited to 15 participants. No charge for park entry. To register call the park at 802-425-2390. Please make your check payable to "Vermont Food Bank". So why not do something good for yourself, and great for your neighbors and sign up today!

Camping at a Vermont State Park is a great way to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature away from the constant distraction of electronics but as you will find out, there are certain things that just don’t come as easily as they do at home, dishwashing is one of those things. Here are a few tips to make sure your dishes are clean and the environment is safe.   It may seem so much easier to buy paper products and not worry about washing all those dishes but even 100% compostable products aren’t as environmentally friendly as they seem. Unless the state park you are visiting has a composting pile, all your trash is going to be mixed in with regular trash and thrown into landfills. When thrown into landfills, biodegradable and compostable products aren’t exposed to the necessary air, moisture and sunlight to break them down. Depending on the type of camper you are, you may or may not want to bring dishes for every purpose. If you have a small vehicle and are looking to save space, ...

Welcome to Maidstone : Just a Stone’s Throw Away from the Middle of Nowhere.   By, Eric Bouchard, Assistant Ranger, Maidstone State Park With the conclusion of the season quickly approaching, parks may be noticing that their flowers aren’t as green and vibrantly colored as they once were. It is coming to that time of the year when the nights are getting colder and the spring and summer’s flora and fauna are beginning to brown, indicating autumn’s ultimate arrival. Those flowers that once speckled the entrance to your park, conveying that warm and inviting feeling, will now need to be pulled, and that feeling will now be gone. Or will it? Here at Maidstone State Park , our park host came up with a great way of revitalizing the entrance, spending absolutely no money and using only naturally collected materials. After plucking dying plants from flower beds, rocks and sticks were collected, of various sizes and shapes, and placed in a way that is pleasing geometric...

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and that doesn’t change when you are camping. No matter how awesome bacon is, it’s good to have variety in our diet and what a great time camping can be to try out all those recipes you’ve been saving up. Planning is an important first step to a successful meal around the campfire. Here are some tips to make your meals as simple and easy as possible. ·         -  Keep preparation to the minimum by chopping, shredding, or slicing ingredients at home. Measure the necessary amounts and pack them in disposable or reusable containers or zip-close bags. ·         -   Pack perishable items in a cooler loaded with ice-packs or ice blocks, and keep cold until ready to cook. ·        ·         -  Explore the area surrounding the campground. Look out for great local farmers markets where you can get some f...

Nearly 80 years after young men from the CivilianConservation Corps (CCC) constructed what is now Coolidge State Park , a new group of young people from the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is once again working at the park in Plymouth, VT. The eleven-member NCCC team, based out of the national service program’s Atlantic Region headquarters in Perry Point, MD, has constructed a 600-foot long fence along Coolidge State Park’s main road.  The fence will prevent traffic from entering recreational areas where children play. It is a continuation of an NCCC project from 2009, when the park’s visitor center was constructed with the help of a different NCCC team. The log-railed fence has been constructed much like the park’s iconic log lean-tos and picnic pavilion constructed by the CCC in the 1930s.  The NCCC team, Moose 2, spent three weeks peeling spruce bark by hand, and cutting and setting 20-foot segments of the fence. Like their predecessors in the CCC, much...

This past weekend Boy Scout, Patrick Clancy, built a wood shed at  Camp Plymouth for his Eagle Scout proj ect. The eagle scout project is one that  must demonstrate leadership and provide service to a worthy institution other than the Boy Scouts with a project idea which is valuable to the community and a challenge to the Eagle Scout. And we thank you, Patrick for choosing Vermont State Parks !