Vermont Vacation Ideas
Vermont takes pride in their state park system.
Their 52 state parks range from remote islands to vast wilderness and come with creature comforts like toilets and hot showers, kids' playgrounds, games, snack bars, weekend music concerts and other cultural events.
Camping
Thirty-nine of the 52 Vermont State Parks offer a variety of camping experiences from pitching a tent deep in the forest to parking an RV and are beautifully maintained.
Green Mountain National Forest
The Forest's diverse landscapes range from the rugged exposed heights of the Green Mountains to quiet, secluded hollows in the Wilderness.
The Green Mountain National Forest is more than 400,000 acres that stretch across nearly two-thirds the length of Vermont.
There are nine Green Mountain National Forest Campgrounds. These sites tend to be more rustic. Backwoods campers may also make camp anywhere in the Green Mountain National Forest as long as they are more than 200 feet from a road, trail, and water.
Fishing
A long Vermont winter leaves fish with an appetite for biting anything that moves. More than 5,000 miles of fishable streams in the valleys of Vermont are home to some of the finest freshwater fishing in the U.S.
Cold water streams and brooks harbor an abundance of brown, brook and rainbow trout and its lakes and ponds provide tremendous opportunities for bass, walleyes and other species.
Vermont's trout fishing season opens in April and continues through October.
As the spring melt subsides, the ice will be off the more than 400 lakes and ponds where northern pike and walleye are ready to put up a fight.
For largemouth and smallmouth bass, try Lakes Bomoseen and Hortonia west of Rutland, Lake St. Catherine in Poultney and the Connecticut River.
For salmon and lake trout, Maidstone and Willoughby, Memphremagog, Seymour and Caspian, Harvey's and the Averill Lakes are well worth a try.
Hunting
Finding a place to hunt in Vermont is easy with more than 800,000 acres of conserved wildlife habitat open to public hunting.
Vermont has an abundance of game and a wealth of unspoiled woods, lakes, and ponds, making it one of the top hunting destinations in the Northeast.
White-tailed deer, black bear, moose, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock, waterfowl, and snowshoe hare hunting are popular in the fall and the wild turkey gobbler season in May offers the best turkey hunting in New England.
Few states can match the quality of a Vermont hunt.
Branbury State Park
Branbury State Park lies along the western edge of the Green Mountain chain. Though Vermont's higher peaks top 4,000 feet, Branbury S.P. is marked with 2,000-foot peaks.
Here you will find one of the state's most outstanding natural features, the Falls of Lana. Water from Sucker Brook cascades in steps down a stone sluiceway and boulders that are overwhelmed by towering pines and hardwoods.
There are several spots to take a refreshing dip and sunbathe including the remote and tranquil Silver Lake. From Silver Lake, even more trails lead out into the stretch of national forestlands named Moosalamoo.
At night Vermont is a popular hiking destination, easily reached by multiple trails and is a great opportunity to teach yourself and the children about the planets and the night sky.
One of my favorite things to do is look for constellations and for just a few dollars you can pick up a star finder. It's not hard to do and it is a lifetime of knowledge and fun for everyone.
A journey to Rattlesnake Cliffs is about an hour up a trail. For the not faint of heart, continuing on further to the top of 2,650-foot Mt. Moosalamoo, or beyond, provides hiking on seven rugged miles along Oak Ridge.
Lake Champlain
Vermont is home to Lake Champlain, the sixth largest freshwater body in the United States. Just over 120 miles long, covering 435 square miles with 212 miles of Vermont shoreline Lake Champlain forms a major portion of Vermont’s western border with New York.
Fun Fact: One of Vermont's U.S. Senators even tried to have it declared the sixth Great Lake a few years ago. He wasn't successful.
It is a magnificent summer haunt for many New Englanders, offering not only shear beauty, but also every conceivable recreational activity and water sport one could hope for.
Anglers can go after 11 species from yellow perch to landlocked salmon, trout, bass and pike, Lunkers as big as 15 pounds are hauled in here.
Lake Champlain Islands
The Lake Champlain Islands are part of a land chain, which includes the Alburg Peninsula, and the islands of the Isle la Motte, North Hero and Grand Isle. The islands can be accessed by car or by one of the Lake Champlain Ferries.
The State Parks located on the islands are second to none, and are great for Camping.
One, is home to the largest natural sand beach in Vermont. Two of the parks are on their own islands, which, of course, are only accessible by boat.
Water sports
In total, Vermont has more than 800 lakes and ponds, 284 of which are larger than 20 acres. Vermont is also home to over 7,000 miles of rivers and streams.
Rivers such as the Winooski, the Batten Kill, the Lamoille, and the West are excellent for kayaking, tubing, fishing, and canoeing. There is even limited, seasonal white water rafting available on the West River.
Canoeing, kayaking, fishing, sailing, tubing, swimming, sailboarding, or scuba diving, are fun ideas in the summer months.
You can dive among shipwrecks or you can simply want to spend a quiet summer day splashing around near the beach.
Caving
Go deep into the ground exploring the underworld of Vermont. You will see some spectacular rock formations, underground streams and waterfalls. Along the way you will gain knowledge about the environment. Just rember that you should do all of your caving with respect and safety in mind.
Wildflowers
Wildflowers are rather common in Vermont. There are hotspots all over the state that virtually gush wildflowers at certain times of the year.
Most people can step out their front doors all summer long, look around and see many of the common wildflowers that sprout anywhere.
Here are some everyday wildflowers in Vermont: Clover, Sorrel, Queen Anne's lace, Hawkweed, Vetch, Campion, Madder and the always cheerful Dandelion.
Delicate spring ephemerals cover the forest floor, orchids; fragile alpine flowers that only grow in northern climates thrive here.
The Nature Conservancy of Vermont protects more than 300 acres on Black Mountain. Two trails lead to the summit. From April through September a variety of wildflowers can be seen there. A hike on ether trail is a journey through time, with stone walls, artifacts, foundations and cemeteries from the early 1800s.
Southeastern granite peak hosts a wide variety of wildflowers easily viewed from trails. The lovely spring ephemerals, the first of the woodland flowers to bloom, start in April with bloodroot, violets, hepatica, spring beauty, wild ginger and Dutchman's breeches.
May brings baneberry, foamflower, painted trillium and jack-in-the-pulpit. In June, when mountain laurel fills the forest with fist-sized bunches of flowers.
Spring beauties carpet the forest floor, along with purple trillium, goldthread, trout lily, hepatica, violets, wild ginger, Dutchman's breeches, squirrel corn and wild oats. In June, the painted trillium and heal-all appear. July brings meadows of ox-eye daisy and black-eyed Susan.
August is for Rough-stemmed goldenrod, flat-topped white aster, turtlehead, boneset and joe-pye weed have been growing all summer and reach stellar heights.
In September you will see the deep purple closed gentian and a small white orchid called nodding ladies' tresses.
Anyone who enjoys gardening will enjoy what Vermont has to offer.
Bird Watching
Vermont happens to be on one of the major migration routes. With a variety of distinct ecosystems, Vermont is home to diverse natural habitats, making it host to a profuse collection of birds.
Songbirds like bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches, wren, and finches are seen with the naked eye. Waterfowl thrive along Vermonts many lakes and predator birds soar above the mountains and meadows.
The Lake Champlain Birding Trail is a highway-based trail, about 300 miles in length, around Lake Champlain. The lake is one of the major stopping points for migratory birds.
Another stopping point is the Misissquoi National Wildlife Refuge located near Swanton on the Canadian border.
Vermont is a prime vacations spot for just about any outdoors lover. Take a trip there, I am sure you will love it!