Destinations
Vermont outdoors
Green Mountain peaks, gorges, and lake shores across 55 state parks, threaded by the country's oldest long-distance trail.
Top parks in Vermont
See all 59 parksMount Philo State Park
Vermont's oldest state park: a small summit above the Champlain Valley with a drive-up view of the lake and Adirondacks, plus ten quiet campsites.
Camel's Hump State Park
Camel's Hump State Park grew from a 1,000-acre gift including the summit and now protects about 20,000 acres around one of Vermont's most recognizable peaks.
Smugglers' Notch State Park
Smugglers' Notch State Park surrounds a narrow mountain pass through the Green Mountains, with tall cliffs rising nearly 1,000 feet on each side of the road.
Niquette Bay State Park
Niquette Bay State Park is a 584-acre, mostly forested park with 4,700 feet of rocky and sandy shoreline along an inlet of Malletts Bay on Lake Champlain.
Quechee State Park
Quechee State Park lies along US Route 4 near Quechee Gorge, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year along with overnight campers.
Mount Ascutney State Park
Mount Ascutney State Park flanks 3,144-foot Mt. Ascutney to the north, south, and east, making it a favorite of outdoor enthusiasts and sightseers.
Button Bay State Park
Button Bay is a 253-acre park on a bluff in Ferrisburgh along Lake Champlain, named for the button-like clay concretions found along its shoreline.
Branbury State Park
Branbury State Park lies on the eastern shore of Lake Dunmore at the base of Mount Moosalamoo and features a 1,000-foot natural sandy beach.
Alburgh Dunes State Park
Alburgh Dunes State Park covers 625 acres and is named for the sand dunes near one of the longest beaches on Lake Champlain.
Planning a Vermont trip
Vermont is small, but it stacks a lot of mountain into a short drive. The Green Mountains run the length of the state, and the public land draped over them, more than 50 state parks plus the roughly 400,000-acre Green Mountain National Forest, gives you summits, gorges, waterfalls, and quiet lake shores without ever feeling crowded the way bigger Western parks can. There is no national park here, so your map is built from state parks, the national forest, and the trail system, and that is a feature: it spreads the crowds out and keeps things local.
A few areas do most of the heavy lifting. Mount Mansfield, the state's highest peak at 4,393 feet, is the headline climb, with Underhill State Park as the popular jumping-off point for the Sunset Ridge route and its long views over Lake Champlain. Camel's Hump, just over 4,000 feet and one of the most recognizable profiles in the state, rewards a steep day hike with a true 360-degree summit. For something gentler, Quechee State Park frames a 165-foot gorge that locals call Vermont's Little Grand Canyon, and Smugglers' Notch threads hiking and rock-climbing trails through a narrow pass of towering cliffs. Stitching it all together is the Long Trail, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the country, which runs ridge to ridge for the full length of Vermont and shares its southern stretch with the Appalachian Trail.
The clear winner for timing is fall. Peak foliage usually lands late September through mid-October, arriving first in the higher-elevation Northeast Kingdom and lingering in the southern valleys into late October, and it turns even an easy lake-loop hike into something memorable. Summer is warm and green with daytime highs often in the 70s to low 80s F, ideal for swimming and camping in the park system's signature three-sided lean-to shelters. Just know that the best fall campsites book out fast, sometimes within minutes of the reservation window opening. Winters are genuinely cold, with single-digit and teen F mornings common in the mountains, which is exactly why the ski and snowshoe scene is so strong.
Packing here is about layers and footwear, not gear lists. The summits sit hundreds of feet into cooler, windier air than the trailhead, so a warm layer and a wind shell ride along even on a bright summer day. The classic Vermont trail is rooty, rocky, and often wet, so waterproof boots with real tread earn their keep, and trekking poles help on the steep, eroded pitches up Camel's Hump and Mansfield. Add bug protection from late spring into summer and a headlamp if you are pushing daylight, and you are set for most of what the Green Mountains throw at you.
Getting around Vermont
Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) is the main gateway and the most useful one for outdoor trips. It sits about 10 minutes from Lake Champlain and within an hour or so of the northern Green Mountains, so you can land and be at a trailhead the same afternoon. Travelers coming from the south sometimes fly into Albany, New York, or Manchester, New Hampshire, and drive in, but BTV keeps you closest to the marquee peaks.
A car is essential. Vermont's outdoor areas are spread across rural valleys and mountain roads, and public transit does not reach the trailheads. The spine of the state is Interstate 89, which runs from the Burlington area southeast toward the New Hampshire line, while US-4 cuts east-west through the mountains and US-7 runs the western valley down toward the Massachusetts border.
Distances are short by Western standards. From BTV, Stowe and the Mount Mansfield trailheads are roughly 42-45 miles, about a 50-minute to one-hour drive. The Green Mountain National Forest is around 43 miles out, near an hour depending on which entry point you use. Killington, a good base for central-Vermont hiking and the southern Long Trail, is about 70 miles and 1 hour 45 minutes via I-89 south to the scenic US-4 east. Camel's Hump sits between Burlington and the interstate, well under an hour from the airport. Mountain weather and leaf-season traffic can stretch these times, so build in a buffer in October.
State park directory
Every Vermont state park
A source-backed inventory layer for planning breadth. Full Kit Authority guides are marked when a park has camping detail, rules, and packing notes; the rest link straight to the official page.
59 parks
1 full guide · 41 with photos
Mount Philo State Park
State Park
Mount Philo State Park became Vermont's first state park in 1924 and offers breathtaking views of the Lake Champlain Valley and New York's Adirondack Mountains.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Full guideAlburgh Dunes State Park
State Park
Alburgh Dunes State Park covers 625 acres and is named for the sand dunes near one of the longest beaches on Lake Champlain.
- Swimming
- Boating
- Paddling
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageAllis State Park
State Park
Allis State Park, established in 1928, sits on the summit of Bear Hill, where a former fire lookout tower provides sweeping views of central Vermont.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageBranbury State Park
State Park
Branbury State Park lies on the eastern shore of Lake Dunmore at the base of Mount Moosalamoo and features a 1,000-foot natural sandy beach.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageBrighton State Park
State Park
Brighton State Park sits on the shores of Spectacle Pond in a remote setting of tree-covered mountains, fast-running streams, and clear lakes.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Playground
- Swimming
Vermont State Parks
Official pageButton Bay State Park
State Park
Button Bay is a 253-acre park on a bluff in Ferrisburgh along Lake Champlain, named for the button-like clay concretions found along its shoreline.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Biking
- Swimming
Vermont State Parks
Official pageCamel's Hump State Park
State Park
Camel's Hump State Park grew from a 1,000-acre gift including the summit and now protects about 20,000 acres around one of Vermont's most recognizable peaks.
- Camping
- Hiking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageCamp Plymouth State Park
State Park
Camp Plymouth State Park has a long history spanning colonial travel routes, gold mining, and summer camps, and today offers visitors a place to relax outdoors.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageCoolidge State Park
State Park
Coolidge State Park, first developed in the 1930s, is known for its rustic atmosphere, hillside campsites with mountain views, and historic character.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Biking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageCrystal Lake State Park
State Park
Crystal Lake State Park surrounds a deep glacial lake and features nearly a mile of sandy shoreline, a marked swimming area, and a historic granite bathhouse.
- Swimming
- Boating
- Paddling
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageElmore State Park
State Park
Elmore State Park lies on 219-acre Lake Elmore beneath Elmore Mountain in a mostly forested town that calls itself the Beauty Spot of Vermont.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageEmerald Lake State Park
State Park
Emerald Lake State Park sits between Manchester and Rutland, surrounding 20-acre Emerald Lake, which is named for its emerald-green color when viewed from above.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageFort Dummer State Park
State Park
Fort Dummer State Park covers 217 forested acres in the Connecticut River Valley near Brattleboro and is named for Vermont's first permanent European settlement.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageGifford Woods State Park
State Park
Gifford Woods State Park sits at the base of Killington and Pico peaks near the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail, making it a favorite stop for hikers.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Biking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageGrand Isle State Park
State Park
Grand Isle State Park is located on South Hero Island in Lake Champlain, the largest island in the lake at about 14 miles long and three miles wide.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageGreen River Reservoir State Park
State Park
Green River Reservoir became a state park in 1999 and offers remote, largely undeveloped camping and paddling, with all campsites reachable only by boat.
- Camping
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageHalf Moon Pond State Park
State Park
Half Moon Pond State Park is a quiet camping area within Bomoseen State Park, set in a sheltered basin with a vast trail system connecting to Bomoseen.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageJamaica State Park
State Park
Jamaica State Park covers 772 acres on a bend in the West River, where a former railroad bed now forms a trail running upstream toward Ball Mountain Dam.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageKettle Pond State Park
State Park
Kettle Pond is one of seven parks in Groton State Forest, all close to one another, where entry to one provides free entry to all.
- Paddling
- Boating
- Camping
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageKill Kare State Park
State Park
Kill Kare State Park sits on the southwestern tip of St. Albans Point, surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain, and is named for a former boys' summer camp.
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageKnight Point State Park
State Park
Knight Point on North Hero Island opened as a state park in 1978 and includes the historic Knight Point house and a reconstruction of the 1790 Knight Tavern.
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
- Paddling
Vermont State Parks
Official pageLittle River State Park
State Park
Little River State Park is one of the most popular parks in central Vermont, with swimming beaches, boat rentals, and miles of hiking and mountain bike trails.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageMaidstone State Park
State Park
Maidstone State Park retains much of the character of the Northeast Kingdom and surrounds a deep, clear, cold lake formed by glacial ice 12,000 years ago.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageMolly Stark State Park
State Park
Molly Stark State Park, named for the wife of Revolutionary War General John Stark, lies along the Molly Stark Trail Scenic Byway in southern Vermont.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Biking
Vermont State Parks
Official page
Show 35 more Vermont parks
Molly's Falls Pond State Park
State Park
Molly's Falls Pond State Park covers 1,064 acres around a 411-acre reservoir in the rural town of Cabot, offering swimming, boating, and fishing.
- Camping
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageMount Ascutney State Park
State Park
Mount Ascutney State Park flanks 3,144-foot Mt. Ascutney to the north, south, and east, making it a favorite of outdoor enthusiasts and sightseers.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageNew Discovery State Park
State Park
New Discovery State Park lies in Groton State Forest, a region settled early because waterways made travel easier and logged for nearly 100 years.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageNiquette Bay State Park
State Park
Niquette Bay State Park is a 584-acre, mostly forested park with 4,700 feet of rocky and sandy shoreline along an inlet of Malletts Bay on Lake Champlain.
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageQuechee State Park
State Park
Quechee State Park lies along US Route 4 near Quechee Gorge, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year along with overnight campers.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Fishing
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageRicker Pond State Park
State Park
Ricker Pond State Park was established in the 1930s on the western shore of Ricker Pond, next to the Montpelier-Wells Rail Trail, part of the Cross Vermont Trail.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageSand Bar State Park
State Park
Sand Bar State Park is named for a natural sandbar between South Hero Island and Milton, with a long sandy beach and high water quality popular for swimming.
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageSilver Lake State Park
State Park
Silver Lake State Park borders the northern shore of 84-acre Silver Lake near Woodstock and is known for its sandy swimming beach, picnic areas, and campground.
- Camping
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageSmugglers' Notch State Park
State Park
Smugglers' Notch State Park surrounds a narrow mountain pass through the Green Mountains, with tall cliffs rising nearly 1,000 feet on each side of the road.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Biking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageStillwater State Park
State Park
Stillwater is one of seven parks in Groton State Forest, all close to one another, where entry to one provides free entry to all.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageStone Hut
State park system area
The historic Stone Hut was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a warming hut on Mt. Mansfield and now operates as a public winter lodging facility.
- Winter Sports
- Camping
- Historic Site
Vermont State Parks
Official pageTaconic Mountains Ramble State Park
State Park
Taconic Mountains Ramble State Park is a 204-acre park in Hubbardton given by the Carson Davidson trust, featuring blazed trails, meadows, and a Japanese garden.
- Hiking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageThetford Hill State Park
State Park
Thetford Hill State Park sits inside a larger state forest with a day-use area and a top-quality cross-country running trail, but no camping.
- Hiking
- Winter Sports
Vermont State Parks
Official pageTownshend State Park
State Park
Townshend State Park sits at the foot of Bald Mountain along a bend in the West River and was built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageUnderhill State Park
State Park
Underhill State Park sits on the west slope of Mt. Mansfield within Mt. Mansfield State Forest and is best known for four hiking trails leading to the summit ridge.
- Camping
- Hiking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageWilgus State Park
State Park
Wilgus State Park was donated in 1933 and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and is now a popular destination for paddling along the Connecticut River.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Boating
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageWoodford State Park
State Park
At 2,400 feet, Woodford State Park has the highest elevation campground of any park in Vermont, set on a mountain plateau surrounding Adams Reservoir.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageBig Deer State Park
State Park
Big Deer State Park lies within the Groton State Forest Recreation Area, close to the Groton Nature Center, Boulder Beach, and Stillwater state parks.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageBomoseen State Park
State Park
Bomoseen State Park covers 3,576 acres in the Taconic Mountains along the shores of Lake Bomoseen, the largest lake located entirely within Vermont.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageBoulder Beach State Park
State Park
Boulder Beach State Park is named for the large glacial rocks along the sandy beach of Lake Groton and sits on the lake's eastern shore.
- Picnicking
- Swimming
- Fishing
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageBurton Island State Park
State Park
Burton Island is a 253-acre park off St. Albans Point in Lake Champlain's Inland Sea, accessible only by boat via a passenger ferry from Kill Kare State Park.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageD.A.R. State Park
State Park
D.A.R. State Park sits on the shores of Lake Champlain and is known for its quiet setting, open campground, grassy picnic areas, and stone pavilion.
- Camping
- Fishing
- Picnicking
- Wildlife Viewing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageGroton Nature Center
State park system area
The Groton Nature Center in Groton State Forest has exhibits about plants, animals, and local history, along with programs to help visitors learn about nature.
- Hiking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageKingsland Bay State Park
State Park
Kingsland Bay State Park sits on the shores of Lake Champlain with picnic areas, historic buildings, and easy paddling around a protected bay.
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageKnight Island State Park
State Park
Knight Island is a roughly 185-acre island state park in Lake Champlain's inland sea, offering remote camping at seven sites while kept natural and undeveloped.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageLake Carmi State Park
State Park
Lake Carmi State Park borders the fourth largest natural lake located entirely within Vermont, near the third largest peat bog in the state.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageLake Shaftsbury State Park
State Park
Lake Shaftsbury State Park covers 84 acres surrounding the small, picturesque Lake Shaftsbury and operated as a private resort before becoming a state park in 1974.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageLake St. Catherine State Park
State Park
Lake St. Catherine State Park is a 117-acre park on the lake's shore that opened in 1953 and offers a campground, two sandy beaches, and a nature center.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageLowell Lake State Park
State Park
Lowell Lake State Park was established in 1977 and encloses most of the lakeshore, including a former summer camp, two islands, and significant wetland habitat.
- Hiking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageMuckross State Park
State Park
Muckross State Park was created in 2016 from 204 acres given by the estate of former State Senator Edgar May, once part of a much larger early-1900s estate.
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageNorth Hero State Park
State Park
North Hero State Park covers 399 acres of low-lying land on Lake Champlain, including a rare floodplain forest that provides important wildlife habitat.
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
- Wildlife Viewing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageSeyon Lodge State Park
State Park
Seyon Lodge State Park provides rustic year-round lodging and meeting facilities on the shores of Noyes Pond in Groton State Forest.
- Hiking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Picnicking
Vermont State Parks
Official pageWaterbury Center State Park
State Park
Waterbury Center State Park lies on Waterbury Reservoir, the ninth largest body of water in Vermont, created in the 1930s by the CCC as a flood control project.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official pageWaterbury Reservoir Remote Sites
State park system area
Waterbury Reservoir Remote Sites offer boating, camping, and wildlife viewing around an 18-mile shoreline reservoir created in 1938 by damming the Little River.
- Camping
- Swimming
- Boating
- Fishing
Vermont State Parks
Official pageWoods Island State Park
State Park
Woods Island became Vermont's forty-fifth state park in 1985, a 125-acre island in Lake Champlain's inland sea home to several rare or threatened plants.
- Camping
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Boating
Vermont State Parks
Official page
Inventory source: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons via Wikimedia Commons, credited per image. Official reservations and rules remain state-specific, so use the state booking links before committing to dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best national park in Vermont?
Vermont has no national park. The outdoor scene runs on state land instead: more than 50 state parks plus the roughly 400,000-acre Green Mountain National Forest, which carries much of the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail. For first-timers, Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield (reached via Underhill State Park) are the standout summit hikes, and Quechee State Park's gorge is the easiest big payoff.
When is the best time to visit Vermont parks?
Fall is the signature season. Peak foliage typically runs late September through mid-October, starting earlier in the higher-elevation Northeast Kingdom and lingering in the southern valleys into late October. Summer (highs often in the 70s to low 80s F) is excellent for hiking, swimming, and lean-to camping, though the best fall campsites can book up within minutes of the reservation window opening.
How hard is it to hike Camel's Hump or Mount Mansfield?
Both are full-day, strenuous climbs rather than casual walks. Camel's Hump tops out just over 4,000 feet and Mount Mansfield reaches 4,393 feet, Vermont's highest, with steep, rocky, often wet trails near the summits. Waterproof boots with good tread and trekking poles make a real difference, and you should carry a warm layer and wind shell because the summits are noticeably colder and windier than the trailhead.
Do I need a car to explore Vermont's outdoor areas?
Yes. Trailheads and state parks are spread across rural valleys and mountain roads, and public transit does not reach them. Fly into Burlington (BTV), rent a car, and use Interstate 89 and US-4 to connect areas; Stowe and Mount Mansfield are under an hour away, while Killington and the southern Green Mountains run closer to two hours.