Knight island, acquired by the state in 1990, is one of three neighboring island parks in lake champlain's "inland sea”. the others are burton and woods island state parks. this 185-acre island is a mile long and nearly a half mile wide. the park includes all but 10+ acres of private land on the island's southern tip. when on knight island, please respect the rights of the park neighbor and keep off the southern end.

Knight point on north hero island opened as a state park in 1978, but its history goes back much further. john knight, the point's first resident, began ferry service between the islands in 1785. his family operated a ferry until the first bridge opened in 1892. the historic knight point house is a parks staff residence. the wooden frame wing is a reconstruction of the knight tavern, an inn built in 1790 for travelers crossing between the islands. the brick section of the building, added to the tavern in 1845, has an unusual two-story porch.

With a 1375-acre surface area, carmi is the fourth largest natural lake entirely within vermont. it is 7.5 miles around, averaging about 20 feet in depth, and is 33 feet at its deepest point. the lake supports northern pike, walleyes, and other warm water species. the lake drains north into quebec’s pike river, then into lake champlain. lake carmi was once much larger. in the thousands of years since the last ice age, the southern end of the original lake has silted in, creating wetland forests and the third largest peat bog in vermont.

Lake shaftsbury state park is on an 84-acre parcel surrounding the small but picturesque lake shaftsbury. the area operated as a private campground/cabin resort before it became a state park in 1974. it has become a popular park facility in southwestern vermont.

Lake st. catherine state park, which consists of 117 acres, first opened as a small picnic and swimming area in 1953. the area is known for its past slate quarrying operations, with remains of slate mills, quarries, and rubble piles still visible. the park itself was once a children's summer camp and farmland.

In the early 1800s, pioneers cleared fields, rocks, and stumps in ricker basin and cotton brook. a settlement of 50 or so families once lived in this area. the hard demands of the land and weather forced younger generations to abandon the farms. today, old cemeteries, sawmill remains, old town roads, bridges and many cellar holes can still be seen as evidence of a past community.

Open year round for day use (winter road conditions permitting). park is undeveloped with no camping or restroom facilities. free entry. Lowell lake state park was established in 1981 when the state of vermont purchased 207 acres from the estate of arline weiss gardner on the southern end of lowell lake. this area included the dam, cemetery and an informal car top boat launch.

Maidstone is the most remote of vermont's state parks and still retains much of the wilderness character associated with the northeast kingdom. maidstone lake was created when glacial ice carved out a deep basin in a preexisting valley. when the last glaciers melted 12,000 years ago, a deep, clear, cold lake was formed.

Welcome to molly stark state park, named for the famous wife of general john stark of the revolutionary war. the park is located along the molly stark trail scenic byway (state route 9), the main east-west route in southern vermont that connects brattleboro, wilmington and bennington.

In 1935, the state of vermont, with federal public works funds, purchased a 560-acre parcel from weston heights, inc., and a 640-acre parcel from e.j. york. in 1938, an additional 300 acres were purchased from the bicknell estate. this 1500-acre tract was the original area in which civilian conservation corps (ccc), work group spi began the development of ascutney state park in 1935. subsequent land acquisitions have brought the total to about 2000 acres.

The 168-acre park is located atop mt. philo (968' elevation) and overlooks the lake champlain valley and the adirondack mountains of new york. a narrow, steep road (not recommended for trailers) provides visitors access to the top of the mountain. this is vermont's oldest state park, created in 1924.

Welcome to new discovery state park. as early as 1704, native americans and the french were using routes through groton to reach canada and massachusetts. colonists settled this area of vermont slightly earlier than the rest of the state through the accessible network of waterways.

Today’s 553-acre park began with an initial land purchase by the state of vermont in 1975. it is named for niquette bay, the local name for an indentation along the northeastern shore of lake champlain’s larger malletts bay. 4700 feet of scenic rocky and sandy shoreline along the bay comprise the park’s southern boundary.

Welcome to north hero state park. if you have camped at north hero in previous years, you will find a very different camping experience today. two sections of the former campground remain closed, and the number of campsites in the open section has been reduced to 20. there are 9 lean-tos in this section. the restroom and shower facilities are not available, although there are chemical toilets in the campground and there is potable water.

Welcome to quechee state park. its location along us route 4, and its proximity to many upper-valley attractions make the park a popular tourist destination. hundreds of thousands of visitors stop each year to take in the breathtaking views of the quechee gorge. other visitors seeking an overnight stay enjoy the easy access to the park’s spacious campsites.

Ricker pond state park, established in the 1930’s, is located on the western shores of ricker pond and adjacent to the montpelier-wells rail trail (cross vermont trail).

Sand bar state park takes its name from a natural sandbar between south hero island in grand isle county and the town of milton on the vermont mainland. the park is on the mainland, or eastern end, of that sandbar. the sandbar itself is the result of the lamoille river, over tens of thousands of years, washing sediment downstream from the present lamoille valley. the river borne material sank to the bottom as the river emptied into the lake, eventually filling the lake to create the marshland south and east of the park, and the sandbar to the west. natural lake depths here, without the sandbar, would be over 150 feet. as it is, water depth now along the top of the sandbar to south hero is only a couple of feet. because of the shallow water, the route along the sandbar served as a ford from the mainland to the islands well before construction of the first bridge in 1850. crossing that first toll bridge, built of rock, gravel, and logs laid corduroy-fashion through the marsh and along the bar, must have been an adventure. narrow and much lower than the present causeway, it was often flooded and always needed major repairs after damage caused by shifting ice each spring. even crossing today's wider, higher causeway, completed in 1959, can be an adventure when snow blowing across the frozen lake blocks visibility, or spray and water from crashing waves washes across the highway during storms when the lake is high.

One of vermont’s best kept secrets, seyon lodge state park provides rustic and welcoming facilities in the midst of the inspiring beauty of groton state forest. situated on the pristine shores of noyes pond, the lodge provides year-round lodging and meeting facilities for individual guests and groups, including small conferences, retreats,and weddings.

Pet friendly day use area: while pets are allowed in all vermont state park campgrounds, we are currently experimenting with allowing pets in the day use area of this park. pets are allowed in campground and day use area but are not allowed on the sand beach or in the swimming area. pets must be leashed at all times and proof of rabies vaccination is required. your comments on this policy are welcomed and appreciated.

Welcome to smugglers’ notch state park. the famous smugglers’ notch is a narrow pass through the green mountains. lined with 1,000-foot cliffs, the winding road is closed in winter. in the earlier days, only a footpath and trail for horses existed here.

As early as 1704, native americans and the french were using routes through groton to reach canada and massachusetts. colonists settled this area of vermont slightly earlier than the rest of the state as a result of the accessible network of waterways.

The historic stone hut was originally built as a warming hut in 1936 by the civilian conservation corps (ccc). these same crews cut some of the original ski trails on mt. mansfield. once a home away from home for the ski pioneers of vermont, it is now operated as a public lodging facility with a unique partnership between the vermont department of forests, parks, and recreation and the stowe mountain resort (mt. mansfield company) between mid-november and mid-april.

Thetford hill state park is located within the southern tract of a state forest. the park includes a private summer camp (run under long-term license agreement) in a former campground, a day use area and a world-class cross-country running trail. there is no camping at the park.

A visit to townshend hill state park, located at the foot of bald mountain on a bend of the west river, feels like a step back in time. the park was constructed during the great depression by the civilian conservation corps (ccc), a public works program aimed at putting young men to work.

Underhill is within vermont's 34,000-acre mt. mansfield state forest. on the headwaters of the brown's river, at about 2,000 feet elevation, the park lies on the west slope of 4,300 feet mt. mansfield, the state's highest peak. just over the summit ridge is the stowe ski area, one of north america's original ski resorts.