Section of the Long Trail Permanently Protected

The Trust for Public Land, Green Mountain Club and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR), announced the protection of Codding Hollow, adding 160.7 acres to Long Trail State Forest in Johnson and Waterville, Vermont. The newly protected property includes one of the last unprotected sections of the Long Trail, the oldest long-distance hiking trail...

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The trials and tribulations of hiking Vermont’s grandest trail

James Gordon Hindes had his summer all mapped out. Toting a 60-pound pack and wearing hobnailed boots, Hindes would spend most of July and much of August hiking north from the Massachusetts-Vermont line into Canada. The year was 1931 and Hindes planned to follow the entire 275-mile route of the just-completed Long Trail. Reading Hindes’ journal, which has been published...

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Your Guide to Hiking the White and Green Mountains

Any visitor to New England looking to escape to the mountains faces one major question: The Whites or the Greens? Both of the Northeast’s dominant ranges offer plenty of opportunities to explore but have markedly different environments. Steep and rugged, the White Mountains are concentrated in north-central New Hampshire, extending from the Connecticut River east to just...

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Vermont hopes to complete 93-mile rail trail by mid-decade

The completion of a 93-mile rail trail across northern Vermont would help link an ever-expanding network of recreation trails across New England and beyond, advocates say. The effort got a big boost this week when Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott asked lawmakers to approve $2.8 million as the state’s share of the estimated $14.1 million cost of completing the remaining...

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Why are New England’s hiking trails so beat-up?

The next time you find yourself cursing as you stumble and sweat up a steep, rocky trail in New Hampshire, here’s one target for your wrath: Horses. Or, rather, lack of horses. “Out West, trails like the Pacific Crest Trail were graded for horses, so the incline never goes above 5 percent. That’s a major reason why they’re smoother and less steep,” said Roger Moor, whose...

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Funding tightens for Vermont’s Long Trail caretakers

Hugh and Jean Joudry have spent the last fifty summers atop Stratton Mountain, and the couple, now in their seventies, aren’t planning to descend any time soon. While their tenure at the mountain’s summit began through the State of Vermont’s Fire Watch program in 1968, the two have watched over the peak as Green Mountain Club caretakers since the 1970s....

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Hiking back in time to celebrate 100 years of the Long Trail

Dew shines in the early morning summer sun along the network of trails near the Winooski River. It’s where Mike Debonis continues his journey back in time on Vermont’s Long Trail. This year, the trail is celebrating 100 years. Debonis is honoring the anniversary by dressing in traditional 1917 attire – all wool – and spending his vacation on the...

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Memorial Day Weekend Kicks Off Vermont’s Hiking Season

The holiday weekend is traditionally the start of the hiking season in Vermont. Hiking is one of the state’s top summer tourism draws and the Green Mountain Club (GMC) estimates 200,000 people visit The Long Trail each year. The official protectors and maintainers of the Long Trail, the 107-year-old Green Mountain Club is the premier Vermont hiking organization with...

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Vermont’s Green Mountain Club looks to the future

The Green Mountain Club, based in Waterbury, Vermont, is a membership based nonprofit organization that is responsible for the maintenance of the Long Trail system, including the 272-mile footpath through the wilderness, 185 miles of side trails and 70 backcountry campsites. The GMC also participates in maintenance and protection of Vermont’s 100-mile portion of the...

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Continuing wild family hiking experiences on Vermont’s Long Trail

Backpacking into the wild may seem an odd way to spend your vacation. Rehydrating food, rationing toilet paper and sleeping with a T-shirt over your head to ward off mice isn’t exactly the stuff of dreams. But, in a sense, it is exactly what we need to re-energize and break from the anxiety, stress and overstimulation of our modern work life. It is the chance to focus...

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Green Mountain Club Trail Angels on the Move

Did you know there is a network of willing volunteers stationed across Vermont, working together to provide hiking knowledge, recommendations for the best places to get water or stay for the night, and transport to and from trailheads? And that they are motivated simply by a shared love of the trail and a desire to see others make that connection? Volunteers like this...

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Going It Alone, and Female, in the Woods

Jocelyn Hebert needs no encouragement from Hollywood to hit the hiking trail all by herself. For years, she’s ventured deep into the woods with only her backpack for company. Animals, accidents and creepy strangers aren’t worries for her, although occasionally the whisper of the wind gives her the shivers. “Seriously, the wind can be eerie,”...

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Vermont unveils trail website in time for summer hiking

People interested in getting outdoors in Vermont this summer are now able to check a website for detailed information about hundreds of trails across the state that are open for public use. Officials from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Upper Valley Trails Alliance unveiled the “Trail Finder” website to help people learn more...

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Vermont hiking trails muddy; extra care is urged

The Green Mountain Club, maintainer and protector of Vermont’s Long Trail, is asking hikers to take extra care from now until Memorial Day. It’s mud season, and hiking trails are especially prone to erosion at this time of year. Hikers walking on saturated soils or on the sides of trails cause irreversible erosion and damage vegetation. Vermont officially closes...

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Heroin epidemic leading to car breaks at Vermont hiking trails

State Police are reporting a number of car breaks across the state at parks and hiking trailheads this week. “Last year there were numerous car breaks at various hiking access locations in Vermont. This is in part due to the ongoing heroin and opiate challenges the state currently faces,” police officials said. Addicts are searching for money and items to...

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Once-Abandoned Ascutney Basin, VT Now Has Miles of Trails

The closing of Mount Ascutney Ski Resort five years ago left an economic and recreational void in the village of Brownsville, Vermont. Thanks to the Sport Trails of the Ascutney Basin (STAB) and its partnership with the town of West Windsor, the area has once again become a destination. The western base of Ascutney now features approximately 34 miles of non-motorized,...

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Little Rock Pond on Long Trail, perfect spot for hikers

Little Rock Pond, located in the quaint little village of Mount Tabor, Vermont is a perfect hiking destination. Situated along the Long Trail, Little Rock Pond is a pristine mountain lake with crystal clear water nestled in the iconic Green Mountain Range. The hike is quick, easy, and relatively flat, with only 350 feet of elevation gain over two miles. The terrain is...

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