The Top Choices All Offer Opportunities for Winter Camping, Snowmobiling, and Cross-Country Skiing.
The Vermont State Parks that are some of the best for winter recreation are Mount Philo State Park in Charlotte, the many parks in Groton State Forest, Coolidge State Park and Woodford State Park.
Mount Philo and Coolidge State Parks
The 168-acre Mount Philo State Park and 16,166-acre Coolidge State Park receive considerable use from snowmobilers and cross-country skiers, and provide leantos for winter camping. At Mount Philo it is common in the wintertime to see the base parking area full of cars, and park enthusiasts walking and hiking with their dogs, or sledding, tobogganning, skiing, or snowshoeing on the roads and trails.
Coolidge State Park is the developed recreation centerpiece of the 21,500 acre Calvin Coolidge State Forest, the largest state-owned land holding in central Vermont. Some of the leanto campsites in the park offer sweeping views of the Black River valley and the Green Mountains.
Groton State Forest
In 25,000-acre Groton State Forest, located in the northeastern part of Vermont, you'll find New Discovery State Park, Stillwater State Park, Ricker Pond State Park, and Seyon Ranch State Park. The first three are very near or bordering an abandoned railroad bed that receives heavy snowmobile and cross country ski use. Throughout the forest area, there are many miles of park roads and forest roads that are used for both activities. There is some winter camping in leantos also. Seyon Ranch is a fly-fishing area with a lodge that has been used as a bed and breakfast type facility for many years. There are plans to do some major renovations to this facility including a conference room this next year. With these improvements, it will be handicap accessible and will permit up to 50 people for day activities, including meals, and 16 people for overnight. There are many miles of old logging roads and trails near Seyon Ranch that are used by snowmobilers and cross-country skiers.
Woodford State Park
The 398-acre Woodford State Park is located between Bennington and Wilmington (home of Stratton Mountain and Haystack Mountain Ski Areas) in the southern part of the state. It has the highest concentration of snowmobilers of any location in Vermont. In addition to the several miles of park roads and trails, it borders the Green Mountain National Forest which hosts part of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) trails that crisscross the state from one end to the other. There is some winter camping in the leantos, but most people prefer to stay in lodges in the area.
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