TopFiveFamilyCamping

The Five Best Vermont State Parks
For Family Camping


Brighton	Grand Isle	Stillwater	Half Moon Pond	Jamaica

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Family Camping at Half Moon Pond State Park

When polling families about their favorite camping spot, Half Moon Pond State Park is always at the top of Vermont’s list. Intimate in scale, the park surrounds quiet little Half Moon Pond. The campground offers tent and lean-to camping and there are five cabins. For those seeking more creature comforts, fully furnished Tall Timbers Cottage, with its waterfront location and private boat dock, offers all the amenities of home.

A perfect place for campers seeking a respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life, the park offers a vast trail system including a short walk or, for the more ambitious, a full-day’s hike. Hikers are likely to see a variety of wildlife including white-tailed deer or an occasional moose.

Rowboats, kayaks, canoes and pedal boats are available for rent. Two small, sandy beaches provide locations for sunbathing and swimming. The pond also has excellent fishing, where kids and adults alike can land panfish, yellow perch, largemouth bass and rainbow trout.

Right down the road is Lake Bomoseen State Park, When you are paid camper in one Vermont State Park, you can enter any other for free during your stay. A large lake and beach, nature programs and an old slate quarry make a visit to Bomoseen a fun way to spend a day. If you’re looking for some time spent off the beaten path, a visit to undeveloped Glen Lake, which sits between Half Moon and Bomoseen is the perfect outing. You might not see another person all day while enjoying quiet paddling or perhaps a hike on the trail that leads all around the lake.

If your family likes bikes, be sure to check out the nearby D & H Rail Trail, with two approximately 10-mile sections that follow the old railroad bed of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, traversing beautiful Vermont countryside, through farm fields, wetlands, and mixed woodlands interlaced with clear-flowing streams.

With sites both on the water's edge and back in the woods, the 52 tent sites, 5 cabins and 11 lean-to sites at Half Moon Pond provide great camping opportunities in a quiet, peaceful environment. There is a play area and hiking trails to High Pond and to Bomoseen State Park.

Family Camping at Brighton State Park

The primary attraction of this general area is its natural beauty: mountains with tree-covered slopes, fast running rivers and streams, and clear lakes. The “Northeast Kingdom”, as it’s called, is especially suited to families looking for a quiet, pure semi-remote Vermont experience.

The campground sits beside the often-photographed and mostly undeveloped Spectacle Pond, where it is common to hear loons calling at night. There are tent sites, lean-to’s and cabins, many on the waterfront. You will also find boat rentals, nature programs, a nature museum, a camper’s beach and even a little wooden amphitheater hidden in the woods. An easy and scenic trail around the lake will take you to “Council Point”, where a forest of sentry-like, mature pine trees creates an inviting grove in which Abnaki leaders were said to hold their meetings.

Just down the road on Island Pond (really a big lake) is a large day use area with fantastic swimming, motor boating and a large sandy beach.

Staying at Brighton State Park is like having the best of both worlds – a quiet, family oriented campground, and a large beach bustling with activity.

Family Camping at Jamaica State Park

Yes, there is a Jamaica, Vermont. In fact, it’s not far from Peru, Vermont. But don’t let the name fool you, Jamaica State Park is a family favorite, located just outside the quaint village of Jamaica, surrounded by the rugged and steep southern Green Mountains. Jamaica State Park is located on a bend of the West River, which runs clean and cold in alternating shallow riffles and deep pools, making it a favorite of fishermen and swimmers alike. A rail trail runs along the river and is ideal for family hiking or biking. A foot trail off the rail trail leads to the spectacular Hamilton Falls, ranked by many as one of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of New England. Every spring and fall, on one weekend in late April and late September, there is a water release on the West River from Ball Mountain Dam. This is a semiannual event for many whitewater kayakers and canoeists from all over New England. Jamaica state park has a playground, interpretive programs and pet-friendly tent and lean-to camping May through October.

Family Camping at Stillwater State Park

Stillwater State Park is part of the 26,000 acre Groton Forest and is located on the shores of Lake Groton. This area is so special because there are six state parks clustered within the forest, each with its own personality and recreational opportunities. When you are a registered camper at one Vermont park, you receive free entry to all others, so a stay in the forest is truly a vacation destination. Stillwater State Park is known for its great family programs. During your stay you might participate in a bike parade, a pancake breakfast, or you might make “fairy houses” or attend a live raptor program. The park has several campers beaches and provides tent and lean-to camping. Just down the road is the Groton Nature Center where you can learn more about the forest or pick up one of the many forest hiking trails. In fact, the trail network within the forest is one of the best in the state, where you and your family can choose a number of trails suited to your ability and interest. The Cross-Vermont Trail is a multi-use rail trail perfect for a family bike outing. Just down the road from the Nature Center is Boulder Beach State Park with its long sand beach and ideal swimming. Not to be missed is a trip up to Owls Head, an easy hike to a stone tower with an amazing view of the forest – and without a house in sight. Also fun for day excursions are remote Kettle or Osmore Ponds, where you’ll likely hear the call of loons. Oh, and watch for moose – they are common in the forest, and at Stillwater in particular.

Family Camping at Grand Isle State Park

As its name implies, Grand Isle State Park is located on the largest island in Lake Champlain. The Lake Champlain Islands are a unique part of Vermont – Its relatively flat landscape and mild temperatures create ideal growing conditions, supporting many family farms, vineyards, and orchards. Framed by the Adirondack Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east, the relatively flat landscape and expansive lake views make for some of the best bike riding in the state. With over 4,000 feet of shoreline on Lake Champlain, and its proximity to both Montreal and Burlington, Grand Isle is a popular destination for many families, some of whom spend their entire vacations here. Swimming, biking and paddling are all popular activities, and the park has daily interpretive programs and special events like concerts and dances. Nearby, you can explore the world’s oldest fossil reef, the nation’s oldest log cabin, a fish hatchery, or the Echo Aquarium and Science Center. The park has tent sites, lean-to’s cabins, boat rentals, volleyball, horseshoes, a nature walk and a play area. Your paid camping registration also gets you free entry into nearby Knight Point, Alburg Dunes, North Hero, Niquette Bay, and Sand Bar State Parks, where day-use facilities include hiking and walking trails, more beaches, and some very scenic picnic sites.

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