Green Mountain National Forest
Been Here Life List

Green Mountains National Forest (James P. Blair/Photodisc/Getty)

Now and again, even urbanites need to escape to a pocket of wilderness for a breath of fresh air. In the Northeast, the Green Mountain state is revered as a rough-cut refuge from city life. Find out why. Explore sugar maple, white birch, and conifer forests on the same paths that Native Americans and French/Canadian fur trappers traversed. Test your bike-handling skills on the rocks and roots of 19th-century carriage paths gone to seed. And ski narrow, twisty trails that tumble down the mountainsides' natural contours like spring-fed streams, but make sure to watch out for patches of rock and black ice. Read More »

Green Mountain National Forest Highlights

The forest follows the backbone of Vermont north from the Massachusetts border for 100 miles, all the way to Appalachian Gap. Within its boundaries are cold streams and beaver ponds famous for brook and rainbow-trout fishing; the Long Trail, a tramper's treasure; a latticework of remote forest roads and old logging roads, all perfect for mountain biking, cross-country skiing, or simple scenic drives; and major alpine ski areas from Stratton to Sugarbush.
The Long Trail crosses all the east-west roads in the forest. Most road crossings have trailheads, making it convenient to park and walk into the woods to get up close and personal with the colors and smells of Vermont’s unmatched autumn foliage.
Route 7 is the backbone of the Green Mountains and runs the length of the state. From here, you can branch off to visit most of the Green Mountain’s ski areas, including Mount Snow, Stratton, Bromley, Okemo, Killington, Pico, and Sugarbush.
Rainbow, brook, and brown trout are stocked and plentiful in the chain of fishing spots that laces through the forest. Most of the popular fishing spots are located in the Middlebury area. They include the New Haven river, Beaver Meadows, Alder Brook, North, South, and Middle Branch, Middlebury River Narrows, Silver Lake, Goshen Dam, and Steam Mill Brook.

By Travel Expert: Karen Berger

The forest follows the backbone of Vermont north from the Massachusetts border for 100 miles, all the way to Appalachian Gap.
Explore sugar-maple, white birch, and conifer forests on the same paths that were walked by Native Americans and French/Canadian fur trappers. Test your bike-handling skills on the rocks and roots of 19th-century carriage paths gone utterly to seed. And ski narrow, twisty trails that tumble down the mountainsides' natural contours.
Twenty-two miles of the Long Trail traverses Glastonbury Mountain near Bennington, Vermont. The hike can be broken up by spending the night at Goddard Shelter right on the 3,340-foot summit.
The 14-mile, out-and-back Lye Brooke Trail in the Lye Brook Wilderness features a waterfall and some of the most scenic pondside campsites in southern Vermont.
Try hot-air ballooning at Vermont's annual balloon festival, held in the town of Quechee, just east of the Green Mountain National Forest.

By Travel Expert: Karen Berger