Groton State Forest

Coordinates: 44°16′34″N 72°17′29″W / 44.276°N 72.2914°W

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Groton State Forest
Devil's Hill from Peacham Bog in July

Type	State forest
Location	Caledonia, Orange, and Washington Counties
Coordinates	44°16′34″N 72°17′29″W / 44.276°N 72.2914°W / 44.276; -72.2914
Area	26,164 acres (105.88 km²)
Operated by	Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation
Website	[1]

Groton State Forest covers 26,164 acres (105.88 km²) in Danville, Groton, Marshfield, Orange, Peacham, Plainfield, Topsham, Vermont.^[1] The forest covers areas in Caledonia, Orange, and Washington Counties. Major roads through the forest are U.S. Route 302 and Vermont Route 232.

The forest is managed by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation for timber resources, wildlife habitat, and recreational activities. It is home to seven state parks: Big Deer State Park, Boulder Beach State Park, Kettle Pond State Park, New Discovery State Park, Ricker Pond State Park, Seyon Lodge State Park and Stillwater State Park. The state also operates the Groton Nature Center to educate about the natural history of the forest and parks.

Activities in the park include camping, hiking, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, trapping, horseback riding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.^[1] The Montpelier-Wells River Rail Trail, part of the Cross Vermont Trail, is 12 miles long and bisects the length of Groton State Forest.^[2]^[3] Snowmobiling is allowed on designated VAST trails.^[1]

Natural features

Groton State Forest features three state-designated natural areas, Peacham Bog Natural Area (748 acres), Tabletop Mountain Natural Area (129 acres) and Lords Hill Natural Area (25 acres).^[4]

There are eight lakes and ponds: Lake Groton (422 acres), Kettle Pond (109 acres), Martins Pond (82 acres), Turtlehead Pond or Marshfield Pond (69 acres), Noyes Pond (39 acres), Osmore Pond (48 acres), Peacham Pond (340 acres), and Ricker Pond (95 acres).^[5]

History

The state began to acquire parts of the forest in 1919.^[1] In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed many park features including roads, trails, fire lookouts, and picnic shelters. The CCC also planted trees within the forest.

The forest used to house twelve sawmills and the state still manages lumbering in the forest.^[1]^[6] Many trails use old logging roads.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Groton State Forest". Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Trails in Groton State Forest". Groton, Vermont. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
^ "Cross Vermont Trail Maps". Cross Vermont Trail Association. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
^ "Vermont Natural Areas". Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
^ "Ponds and Lakes in Groton State Forest". Groton, Vermont. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
^ "Groton State Forest". Vermont PBS. Retrieved 22 July 2016.

External links

Protected areas of Vermont

Federal

National Historical Park	Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
National Wildlife Refuges	Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
National Forest	Green Mountain National Forest
National Wilderness Areas	Big Branch Wilderness Breadloaf Wilderness Bristol Cliffs Wilderness George D. Aiken Wilderness Glastenbury Wilderness Joseph Battell Wilderness Lye Brook Wilderness Peru Peak Wilderness
National Recreation Areas	Moosalamoo National Recreation Area Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area
National Trails	Appalachian Trail North Country Trail
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Missisquoi River Trout River

State

State Parks	Alburgh Dunes Allis Big Deer Bomoseen Boulder Beach Branbury Brighton Burton Island Button Bay Camel's Hump Camp Plymouth Coolidge Crystal Lake D.A.R. D & H Rail Trail Elmore Emerald Lake Fort Dummer Gifford Woods Grand Isle Green River Reservoir Half Moon Pond Hazen's Notch Jamaica Kamp Kill Kare Kettle Pond Kingsland Bay Knight Island Knight Point Lake Carmi Lake Shaftsbury Lake St. Catherine Litte River Lowell Lake Maidstone Molly Stark Molly's Falls Pond Mount Ascutney Mount Philo Muckross New Discovery Niquette Bay North Hero Quechee Ricker Pond Sand Bar Sentinel Rock Seyon Lodge Silver Lake Smugglers' Notch Stillwater Sweet Pond Taconic Mountains Ramble Thetford Hill Townshend Underhill Waterbury Center Wilgus Woodford Woods Island
State Forests	Aitken Arlington Black Turn Brook Boyer Calvin Coolidge Cambridge Camel's Hump Dorand Downer Granville Gulf Reservation Groton Hapgood Jay Jim Jeffords Jones Long Trail Lord Lower Clarendon Gorge Lyndon Mathewson Mollie Beattie Mount Carmel Mount Cushman Mount Mansfield Okemo Proctor-Piper Putnam Roxbury Rupert Thetford Hill Townshend Victory Washington West Rutland William C. Putnam Williams River Willoughby
Natural Areas	Amity Pond Big Falls of the Missisquoi Button Point Cambridge Camel's Hump Campmeeting Point Cascade Falls Daniel's Notch Emerald Lake Fisher-Scott Memorial Pines Gifford Woods Granville Gulf Hamilton Falls Hazen's Notch Highgate Cliffs Kingsland Bay Lake Carmi Bog Lords Hill Lucy Mallary Bugbee Marl Pond and Swamp Mendon Peak Morristown Bog Moss Glen Falls (Granville) Moss Glen Falls (Stowe) Mount Mansfield Peacham Bog Shrewsbury Peak Spectacle Pond Tabletop Mountain Terrible Mountain Tinker Brook Weybridge Cave Willoughby Cliffs Worcester Range

Private

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