Five degrees cooler and 10 miles east of Bennington, VT, is the Woodford State Park. Situated in southern Vermont in the Green Mountain National Forest, we camped here for about four days. Just being in Vermont is a special treat, but staying in this campground, only a few miles from where the Appalachian Trail crosses Route 9, was particularly nice.

If you could describe a campground that exactly fit our bill, this would be the one. At elevation (around 2,400 feet), with cool temperatures (highs in the upper 70’s, low 80’s with cools in the mid/high 50’s), lush environment, a very private campsite, a beautiful pond (Adams Reservoir) for paddling, hiking trails and wildlife, this is as good as it gets. The sites do not have water or electricity, but that is of no matter to us.

Speaking of the Appalachian Trail – or AT, I just finished reading Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ben Montgomery. The book is about a 67-year-old grandmother’s travels thru-hiking the AT (2,050 miles) in 1955, a humbling and inspiring book I highly recommend.

We hiked a number of trails (not the AT), including a two-mile trail that circled Adams Reservoir, although if you paddle the reservoir it is about 1.4 miles. Yesterday we took a short drive to the Manchester, VT area and hiked a 5.2 miles hike (round trip) in the Lye Brook Wilderness. Our hike was cool and beautiful and the destination was a set of waterfalls, which were gorgeous. But the area is enormous and many more trails exist.

We visited The Bennington Museum, home to the largest collection of Grandma Moses paintings. I did not realize until after the fact that no photography is allowed in the Moses collection, but I did take a few shots of some fabulous works of hers.

Being back in New England also means a rare opportunity to enjoy Brigham’s Chocolate Chip ice cream, arguably the best there is (yes, Blue Bell included).  And being back in Vermont has allowed us to view the beauty that all of Vermont exudes – pictures do not do these endless miles of beauty any justice.

As a base camp the Woodford SP is SOOO picturesque – it just begs to be visited. Enjoy a few pictures from our hikes and paddles!