We decided to take our Boler Camper to Vermont and went to the New Discovery State Park in the groton Forest. It was very quiet due to the pandemic and we really enjoyed peaceful hikes in the mountains. Here are some of the things we did during the week:
- Camping and hiking at New Discovery State Park, Vermont
- Hiking at Franconia Notch State Park and Flume Gorge in New Hampshire
- Visiting Dog Mountain in St-Johnsbury, Vermont
- Hiking Mount Pisgah and vistas of Willoughby Lake
Camping and hiking at New Discovery State Park
The New Discovery State Park is located in Groton State Forest in Vermont. The park’s entrance is on Route 232, east of Montpelier and close to Marshfield Village. It is one of seven state parks nestled in Groton State Forest. Combined, the parks are all within close proximity to one another (some within walking distance) and entry to one provides free entry to all: 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.
We decided to go to New Discovery State Park because of its relatively small size and easy access to the panoramic Owls Head hiking trail. The campground has 46 tents/RV sites and 15 lean-to sites. Eight of the sites are designed to accommodate horse campers. All restrooms include flush toilets, hot and cold running water, and coin-operated hot showers. A sanitary dump station is available, but there are no hookups.
The restrooms are rustic and dark and the showers were not as good as the ones we had in previous campsites, but they were clean. At first, I didn’t see I was using Canadian coins instead of American quarters inside the machine, and of course, it didn’t work. After I realized my mistake, I wish I had more quarters with me because a quarter for 2 minutes of hot water goes by fast!
Our campsite was 4, in loop A. It was closer to Route 232 than we expected, but fortunately, not much traffic was going through during the week. When we were there, people seemed to prefer setting up camp on the grassed open field. Some were part of a group, but others were single travelers parking their van for the night. We had a hard time setting up the camper on our site because the entrance was narrow and curvy with lots of branches around.
Once we finally parked the camper, we loved the setup and didn’t change it for the entire week. If we were to come back, we would like to try the T6. We didn’t have a good internet connection and realized that being able to look for information and news was something really important for us.
It was the first time we camped on a sanded site and we didn’t particularly like it. Fortunately, we had a rug, which helped for keeping the camper floor clean.
The site was surrounded by trees and was private even though the site faces an open field.
We didn’t meet anybody at the campground and kept to ourselves for the entire stay. Our neighbors even enclosed their campsite with screens and burlap tarps. Their campground looked like a child’s fort; we think they didn’t want people getting too close to them. From our campsite, we were able to walk to different hiking trails, and my favorite was the Owls Head Trail.
Hiking at Franconia Notch State Park and Flume Gorge
Leaving our campground, we drove for an hour to Franconia Notch State Park in NH and hiked the magnificent Flume Gorge. We bought tickets in advance and were able to beat the crowds.
Visiting Dog Mountain in St-Johnsbury, Vt
On our way back, we visited the Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain in St-Johnsbury. The chapel and art gallery are worth the visit, the site is splendid and you can also bring your furry friend along!
Hiking Mount Pisgah and vistas of Willoughby Lake
A moderate day hike with a number of route options, the South trail at Mount Pisgah, just 40 minutes drive from the Groton State Forest, has stunning clifftop views of Lake Willoughby and the Northeast Kingdom. This was one of our favorite hikes of the week, the view is just breathtaking.
