The Best Places to Camp in the Green Mountain National Forest

The Green Mountain National Forest offers over 400,000 acres of beautiful, thick Vermont woods that are ideal for hiking, camping and backpacking. The hiking trails located throughout the Green Mountain National Forest offer levels of intensity from easy day hikes to strenuous uphill mountain hikes. The forest covers most of the middle and northern half of Vermont and is the perfect place to bring children and students for nature hikes and exploring.

Throughout the Green Mountain National Forest you will find rustic and basic camp sites that offer a peaceful, and in some areas, private camping. While each campground offers a place to set up your tent the camps do not offer electric hook-ups or water hook-ups, and at most places you will find a basic outhouse and nothing else. The campgrounds in the forest are open from Memorial Day through Labor Day with a National Forest Campground host available for assistance and information. There is a maximum stay of 14 days in a 30-day period.

Here are just a few of the best camping spots in the Talladega National Forest with the websites included in this article providing directions to these spots.

Chittenden Brook -

Chittenden Brook is located in the northern half of the Green Mountain National Forest and is considered one of the best places to camp while hiking in the area. The campground offers easy access to a lot of area attractions and has a nearby trail leading to the Appalachian Mountains. This campground is as primitive as it gets and only has one outhouse available. For bathing purposes there is a small brook that runs along the grounds you can partially wade in.

Surrounded by Sugar maples, American beech, Yellow birch and other hardwoods this camp is also in a very hilly area and is great for mountain bikers. The Chittenbrook Trail, now called the Campground Loop Trail, is 1.8 miles long and accesses the Long Trail which also accesses the Appalachian Trail. The area also has a peaceful beaver pond on site and open areas for picnics. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table. Due to the hilly roads coming into the campground it is not recommended for RV's.

Moosalamoo -

Moosalamoo is another scenic camping area located in the northern half of the Green Mountain National Forest. This site is also popular for it's beautiful scenery, views of Vermont's Green Mountains and plentiful hiking trails. You can enjoy a hike along the Long Trail, or from Lake Dunmore up to Rattlesnake Cliffs. You will also find plenty of wild blueberries in this area along with wildflowers in the spring and autumn foliage in the fall. Take a trip along the Robert Frost Trail or a day hike to Mount Moosalamoo.

You can set up camp at the Branbury Beach State Park which has sites located on the shores of Lake Dunmore, or at a primitive and rustic campsite at Silver Lake. If you want to camp on Mount Moosalamoo you can venture to the Green Mountain National Forest's Moosalamoo Campground at the base of Mount Moosalamoo. Each camp site offers fire pits and picnic tables and at least one outhouse but bathing would need to be done in a lake or river running along the sites.

Be aware of the wild animals in the area also and secure any food to keep animals away from your tent site. The most common animals found here are moose, bobcats, black and brown bears and weasels. You will also find many bird species here including hawks and Peregrine Falcons that nest on the Mount Horrid cliffs and Rattlesnake Cliff.

Hapgood Pond -

Located in the Eastern half of the Green Mountain National Forest, Hapgood Pond Recreation Area is a quiet camp ground in thick woods surrounded by Hapgood Pond. The campgrounds consist of 28 rustic cleared tent sites, two large open day-use areas, picnic areas with tables, grills and fire pits at each site, a 0.8 mile nature trail and a beach for swimming. There are three vaults available to use for bathroom purposes, but for bathing you will need to use the Hapgood Pond. You can also use Hapgood Pond for fishing and canoing or using a small boat.

The hiking in this area is very easy and family friendly. The paths are mostly gravel, but the area around Hapgood Pond is thick and perfect for nature hikes and day hikes. This campground is also close to the town of Peru, Vermont where you can access other hiking trails, like The New Boston Trail, and mountains, like Pico Mountain, in the Green Mountain National Forest if you are looking for a backpacking trip, mountain climbing or searching for waterfalls in the forest.

Greendale -

Greendale Campground is a rustic camping area set back among hardwood trees along Greendale Brook. Located in the southern half of the Green Mountain National Forest the campground eleven private sites in a quiet area of the forest. Being a newer campground this area has a small amount of people in it at any time. There are several toilet vaults here but for bathing purposes you will need to use Greendale Brook. The camp is at the end of a long dirt road and every site is near the brook.

This camp is great for hikers with children as the hiking is easy through the woods. This area is also within 10 miles of waterfalls, mountains and more difficult hiking trails. Due to the increased incidents of invasive insects and diseases, no out-of-state firewood may be used at this campground or any other campground in the Green Mountain National Forest.