Right at Your Doorstep:

A National Forest Picnic!

By Julia Purdy

If you’re planning a stay-at-home summer this year and you want to do something completely different without spending a lot of money, don’t overlook the treasure trove of one-day outdoor activities right next door—our own Green Mountain National Forest.

Developed day-use areas with parking, facilities, and natural landscaping are easy to find, they’re free, and they ensure a successful outing for the family from grandma to the toddler.

When was the last time you went on an old-fashioned picnic, with all the trimmings? The National Forest offers picnic facilities that also feature something fun to do or see.

Two of these are just off VT 125, not far from Rochester.

Texas Falls has something for everyone. The Falls is a small, scenic cataract on the Hancock Branch, with a fenced viewing area and footbridge over the waterfall. Beyond the footbridge is the nature trail, a developed one-mile loop that circles through the woods above the Falls. Swimming in the area of the Falls is not advised, as the current is swift and the rocks pose hidden dangers. Texas Falls offers ample parking, a picnic pavilion, BBQ grills, and a vault toilet.

Continuing over Middlebury Gap, you will arrive at the Robert Frost Wayside. Nestled under a red pine stand, the Wayside features BBQ grills, picnic tables, an interpretive kiosk, and a vault toilet.

Just west of the Wayside is the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail, an easy 1.2-mile loop that takes you through a sequence of ecosystems, from a frog pond through whispering pinewoods, into a sunny blueberry-and-wildflower meadow and back along the South Branch of the Middlebury River. Amenities include developed parking, a graded gravel path for wheelchairs, and a handicapped-accessible vault toilet.

Riverside Sites

Most folks think of the Green Mountain National Forest as vast mountainsides of dense forest. But the Forest boundary reaches to the banks of the White River in three places along VT 100. These spots, like beads in a necklace, are part of the White River Travelway, a name that recalls the traditional use of the White River as an overland route. Here you can wade, do some easy walking, put in a canoe, or have a tailgate picnic.

The northernmost is the Hancock Overlook, a pullout just beyond Hancock village on Vt. Route 100. A well-used track skirts a wide field and leads to a sunny pebble beach. Closer to Rochester is the River Bend location, about two miles north of Rochester village on the left just before the highway bridge. River Bend also features a riverside nature trail that takes you around the bend to private property, where you will be asked to turn around.

South of Rochester, the pleasant Peavine picnic area combines swimming, wading, and a bit of history. From the parking area, footpaths lead through lush vegetation to a gravel beach. The swimming hole is deep here, and the current in the channel can be strong. A gravel bar provides paddling and wading for younger children. A picnic table is set up within sight of the water. By walking farther up the road and following old ruts along the river, you will come to a lone concrete ruin standing in the river, all that remains of the Peavine railroad bridge after the Flood of 1927.

Wild Berries

One way to get the family outdoors on a cloudy day is to go berrying in the wild. The wild blueberries and blackberries will be ripe in August at the 30-acre Blueberry Management Area in Goshen.

Once a ski area, the cleared hillside was colonized by native blueberries, which now form part of the Forest’s wildlife habitat management program.

(To avoid the calamity of a spilled bucket when picking with small children, a gallon milk jug makes an excellent childproof container, and the little ones have fun dropping the berries through the small opening.)

All areas are maintained regularly by Forest Service personnel. Handouts and answers to your questions are available at the Ranger District visitor center on VT 100 near the River Bend location.

How To Get There

Texas Falls—off VT 125 on Forest Road 39, about 3 miles west of Hancock village. Look for the prominent brown and white National Forest signpost.

Robert Frost Wayside—a pullout on the right, about 9 ½ miles from Hancock village on VT 125.

Robert Frost Interpretive Trail—at about 10 miles from Hancock village on VT 125.

Peavine Beach—where VT 100 crosses the old iron bridge by Ted Green’s Ford dealership, you will find the Peavine beach access road. Turn north onto the gravel road at the end of the bridge and continue until you see the parking area on the right.

Blueberry Management Area—From the bridge just south of Rochester, take Vt. Route 73 about 10 miles and turn right at the signpost for "Camp Thorp" and "Blueberry Hill X-C" Continue straight on to the stop sign, which will be Flora White Road (missing sign), then turn right and continue about a mile to Forest Road 224 (prominently marked). Picking areas extend along Flora White Road and FR 224, including the gravel pit (park at the gate). The largest (and most crowded) picking area is about one-quarter mile in on FR 224. A recent improvement is a handicapped access to the paths that wind among the bushes. Flora White Road ends at the Goshen-Ripton Road, which takes you back to VT 73.