Greenwood Lodge and Campsites, Woodford, VT

Date of Stay:  Wednesday August 12 – Wednesday August 19, 2015 (7 nights)

Rate:  $241/week

Website:  Greenwood Lodge and Campsites
   311 Greenwood Drive (Enter at Prospect Mountain Ski Area)
   Woodford, VT 05201
   802-442-2547

Description:  Located in southern VT near NY and MA in the Green Mountains, this campground is set up much like a state park.  The main building is the office/home/hostel.  We were in site 24 (W/E 50A) next to T&D.  Verizon is a little weak here so we used the cg internet which was actually pretty good.  Gravel roads and sites with two fishing ponds and a larger mill pond with free use of canoes.  The hostel was busy since it’s close to the AT.  Some hiking trails in the cg and several others in the area.  In nearby Bennington, VT, there are several covered bridges.  Also the nearby small town of Wilmington is nice to check out.

Trash and Recycle:  Trash bins at the dump station and office and great recycle bins there too.  Please separate as they are labeled.

Activities:  We all enjoyed a ride over to Wilmington for some ice cream and then a ride in Bennington.  The AT crosses Route 9 nearby so we parked there and all walked a bit of the trail.  I hiked the Harmon Hill Trail with T&D which is actually a section of the AT.  It started off quite steep and there was a great view of Bennington from the summit.  After T&D left to go to the farm in PA, I hiked the easier Little Pond Trail.  It utilizes an old Forest Road to end at Little Pond.  I had noticed another truck in the parking lot so I was expecting to see someone else along the trail.  When I arrived at the pond, I found them.  They had camped overnight at the end of the trail.  It was a man and woman in their mid 20’s.  She was naked except for her sunglasses and knit cap.  She didn’t bother to hide or put clothes on as I approached.  Rather, she packed her bag and carried on a conversation with me as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  (No pictures but I can’t quite erase the mental image of her bending over to pick up her things… ugh!)  The man had on his wool pants and t-shirt and apparently, I was the only one who was uncomfortable with this.  Oh well, it takes all kinds.

 

On site 24 next to T&D

 

Office/Home/Hostel                                 Lounge area inside the building

   

Along the Harmon Hill Trail

 

View from the Summit of Harmon Hill

   

Very muddy path on Little Pond Trail

 

Along the way to Little Pond

 

Little Pond

 

Free canoe use on the Mill Pond in the campground

 

I just had to get out on the water

Prouty Beach and Campground, Newport, VT

Date of Stay:  Sunday August 9 – Wednesday August 12, 2015 (3 nights)

Rate:  $41/ night

Website:  Prouty Beach and Campground
   286 Prouty Beach Road (physical address)
   Newport, VT 05855
   802-334-6345 (off season)
   802-334-7951 (in season)

Description:  Located in northern Vermont convenient to I91 on Lake Memphremagog about 8 miles from Canada.  We had site 20 next to Dan and Tricia on the grassy bluff overlooking the lake with FHU(50A).  A big paved parking lot was in front of us so this place may get a bit busy on weekends since this is the access spot for the public beach.  These premium sites have a 2 week stay limit but they do offer monthly and very reasonable seasonal rates here also.  There are paved roads within the park with grass sites.  Since this is a city park, there is a tennis court, basketball court and playground for the kids.  There is also a very nice bike path that leads in to town in one direction or joins up with a Rail Trail beside the lake going towards Canada in the other.

Trash and Recycle:  There is a dumpster and several recycle bins for everything (please separate) as you leave the campground area.

Activities:  We all jumped on our bikes and rode the Rail Trail towards Canada.  It’s a nice trail of about 5 miles right next to the lake.  There are some serious hills on country roads just before crossing the border.  We decided to turn back since we weren’t really prepared (no water, no camera… hate I forgot mine).  The next day I joined T&D for a bike ride into town and hung out at the City Dock for a bit.  Tricia, Gin and I rode around the area some and found a quilt store that was doing the patterns that T was collecting.  We all enjoyed a nice campfire, saw a rainbow and watched a beautiful sunset over the lake from our huge back yards.  We would love to come back here for a little longer stay next time.

 

On site 20 next to T&D                             These are huge sites!

 

Gin and Tricia grillin’                                Campground from the City Park

 

View of Newport from our site              St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in town

 

This tour boat would go by a couple of times a day

 

Bike ride into town                                    Lakeview from the City Park

 

City Dock with several sailboats moored nearby

 

Nice rainbow                                           Gin and Syl at sunset

 

Enjoying a campfire with friends

 

The sunset was so beautiful!