Underhill State Park
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Underhill State Park is a
state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
in
Underhill, Vermont Underhill is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,129 at the 2020 census. The town of Underhill shares a fire department with Jericho, the Underhill-Jericho Fire Department. Geography According to the Unit ...
. It is situated on the west slope of 4,300 feet
Mount Mansfield Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at above sea level. The summit is located within the town of Underhill, Vermont, Underhill in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County; the ridgeline, including som ...
, in the 39,837-acre
Mount Mansfield State Forest Mount Mansfield State Forest covers in seven towns in Chittenden, Lamoille and Washington counties in Vermont. The towns are Bolton and Underhill in Chittenden County, Cambridge, Johnson, Morristown and Stowe in Lamoille County, and Waterbury ...
. Activities includes hiking, camping, mountain biking, stream fishing, wildlife watching, and picnicking. Facilities include group and individual camping areas, a picnic shelter, and hiking trails. The park is formally open between Memorial Day weekend and Columbus Day weekend, but is accessible for periods outside those times; fees are charged. Much of the park's infrastructure was built by the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
(CCC) in the 1930s; these facilities were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2002.


Features

Underhill State Park is located in eastern Underhill, about east of the town center. It occupies a portion of the western flank of Mount Mansfield, including a significant portion of the highest summit ridge (roughly between "The Nose" and "The Chin"). The developed facilities of the park are divided into a lower and upper area. The lower area is centered around the ranger station, and includes a parking area, picnic area, and a small number of walk-in tent and leanto camping sites. From this point a CCC-built road winds up the hill to the upper area, which is a small group camping area with seven leantos and two tent sites. with Both areas are equipped with restrooms that provide flush toilets and cold running water. The picnic area includes a CCC-built shelter and fireplaces. There are four hiking trails to the summit ridge of Mount Mansfield. The Sunset Ridge Trail is to the summit, and is the most direct route. The
Long Trail The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...
traverses the summit ridge. The park facilities are open between the weekends of Memorial and Columbus Day. The main gate is left open thereafter until the first snow, and is reopened after enough snow has fallen to make
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
possible.


History

The west side of Mount Mansfield has been a tourist destination since the mid-19th century. In 1858 a small hotel called The Halfway House was built in what is now the park, providing lodging and stabling for tourists seeking to ascend the mountain. The hotel was demolished in 1939, and only its foundation remains. The park was established by the state in 1933, and much of its infrastructure was developed between then and 1940 by the CCC, which had a work crew based here. The CCC improved the road to the park, constructed the road to the upper area, and built some of the leantos in the upper campground, the picnic lodge, the comfort facilities, and the ranger station and quarters. Its crews also planted groves of
Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...
. The well-preserved nature of these facilities prompted their listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Chittenden County, Vermont __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Chittenden County, Vermont. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Chittenden Count ...


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control State parks of Vermont Protected areas of Chittenden County, Vermont Underhill, Vermont Civilian Conservation Corps in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Chittenden County, Vermont Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont 1933 establishments in Vermont Protected areas established in 1933