“Hike in Old Growth Forests”
With its location at the base of Killington and Pico peaks and close proximity to the Appalachian and Long trails, this park is a favorite of hikers. Many through-hikers pass the park on their Appalachian Trail journey from Georgia to Maine. The park is also a popular destination during the fall foliage season for its dramatic autumn colors. Established in 1931 when the state purchased 13 acres of land from Lee Pearsons, the park grew over the next two decades with a land donation from Walter K. Barrows and various land purchases. Mr. Barrows noticed that many passing motorists stopped at the spot to admire the large old trees growing on his property and decided that it should be protected by adding it to the newly established state park. Today, Gifford Woods contains one of the few old-growth hardwood tree stands remaining in Vermont. The stand has many grand-sized sugar maple, beech, yellow birch, white ash and hemlock. The understory is rich with native wildflowers. In 1978, seven acres of forest in this area was designated the Gifford Woods Natural Area. An additional 13 acres was designated as Gifford Woods National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1980 because of the exemplary quality of the old-growth forest. To preserve the natural state of the Natural Area, no trails or development of any kind is permitted. Development of Gifford Woods State Park began in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a nation-wide public works program created during the Great Depression of the 1930’s to provide jobs and training for thousands of unemployed Americans. In 1933 and 1934, CCC crews constructed the park office and ranger’s quarters, picnic area, stone restroom building, trails, the park entrance and parking area. In 1939 the CCC constructed a camping area. A new section was added to the campground in 1959. The park continued to grow throughout the 20th Century, and reached its current size of 285 acres in 2003, when 171 non-contiguous acres were acquired from the Green Mountain Club to protect the Long Trail corridor. The town of Killington was chartered on July 7, 1761. Settlers to the Killington area were primarily subsistence farmers, raising crops and tending sheep in the valleys. Logging and milling were the prevalent industries in the area, with several saw and grist mills established. Tourism had its beginnings in Killington quite early. The first tourist resort at Killington was built in 1880, well before the region was developed as a ski resort. The original Summit House accommodated hikers and naturalists that came to Killington for the fantastic summit views. Most of the local families that remained in the area rented out boarding rooms to tourists, and a number of small inns and hotels were scattered around the town. There are 4 cabins, 22 tent/trailer sites and 20 lean-to sites situated in two camping loops. Each loop has a rest room with modern plumbing and hot showers ($). There is a trailer sanitary station, but no hookups. Fire and ice are available for sale. A wooded picnic area is located behind the ranger's quarters with a play area. Day hikes are available and there is an easy hook up with the Appalachian Trail.
Reviews of Gifford Woods State Park
7 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on June 06, 2023AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on August 31, 2023T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on January 28, 2018
Open Memorial Day weekend through the end of October, this small state park is a popular gem! We arrived on June 21 and had our choice of spots, but the upcoming weekend through the summer months are booked. Call (802.775.5354) or reserve ahead (www.vtstateparks.com).The park's 22 tent/trailer sites, 21 lean-to shelters and 4 rental cabins are all well cared for along with the restrooms. Firewood and ice are available. I gave this campground an overall 5-star rating but we found a couple of sites with less-than-easy access for a 30' trailer. This park is not equipped for large motorhomes (30'+).
Established in 1931, the ranger's house was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Over time, acreage was added to its current size of 285 acres. You may see through-hikers on their Appalachian Trail journey which travels from Georgia to Maine.
Things to do in the area include great hiking trails and the nearby ski town of Killington which offers family fun, golf, mountain biking and gondola rides. Rutland, a larger town with all the amenities, is a 12-mile drive away.
Traveling in a 30' Airstream, we would definitely camp here again!
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 17
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Arrival is generally painless, though the sign can be easy to miss.
Office staff is friendly and informative and will let you know about Black Bear Activity in the park.
We always stay in a cabin when we go here, and can't think of anything bad about this place! We go here all the time and LOVE IT.
The bathrooms are clean, the grounds well kept and situated in the green mountains.
I elaborate more in depth in the blog post, but I daydream about Gifford Woods!
We usually travel midweek, and while it can be busier in the summer, it's never overcrowded.
Easily accessible off of Rt.4/100, and only 11 miles from Rutland near Pico.
Nightly Rate: $50.00
Days Stayed: 10
Site Number: White Tail
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
T-Mobile
We had site 8 reserved which was advertised as an RV site, but even with a small 16 foot trailer there was no way to easily back into this site. We had to go the wrong way down the road to get a decent angle to back in. Too many trees and tree stumps just made it hard to do any other way.
That was really our only negative. Once into the site, it was quite nice and spacious. Very private as well, while we had neighbors in sites around us, we never saw and hardly heard them at all. The park employees were helpful and polite and the restrooms were clean and well maintained.
We were very happy to find places to access the Appalachian Trail right within the park, so our dogs (and us as well) had a great time hiking the trails for a few days.
I would recommend this park, just be aware that some sites, even though advertised as RV sites, might not be easy to get into. There is a bit of road noise, but we didn’t find it bothersome. Had we been in the lower campground instead of the upper, that might have been an issue for us,
Nightly Rate: $21.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 8
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
We stayed 3 nights to close out the season and get our dose of VT fall foliage. Gifford Woods did not disappoint. We were greeted with a fair amount of rain but it was no match for our site’s lean-to. We will be back next year!
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: Fir
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Bugs, bugs, bugs. The was a lot of mosquitoes and biting gnats during my stay. (End of May early June)
Very expensive; $42.00 a day including Vermonts out of state fees. Basic amenities which were outdated, and the showers were lukewarm at best.
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Shady level sites with plenty of space between containing undergrowth. Short generator hours 8-10am and 4-6pm makes cooking times different. Single dump station and water fill. Used as a base for visiting attractions nearby.
Nightly Rate: $32.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 17
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 5G
Beautiful state park with tent sites, lean-to's and cabins right along the Appalachian trail! Perfectly situated for hiking, mountain biking, and exploring killington! Also right across the road from a great fishing/canoeing/kayaking pond! No swimming unfortunately but the rangers can point you to dozens of local swimming spots!
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Gifford Woods State Park
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Max Stay
- 21
- Season End
- Oct.
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Sites Count
- 21
- Season Start
- May
- Last Nightly Rate
- 24.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 21.0
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 18
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 30.0
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Sites
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Slide Outs
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Paved Sites
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Age Restricted
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Rec Facilities
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Back In RV Sites
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
Campground, Restrooms