Thetford Hill State Park

Thetford Hill State Park

Roadbed built by the CCC in Thetford Hill State Park
Type State park
Location Thetford, Vermont
Coordinates 43°48′44″N 72°13′59″W / 43.8121°N 72.233°W / 43.8121; -72.233Coordinates: 43°48′44″N 72°13′59″W / 43.8121°N 72.233°W / 43.8121; -72.233
Area 262 acres (106 ha)
Operated by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation
Open Day use
Website https://vtstateparks.com/thetford.html

Thetford Hill State Park is a day-use state park in Thetford Hill State Forest in Thetford, Vermont.[1] The park includes a day use area for hiking and the 5-km Woods Hill Trail, a world-class cross-country running and skiing trail. Activities includes hiking, picnicking, cross-country running and cross-country skiing.[2] The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 for its historic facilities, some of where were developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Vermont Adventure Camps, a private summer camp, operates in a former campground in the park.

Setting

Thetford Hill State Park is located in south-central Thetford, south of the village of Thetford Hill, and directly abutting the campus of Thetford Academy to the north. It occupies part of the eastern slope of a short ridge of hills, extending to the summit areas of Sunset Hill near the northern end of the ridge. The park is bounded on the east by Academy Road, from which the main access road rises to the west.[3]

Facilities

Entrance gate

Although the park was originally developed with a campground, it is now a day-use park, with picnic areas and hiking trails. The road passes through a CCC-build gate, and runs nearly directly west, passing a wood-frame ranger contact station, near which a road branches south to a campground area now used by Vermont Camp Adventures. From the contact station it rises to a parking area, from which short trails reach areas for picnicking. The road is crossed and recrossed several times by the Woods Hill Trail, a multi-use hiking and cross-country ski trail that extends onto the Thetford Academy campus. Near the parking area are also the fragmented remains of a CCC-built campground, in which little more than stone fireplace remnants are to be found.[3]

History

Before the park was created, the land was somewhat open, having been logged in the 19th century and only partially replanted. The state acquired the land in the 1920s, and it was developed in the mid-1930s by crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Facilities built out then include the road and gate, and the picnic areas and campground in the summit area. In 1964, a new camp loop was built near the present contact station, which was also built around that time, and the old campground was abandoned.[3] The picnic area also included a group pavilion, which is no longer extant.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Thetford Hill State Park". Vermont State Parks. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Thetford Hill SP – A Tough Sell". The Park Explorer. January 11, 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Jennifer J. Bunting (2002). "NRHP nomination for Thetford Hill State Park" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-16. with photos from 2002
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