Montpelier VT – Park Scenes

Montpelier is a city and the capital of Vermont. Even so, there were plenty of nature scenes as I was out taking my walks. There are several parks right in the city.

Hubbard Park sits right behind the Vermont State House and can be accessed from a number of locations. The park’s biggest attraction is the 54-foot stone tower that sits above the State House.

Hubbard Park is Montpelier’s largest and one of the city’s most popular parks. Along with Summer Street Park, it became the first Montpelier Park lands in 1899. This park is over 200 acres.

Here I am walking along the trail. It was just so pretty with the sun streaming through the trees.

Not only was there a lot of quirky art in downtown Montpelier, but also here in the park. It was quite the surprise to see this sculpture on our hike.

Another peaceful park was North Branch River Park. The North Branch River Park is 193 acres. Montpelier Conservation Commission helped raise the funds for the first 2 parcels which were purchased in 1997 and 1995. The 3rd and most recent addition of about 14 acres was a “bargain” sale from Stephan and Lynn Syz around 2002. This last addition connected the park to Gould Hill Road. 

With permission, the local group has made a new trail through this section that connects to the East Montpelier trail system. The North Branch River Park has approximately 5 miles of hiking and skiing trails. The main trail in the Park connects with East Montpelier trails, passing through a rich variety of habitats and terrain. A variety of organizations and volunteers have made major contributions of money and effort to make this park possible.

Here’s a scene from the trail.

With the abundance of flowers along the trail, the bees were having a field day.

What parks have you been to recently?