Vermont’s only national park site with the exception of the Appalachian Trail. The park is adjacent to and associated with the independent Billings Farm & Museum. Both areas are well worth the visit. You will get your National Park passport cancellation at the Carriage House visitor center across the street and up a hill from the main parking area. The main parking lot is right at the visitor center for the Billings Farm & Museum.
The working farm is interesting especially for the kids, they have milking and cheese making exhibitions. On our most recent trip we saw a tractor parade. Seeing the chickens and the larger farm animals is always fun and makes for a very pleasant summer afternoon. The main attraction for the National Park is the boyhood home of George Perkins Marsh a conservation pioneer and Lincoln’s ambassador to Italy during the Civil War. The house was later associated with Frederick Billings who was involved in preserving Yosemite Valley. Paintings by Albert Bierstadt hang in the house.
Woodstock, Vermont is a very picturesque New England town. The National Park Service has designated a walking tour through the town and nearby sights as the Civil War Home Front Walking Tour. This very pleasant walk takes you to several historic buildings associated with the Civil War period. Sites on the tour include; The Home of Senator Jacob Collamer, The Woodstock First Congregational Church, The Adjutant General Peter Washburn’s Office, The River Street Cemetery and The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.
The farm and historic house are just one part of the park. Befitting the parks celebration of conservation there are extensive hiking trails through preserved hills and ridges. In addition to the trails within the park boundaries there are several trail heads leading to the Appalachian Trail within several miles of the park.
Whether it is a weekend afternoon at the farm with the kids, a pleasant walk through historic Woodstock or a hike on the AT this park covers all the bases.
