underhill state park

There is an awesome sledding hill on the way to the park. Whenever we drove by on way to Smuggs, we would never have a sled/saucer until this year. A lot of local families and teens come here and set up jumps, etc. You will have a blast and the hill levels off into a field, no trees, very safe. DO IT.

we started out early to get up mt Mansfield and back before noon. as other reviewers have said - this place is busy. as we descended down on the sunset ridge we must have encountered >50 hikers/dogs/kids, and this was a Thursday before noon. by the time we arrived back to the trail head the parking lot was full.yes this is a busy park, but it offers a lot, including the convenience of being readily accessible (<1 hour) from Burlington. the facilities (bathroom) we the cleanest we had ever been in for a state park.trails were great - please see review of mt Mansfield.

I can't add anything to the other reviews as far as Mount Mansfield and the hiking trails, they are phenomenal. However, this review is aimed at the campground. We stayed two nights this past weekend (6/20 & 6/21) and I cant say I was as impressed as I thought I would be based on some of the reviews on other sites, and reccomendations of friends. First let me say, I was looking for a laid back out of the way campground, and maybe that's why I wasn't happy.This place is definitely not out of the way or laid back. Make reservations if you intend to stay here, as it fill sup fast and only has about 12 sites. Additionally, both saturday and sunday there were hundreds of cars in and out of the parking lots as the parking lot for the camping sites is the same as the day parking for trails. The campground has signs everywhere stating your pets must be kept on a leash, like a lot of places (although this one had too many in my opinion) however being that this is vermont and out of the way, I figured that was just a suggestion. Well after having my dogs at our campsite for about a day, and introducing them to a 3 park workers, I was walking back to my car at night with my little pup in tow when the 4th ranger working in the station made it a point to follow me out to my car, reiterate the dog policy, and threaten to issue a ticket and evict us from our campsite if I didn't adhere to the policy. My dogs are very friendly, and generally quiet, and were not doing anything to prompt this. I guess they're serious about the policy, but whatever. Bottom line this is not an out of the way, laid back, backwoods vermont campground like I would expect but seemed more like a commercialized overblown family campground you would find in southern new york state.Pros: Amazing hikingFirewood for saleBathrooms are very cleanCons: OverpopulatedPrice (24$ per night + pet fees + tax, no military discount...)Attitude of some park workers (seriously buddy?)Commercialized atmosphereDo yourself, and your wallet and pets a favor, and go somewhere else or come here for the day to hike Mansfield.

Underhill has some fantastic hiking trails. For tourists, the easiest access would be via the Underhill State Park. Just be prepared, these trails access Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak. Though there are some easier hikes that traverse the mountain, the majority of trails are steep and difficult unless you are an experienced hiker. Also, please be prepared for quickly changing mountain weather. As part of the local backcountry rescue team, I've pulled many injured hikers off of Mt. Mansfield. Please come and enjoy the mountain, but do it in a safe and properly prepared way.

If you are looking for a great hike, yes and it is not the normal hike....be careful...it is very slippery right now due to the wet summer. Do the Halfway House.

This was darn hard. We were expecting a vigorous day hike, and are in reasonably good shape, but this mountain kicked our Appalachian-hiker butts. There were portions of the trail that forced us to find foot and toe holds and on the way down and I was on my butt or crab walking because the granite was slippery and steep. The brief moments when the clouds lifted gave us killer views of Lake Champlain and beyond, and the hail and gusty winds along the ridge (a portion of The Long Trail) only lasted for twenty minutes of terror. Well, one of us was terrified, at least. The other was brave and stalwart. I would not have taken anyone under 15 on this trail and my very agile, 60 pound dog probably could not have made it because of the steep rock faces. All in all, it's an experience we will remember and I am glad we did it. Leave early. It will take longer than you think.

We took the Halfway House trail up then walked along the Summit Ridge and took Laura Cowles trail down. It was quite challenging but totally worth it not to mention amazing views and alpine plants on top.

On our way up to the park we had car issues. The staff was so kind, resourceful and helped us get through this, since we did not know when it could get fixed with the long weekend.The trails were awesome, campground clean and proper. You do have to take any trash with you( no trash bins), but there were no pesky critters raiding the garbages either then. We had a very nice time in the end and the car did get fixed. I would definitely go again. The lean toe are so warm, bring a small tent to put inside ( up to 4 pp size tent) and a tarp for the front - and it was much warmer than sleeping without a lean to.If you hike for the day parking is difficult ( full) and there is a small fee.( 6$)

This side of Mt. Mansfield is less crowded than the Stowe side and has a great rural, and forested feel. Many day hikers start to the summit from this side. The Park Rangers are helpful and friendly. Parking lot can get crowded on summer days, especially weekends when the locals and visitors all go there to enjoy the mountains.