Hyde Park, Vermont - September 3, 2009
Deep in the Vermont woods off an unmarked, gravel road in the middle of nowhere, sits a piece of paradise.
"There's no sign and you really have to know," said Jana Subert of Quebec.
Perhaps one of Vermont's best kept secrets.
"It's not on the GPS," laughed Rob Dawson, of Nashua, N.H. "You can't just plug in the address and go to it."
"That's how we keep it. We try to keep it a secret," said Jason Kelley, a park ranger. "Everybody tells one friend and then they tell another friend, so it doesn't take long for it to get a lot of use."
The 653-acre Green River Reservoir is home to one of the longest stretches of undeveloped shoreline in Vermont-- 19 miles of it to be exact. It's a haven for paddlers.
"For me, especially in today's world, everything's getting built up and this is about as quiet as you can get," Dawson said.
Dawson has been fishing here the last 15 years-- long before the reservoir became a state park.
"The only change I've noticed is the toilet facility on the island, it's progressively gotten a little nicer," he laughed.
The state started developing primitive campsites here in 1999 when the reservoir was officially made a state park. There are 32 of them, some a mile or two away from the boat launch.
"Oh God, it's beautiful," said Brooke Barss of Burlington. "It's so peaceful."
Wildlife often outnumbers people here.
The lake is home to two pairs of nesting loons.
"We've seen up to 7, 8, 9 at a time," Kelley said.
The birds thrive here because the water is so clear. Loons will dive underneath the water to search for fish, swallowing small rocks off the bottom to help with digestion.
"There's no motor boats so they don't mind just popping up next to a boat and being there," Kelley said.
And it's that dynamic, abundant wildlife and a ban on motor boats that makes this place so appealing to Jana and Vladmir Subert. The Quebec couple has been coming here for 9 years, making Green River Reservoir their international getaway.
The state works hard to limit the crowds. You can't rent boats here and campsites can't be reserved online like in other state parks. Also, if the parking lots are full you'll be turned away, which limits the numbers to about 100 cars.
"We'll see 200 to 250 people on the weekend sometimes," Kelley said.
It's a trip that requires a little planning-- but one well worth the work.
Now there are some pretty highly sought after campsites here, so if you're planning to stay on a weekend you'll probably want to call ahead to reserve a spot, but come during the week, and you're all but guaranteed a spot, somewhere. The park is also open for day use free of charge. Camping costs $15 a night.
Click here for information on how to reserve a spot or for directions to Green River Reservoir.
Keagan Harsha - WCAX News
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