Gifford Woods State Park Campground

This campsite was amazing. Each site had a fair amount of isolation and trees surrounding it, and the mosquitoes aren't too bad there either. 10 minutes away is the trail head for the Bucklin Trail (one of the most difficult trails for Mt. Killington).

Also, the campsite lies directly on the Appalachian trail, so for a shorter or less-intensive hike, walk about 2.5 miles to the Deer Leap Overlook for some incredible views of the mountain ranges nearby.

Awesome Campsite - Highly Recommend

I've stayed at 10 of the state parks of VT. Gifford Woods takes the cake in friendliness of its staff. The park is amazingly clean, well run, located just of RT 4 and very near to Killington, Vermont. It has multiple lean-to sites which are in wooded areas. Cool stone bathrooms and playing fields for kids but the highlight (for me) is access to the Appalachian Trail. The AT runs directly through this park. While on a 4 state section hike I traveled by foot through this park. The ranger gave me an ice cream, pointed me to the showers and then chatted with me for an hour about my hike so far. He also gave me a ride to the Inn at Long Trail to pick up a resupply box since I was a few days behind schedule and low on food. I'll always remember his kindness. Living just across the state line in NH, I have frequented Gifford Woods on 4 other occasions for day hiking with family. Enjoy! I sure did!  

Cleanest, friendliest VT state park!

Good trip.  Wished there was better swimming nearby.  Great trail to Deers Leap overlook.  I think the Apple leanto site is the best in the camp!

Gifford

This campground is the number one rated in Vermont for a reason. The staff were wonderful, the sites are pristine and picturesque, the faculties are decorated with wildflowers. We met a number of AT through hikers, who were very willing to share their adventure stories.

Pristine site in a gorgeous mountain campground 

This was a great place to start our camping adventures. Friendly staff and helpful pointing out places to hike. Site was clean and quiet. Bathrooms were clean and showers were hot. A pleasant treat after hiking.

Beautiful location in VT.

First tent camping experience

Gorgeous sites. Upper Loop sites are spaced further apart. Wooded. AT goes right through the campground. Lovely late summer camping experience. Can’t say enough good things about Gifford Woods.

Beautiful Camping in Central VT

The campground at Gifford Woods State Park is a hiker's campground for sure. The sites are large, private, and wooded, and there are clean restrooms with hot showers. The highlight is the hiking, both in the park and just outside of it.

  

The Appalachian Trail runs right through the park and you can hike up to Deer Leep, around Kent Pond, or to Thundering Falls right from the campground. Nearby hikes include the Bucklin Trail to the top of Killington, Sherburne Pass to Pico Peak, and Canty Trail to Blue Ridge Mountain. So many choices!

  

We stayed in the Elm lean-to, which sits up on a wooded hill. The only down side is that the lean-to opening faces the road instead of the woods, which would have been better for privacy. A minor issue, though.

  

Apple and Hemlock are awesome lean-tos if you can get them!

Quiet site with great hiking nearby

I will start with the ONLY drawback, and it is dramatic at best.  For like 30 minutes a day at around 5pm (I was there Thursday to Monday) you would hear (pistol) gun fire.  Its most annoying the first day, then you get over it.

Moving on…

This is absolutely the best kept and cleanest campground I’ve ever been to.  

The staff… ALL amazing, always cheerful, helpful and seemingly happy to be there!  (I encountered cleaning, maintenance, desk, and store staff!)  

The smaller loop is newest, and if you can handle camps being tightly spaced, you’ll get prime access to the seemingly brand new facilities which i always found to be clean and tidy (and bug free with decent toilet paper). The showers were nicely sized, immediately hot and the cost/time is generous! 

The larger, upper loop has hugely spaced out spots that are more open due to less undergrowth, but still seem private as i walked by them on my way to the Appalachian trail access, halfway up the large loop.   

Simply awesome easy-ish trails in both directions.  Expect a 2 mile trip either direction to see cool stuff (see bottom for notes)

Wood is great, slow burning, large pieces for $6 a bundle, which are generous in size.  

NOTES
I came across (polite and private) families and happy dogs (surprisingly mostly well behaved, one off leash on a trail but still friendly).

Edit:
Turns out my battery died while i was here AND THEY HELPED ME JUMPSTART IT!  🥰🥰🥰

Absolutely awesome! Edited!

Cute little Campground, similar to others built by the CCC in the 1930s. Site 16 is one of the smaller sites and is not super level, but we were able to get the Subaru backed in and relatively level for camping. Bathrooms are super clean. Staff is friendly. Seasoned firewood available for purchase ($6 a stack).  The sites on the lower loop are closer together. Get a site in the upper loop if you can, but no complaints for not making advance reservations on July 4th weekend. 

Quiet, clean bathrooms, and friendly staff

I tent camped here before doing a section hike of the Appalachian Trail and it was one of the best campgrounds I’ve stayed at before. 

The sites have some privacy and woods in between, though the tent sites vs. shelters and cabins were mostly closer to the access road. All sites were super clean and had a picnic table and fire ring. Most sites had a built in cooking fire structure (vs. a fire ring) they looked great for camp cooking, though my site (T01) seemed to be the only without it. 

The facilities were well-maintained, there were water spigots everywhere, and though I didn’t get a chance to enjoy, there were lots of activities right there (volleyball lawn, the AT running right through the campground, mountain bike trails). 

I didn’t stay in them,  but the cabins and lean-tos looked great for group or family options. 

Kent Pond was also just across the road for water activities, and I saw at least one fly fisher out. 

Killington was also right nearby for restaurants and other needs. 

I will definitely be coming back to explore more!



Quiet and well maintained campground

Great campground with many hiking trails and a peaceful pond with fishing across the street. Clean bathrooms and showers and great cell service for people working while camping! Stayed at site 15 in the lower campground for a few nights and it was level and spacious but pretty close to neighbors compared to other sites. Then we moved to lean to ELM in the upper campground and it was a nice private site. It was perched on a hill but we were still able to park and sleep in our van next to the lean to. Highly recommend! 

Loved this campground!

We camped here for the Fourth of July weekend. The park is small, clean and friendly. The sites are semi secluded and through hikers on the AT/LT can find rest and shelter at this park. There has been an increase in Black Bear activity but that won't deter us from ever coming back.