| Coolidge State Forest contains a total of 16,166 acres scattered throughout seven towns, & is divided by Route 100 into two districts. The recreational center of the forest is Coolidge State Park, which consists of about 500 acres in the eastern district. The park includes a campground, picnic area, & an established hiking trail system. Slack Hill is to the east side of the park, & state designated "Wilderness" sites are located there. Brooks in the vicinity are Whetstone Brook, across from the park entrance, & Pinney Hollow Brook, running along the entrance road, across 100A & into Whetstone which in turn flows into the Ottauquechee River.
Nestled in the mountains to the south is the community of Plymouth, birthplace of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States. Here, the Coolidge Homestead is maintained by the Division of Historic Sites complete with the furnishings that were present the night of his inauguration in 1923.
In 1925, when Perry Merrill purchased for Vermont a tract of land in Plymouth, he began to put together his dream of Calvin Coolidge State Forest. Because this land was near the Calvin Coolidge homestead, an historic site that interested many people, he believed that funds could be obtained to develop the area.
Camp Calvin Coolidge, located in the Coolidge State Forest in Plymouth, was established June 9, 1933 as the third Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp to be set up in Vermont. The original Coolidge State Park was built solely by the CCC.
Much of what is now Coolidge State Forest was once cleared for tilled land & pasture, as evidenced by the extensive stonewalls & numerous foundations. In the late eighteen hundreds there was a small town immediately adjacent to Coolidge State Park (later becoming part of the Forest). Businesses known to have located there were a store, blacksmith shop, & the Glen House Hotel.
Now the abandoned town of Five Corners offers park visitors a chance to try their luck at gold panning. Several people have obtained small nuggets & a good deal of gold dust from the streams in the vicinity of Five Corners. The best way to view Plymouth Five Corners is to hike up the brooks where one can easily view the stone foundations built up to the edge of the streams. One may even run across the remains of an old cellar hole while hiking these woods.
There are 35 lean-to sites & 25 tent/trailer sites arranged in two camping loops. There is a total of five rest rooms providing modern plumbing, two of which have hot showers ($). There are two large picnic shelters, a picnic area, & a play area. There also is a sanitary dump station for RVs, but no hookups. Many day hikes are available in the park.
Area Attractions: Art galleries, Bridgewater Mill Mall & Chaffee, Rutland; Wilson's Castle, Vermont Marble Exhibit, Proctor; Cheese Factory, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Homestead & Historic Site, Plymouth; Okemo Mt. Recreation Area; Pico Alpine Slide; Killington Gondola, Sherburne. Coolidge State Park is located near Camp Plymouth State Park, which offers swimming & picnicking. |
Coolidge State Park Campground Web Site
Driving Direction GPS Coordinates:
43.547875, -72.695059
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Campground: Coolidge State Park in Plymouth Vermont *