vermontliving

So, do you want to know a secret?  One of my absolute favorite places to go in Vermont doesn’t cost a penny.  I grew up in Jericho back in a day where our parents didn’t mind letting us walk half a mile to Gracie’s store.  There, she usually tried to rip kids off by overcharging them.  May she rest in peace, but when I was twelve-ish, I remember buying a bag of chips that had a 99-cent sticker right on the bag.  She proceeded to tell me it was $1.59.  I showed her the sticker and she told me the sale had gone by and that I could pay up or get out.  But, I digress…

 Mills Riverside Park is actually part of Gracie’s legacy.  After her husband died, their lands, across the street from their home and store, fell into wastelands.  Once a thriving campground, the area sat untouched for years.  Eventually a trust was set up for the town to purchase the lands and turn it into a thriving outdoor park for area residents.  Even out of towners enjoy the park.

One thing is clear about Mills Riverside Park, there is plenty to do.  Sports fields, sledding hills, fishing in the pond or in Browns River, ice skating, picnics, hiking, you name it and you’ll probably find it here. 

Parking is free.  A dirt lot right off Route 15 has plenty of spaces.  In the summer months, the parking lot is home to a weekly farmer’s market.  Once you cross the old covered bridge, you enter the main area of the park where the hiking trails and majority of the activities are located.

Pets are allowed at the park.  But, one thing I’ve noticed in past  years is a growing indifference with pet owners.  Clean up your animal’s poop!  More importantly, the park can be a busy place for children.  If your animal is aggressive, keep it away from people or keep it home.

Browns River winds through the park.  It’s always fun to slip on an old pair of sneakers and wade upstream.  Kids love looking for tadpoles, frogs, crayfish and minnows.  If you walk up to the beaver dam area, you come out in the middle school’s back yard.  When they were younger, my kids loved walking over to the ID school and playing on those swingsets.  Oddly enough, parts of the swingset I played on as a kid are still there thirty years later.

If you want to picnic but don’t want to prepare it, Jolley’s, across the street, has a full deli, many drink options and even a Beer Cave.  Gracie’s is long gone, and while I’m still partial to Jacob’s up the road, Jolley’s Beer Cave is the best in the area.

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