Rocky stream.
We were driving through the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont when our AllStays app indicated that there were four free campsites not far off the road. We’d heard that you can camp for free in national forests, but we’d never attempted it. AllStays directed us to a forest road near the Texas Falls day use area, and we found a dead-end road with a stone fire pit. It was right next to a rocky river, with ferns, and birch and maple trees just starting to change color. A perfect little hidden away spot.
Our own little boondock spot.
It’s a little disconcerting to just set up camp somewhere without clear indication that it’s a camping area, but the fire pit was a strong clue. It’s also a little spooky to camp when you’re far from other campers, with no cell phone service, and who knows who’s going to drive up this forest road all and get curious about us. But I quelled my worries, because I’m all about saving a few bucks, and I like the idea of boondocking in the forest.
Birch trees in Robert Frost forest.
After we’d set up, we drove up to see Texas Falls, which was a pretty, woodsy area with a small waterfall. It’s hard to impress Oregonians with a waterfall, but it was a nice place to hike around. Then we drove up to the Robert Frost hiking trail, which we’d seen just a few miles back. This was a delightful little trail through colorful meadows and deep forest, with a bridge over a river. About a mile and a half loop of very well-maintained trail. And every 200 feet or so, there was a new Robert Frost poem to read. We loved this beautiful hike in the very meadows and woods that Frost tromped around and wrote about.
We survived our solitary night in the woods without any trouble at all. It rained most of the night and well into the morning. It was so nice to not have a checkout time, but to just hunker down in Bessie and enjoy the rain on the roof. When it stopped, we took Bailey and Gypsy out for a walk before pulling anchor and sailing away.