Ricker Pond Camping

We do most of our camping in the winter but usually take a couple of local trips each summer to check out Airstream systems and enjoy some of Vermont’s state parks. This past mid-week, we reserved a spot at Ricker Pond State Park in the Groton State Forest and had a wonderful three days.

We headed out Wednesday morning ahead of some thunderstorms.

Ricker Pond SP is like essentially all Vermont parks — aimed more at tent and lean-to campers than RV’s. There are no hook-ups nor is there any internet — wifi or 4G. There are only about five sites where we can fit our twenty-five foot Airstream in.

One thing Vermont parks have going is great attention by the staff.

The flags were at half-mast for the servicemen shot in Chattanooga.

We infrequently camp when school is out and when we do, we avoid the weekends. Even so, there were tons of kids around. It’s a pretty-safe park for them, with limited traffic and long smooth dirt roads for bike riding, but because of all the recent rains, the bacterial level at the swimming area was high and the beach was closed.  We enjoyed the squeals and yells of kids although a few carried on rather late. It was nice to see no electronic devices — we had Kindle books on our iPad but other than that, radio silence. It didn’t kill us.

Our site was #17 which is probably the best for a trailer. We even good decent solar inspite of all the trees.

Here are some shots that I took while out on birding/dog walks.

I love this big piece of granite. I tried to get Mary to put her head inside for a photo but she declined.

This young angler had a small bass on the other end of her pole.

There were a number of first-year Mallards which have been tamed by feeding by the campers. Penny was quite interested in these two.

This park has 27 campsites, 23 lean-to shelters, 5 cabins and a couple of waterfront cottages. The lean-tos are very popular and people reserve the same one year after year.

Many of the lean-tos have great locations right near the water.

I did a lot of birding and in spite of mid-summer and heavy foliage, heard and/or saw most of the usual suspects. Red-eyed vireos seemed to be holding a convention there. The highlight was the pair of Common Loons who have nested there and have a couple of chicks. I took some photos from the canoe but stayed well away from them. You can see one of the youngsters in the photo.It’s a pretty little body of water and it is easy to see why so many folks, many who have camped all over Vermont, come back. If you have a larger RV, there are several sites up at the next campground, Stillwater, which can handle large units. You’ll need a generator or solar system — it’s boondocking at about $20 a day. But look at this shot of Ricker Pond – it’s pure Vermont.