Merck Forest & Farmland Center

Location Rupert
Acreage 2,946
Protected Since 2015
Featured Recreation Land

At Merck Forest & Farmland Center in Rupert, Vermont, visitors can explore 35 miles of trails, camp in a cabin or lean-to, hunt, visit a working farm and forest and buy its products, and attend hands-on workshops or summer camps. Spanning 3,500 acres, of which 3,200 are conserved (2,946 acres with us), it’s a key part of Vermont’s forested landscape.

More than just a recreation destination, Merck Forest is a place for deep connection with nature, where activity and quiet reflection exist in balance. Visitors say the crisp forest air is like a natural reset button, drawing you into the present. Sheep and other farm animals wander near wooden fences and historic gray barns, a reminder of the importance of working landscapes, while distant picnic tables offer a place to pause and feel the enormity of the natural world.

Whether through self-guided exploration or structured educational programs, Merck Forest’s mission is to “inspire curiosity, love, and responsibility for natural and working lands.”

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Breaking down the barrier between people and nature

Merck Forest & Farmland Center is open year-round, offering visitors the chance to hike, camp, explore the farm, and experience hands-on learning opportunities in sustainable forestry and agriculture. Whether you’re visiting for the day or staying overnight in a rustic cabin, Merck Forest provides an opportunity to connect with nature in a meaningful way.

Explore the trails

With over 35 miles of trails, Merck Forest offers something for every level of hiker, snowshoer, or cross-country skier:

Moderate to Difficult Hikes

Lookout Loop (6 miles, ~4+ hours): A secluded, challenging trail with rewarding views.
Mount Antone (5 miles, ~4 hours): A scenic climb with panoramic views of the farm.
McCormick Trail Loop (4 miles, ~1.5 hours): A mix of forest and open landscapes that will take visitors through the heart of a sustainable harvest conducted in 2024.
Master’s Mountain Trail (4 miles): A challenging, extended hike through some of the most mature forest on the property.
The Gallop (3-4 miles, ~2-3 hours): A steady climb leading to a scenic overlook.
Birch Pond (3 miles, ~2 hours): A gentle climb leading to a peaceful pond.

Easy Hikes & Family Walks

Stone Lot (2 miles, ~1 hour): A great short hike with views of Dorset Peak.
The Farm Walk (~5 minutes): A perfect stroll for families with young children, featuring farm animals, picnic tables, and sugar house views.

Horseback Riding
Any open trail with “Road” in the name is available to horseback riders.

Bike-Packing
A few trails are open to bike-packing for registered overnight guests. If interested, please reach out to Merck Forest before planning your trip.

View the full trail map here

The farm: a working landscape and learning hub

In the 1800s, much of Vermont’s forests were open fields and farmsteads, including what is now the Merck Forest & Farmland Center. Today, the 60-acre farm is both a working landscape and an outdoor classroom for visitors and school groups.

The farm is open to visitors 365 days a year from dawn to dusk, as is the rest of the property. If you’d like to talk with the farm staff, they are typically at the farm in the morning feeding animals.

What you’ll see:

Animals: Chickens, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits, and turkeys are raised according to the highest standards of humane animal management.
Sustainable farming: Staff use low-impact, ecologically sensitive farming methods to integrate the farm with the natural environment.
Maple syrup production: Approx. 3,000 maple trees are tapped for organic maple syrup production. Syrup is made in the late winter to early spring.
Timber shop: Curious learners can explore the local wood products value chain through instructional programs featuring on-site sourced timber, such as cutting board workshops.

The Farm’s Animal Ambassador Program allows volunteers to shadow farm staff and assist with grooming, feeding, and seasonal farm work.

Farm products for sale

Pasture-raised pork: Premium cuts, whole, or half pigs.
Grass-fed lamb: Available in cuts or as whole lambs.
Pick-your-own berries: Enjoy fresh blueberries and raspberries in season. You-pick hours: 9 AM – 3:30 PM (seasonal). Email or call ahead for availability.
Fiber products: Shop for sheepskins and yarn, hats, gloves, sweaters, and occasionally blankets made from the flock’s fleece.
Vermont-certified organic maple syrup, candy, and sugar: Available year-round at the Visitor Center.

Seasonal opportunities

While Merck Forest is open year-round, some events and activities are seasonally specific:

Spring: Maple sugaring open house, meet the lambs, and early wildflower hikes.
Summer: Berry picking, chicken processing workshop, Explore-a-thon festival, and summer camps.
Fall: Harvest festival, haunted Halloween barn, wagon rides, guided foliage hikes, and a pig processing workshop.
Winter: Snowshoeing, backcountry skiing, animal tracking hikes, wreath making, sledding on the field off of Discovery Trail, and a masonry wood stove in the Visitor Center.

Stay overnight in a rustic cabin or campsite

Merck Forest offers a variety of camping options and is one of only about a dozen places in the state where you can rent an off-grid cabin year-round.

Rustic Cabins – Nine backcountry cabins, sleeping 2-12 people, equipped with wood stoves, wooden bunks, and a table. No electricity or plumbing. Some cabins have tent space nearby.
Lean-Tos – Three lean-tos (three-sided) with a fire ring and a nearby outhouse.
Dispersed Camping – For experienced backpackers, primitive camping is allowed in designated areas without developed facilities.

All cabins and campsites require a hike from the Visitor Center. The closest cabin is .5 miles away, and the farthest is 2.5 miles.

Nature-based education & hands-on learning

Reconnecting people with the land

Over the past 75 years, Vermont’s agricultural landscape has changed dramatically. As fewer people live on or near farms, there are fewer opportunities to experience agriculture and nature.

Merck Forest works to bridge this gap through immersive, hands-on education for all ages to explore the forest, sugarbush, and educational farm, which produces maple syrup, pork, lamb, wool, and berries.

Programs range from farm-to-table workshops — such as pig or chicken processing and tree-to-cutting-board woodworking — to chainsaw training and guided hikes to track animals or view the full moon.

School field trips introduce students from Pre-kindergarten through college to sustainable farming, forestry, and conservation science. Seasonal lessons introduce students to sap-to-syrup production, farm management, watersheds, tree-to-timber processing, and pollinators.

Full-day summer and school vacation camps offer first through eighth graders the opportunity to be immersed in nature while developing backcountry skills like navigating with a map and compass, constructing shelters, and doing trail work.

For the youngest learners, the popular Kits and Cubs program introduces 18-month- to 5-year-olds to nature twice a week alongside their parents.

Photo courtesy of Merck Forest & Farmland Center.

A living laboratory for foresters and landowners

Merck Forest is a hands-on learning ground for foresters, landowners, and researchers. Unlike the widespread clear-cutting of Vermont’s forests during the colonial era, today’s harvests at Merck Forest are designed to enhance forest health and resilience.

As a nonprofit, Merck Forest can prioritize ecological sustainability over profitability, allowing for experimentation with innovative land management strategies that might not be financially feasible for private landowners.

Merck Forest generates real-world case studies that inform sustainable forestry practices across the region by testing different timber harvest techniques, biodiversity conservation methods, and climate adaptation strategies.

Through collaborations with Audubon Vermont, consulting foresters, the University of Vermont, and other conservation organizations, Merck Forest provides insights — tailored to different land scales and revenue models — to landowners, students, and forestry professionals seeking to implement sustainable practices.

Emerald Ash Borer research and climate-resilient forests

One focus is the emerald ash borer (EAB), an introduced insect that threatens ash trees across Vermont. Merck Forest’s location in the warmest climatic zone in the state means it is on the leading edge of EAB infestations, making it an ideal site for research.

Foresters are testing different management strategies to determine how ash forests respond post-infestation. By monitoring tree regeneration, experimenting with selective harvesting techniques, and studying how ash interacts with other tree species, they are developing best practices that can be applied across the region.

Adaptive forest management is essential as Vermont faces increasing climate-related challenges, from shifting species ranges to more frequent extreme weather events. The work done at Merck Forest helps landowners and foresters prepare for the future of forest conservation.

Photo credit: Art Wagner, USDA – APHIS, Bugwood.org

History: From early settlement to conservation landmark

For thousands of years, Indigenous communities sustainably managed the land that is now Merck Forest, using techniques such as controlled burns to improve hunting conditions. By the early 1800s, the land was cleared for sheep farming, including a farm established by the Harwood family. The Harwood Barn, still standing today, dates back to at least 1850. As sheep farming declined, much of the cleared land was abandoned, allowing forests to regenerate. By the 1930s, the recovering forest was harvested for timber once again—part of Vermont’s broader history of deforestation and reforestation.

George Merck & the birth of conservation at Merck Forest

In the 1940s, George Merck, a chemist and pharmaceutical company owner, began purchasing land in Rupert from local families and second homeowners. His interest in forestry led him to Carl Schenck, a pioneer of scientific forestry. Schenck’s land management plan laid the foundation for a path forward to heal the land from its repeated deforestation.

By the 1950s, George and Serena Merck donated 2,600 acres to form the Vermont Forest Foundation, the first ecological foundation in the state, and the land became open to the public. In the 1960s, it was renamed the Merck Forest & Farmland Center and, in the 1970s, became a nonprofit focusing on education, research, and sustainable forestry and farming practices.

In the early 2000s Merck began exploring permanent conservation of their land with their board. In 2015 and 2018, this process was completed through Vermont Land Trust. Two of Merck’s daughters, their children, and grandchildren were able to celebrate. A later addition to the forest is protected by the New England Forestry Foundation.

A key link in a larger conservation corridor

Merck Forest is part of a much larger ecological landscape. Sitting at the northern edge of a 42,000-acre unfragmented forest block spanning the townships of Rupert, Dorset, Manchester, Arlington, and Sandgate, it plays a vital role in wildlife migration and climate adaptation.

The Taconic Mountains, where Merck Forest is located, form a limestone-based landscape with rich soils and strong timber growth, making it an important site for both forest conservation and sustainable land management. The Taconics foster many important and unique natural communities and, through the down-slope movement of nutrients, are responsible for some of Vermont’s best valley-bottom agricultural soils.

Merck Forest is also part of the Northern Appalachian-Acadian Bioregion, the largest intact temperate mixed forest in the world, stretching from New England to Canada. This bioregion is a wildlife corridor, enabling species to move northward as the climate warms. Large mammals like bobcats, lynx, and fishers rely on this continuous forest cover to travel between habitats.

The boreal forest connection and climate resilience

Beyond the Northern Appalachian-Acadian Bioregion lies Canada’s boreal forest, one of the world’s most critical carbon sinks, storing vast amounts of CO₂ and producing nearly 20% of the Earth’s oxygen. But, its significance extends beyond carbon storage. Many species native to Vermont may need to continue to migrate northward, using Merck Forest as a stepping stone to the boreal ecosystem.

Merck Forest collaborates with conservation partners and local communities to ensure the forest block remains intact and connected to surrounding landscapes, supporting uninterrupted wildlife migration and long-term ecosystem resilience.

Visiting the Merck Forest & Farmland Center

Public Access
Dogs Allowed On Leash
Parking

Hiking, camping, bird-watching and wildlife observation, educational programs, hunting, horseback riding, xc skiing/snowshoeing, summer camps, and farm visits. Mountain bikes, ATVs, and snowmobiles are prohibited.

Open year-round, dawn to dusk, no gate, no fee. Donations accepted. The Joy Green Visitor’s Center is open Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except New Year’s, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Contact info@merckforest.org or visit Merck Forest’s website for more information.

Dogs are allowed on a leash while within the farm area for the safety of the animals. Once you are outside the perimeter of the farm, like camping in a cabin or on a summit, they are allowed off-leash.

The address is 3270 Route 315, Rupert, VT 05768. Cell service is unreliable in this mountainous area. For this reason, we suggest that you map your route to Merck Forest before setting out.

Park at the visitors center on Old Town Road off Route 315 in Rupert. There is also basic parking on the southern end of the property.

Rules for hunting can be found here. Trapping is NOT allowed anywhere on Merck Forest property. If you have questions about their hunting rules and guidelines, please contact their Conservation Manager at (802) 394-2580.