Catamount Community Forest

A forest for everyone

Access to nature in Vermont’s most populous county

Catamount’s nature and recreation are especially valued for their proximity to one of the fastest-growing urban centers in Vermont.

Situated right off a main road in Williston — and just a short drive from Burlington, the state’s largest city — Catamount is a destination for people from all over Chittenden County and beyond. Just a few minutes from the highway, with plenty of parking, it offers convenient access for everything from school field trips to a quick evening trail run or family walk.

Open to all

Catamount trails are open free of charge, 24 hours a day for year-round walking, snowshoeing, and trail running. The Outdoor Family Center sells day and season-long memberships for skiing and biking, with proceeds going toward trail stewardship. Several miles of trails are adaptive-friendly, meaning they can be used for adaptive cycling in the summer and sit-skiing in the winter. The organization is also planning a more comprehensive trail network upgrade that will make most of the trails accessible to adaptive sports enthusiasts.

Clinics, classes, and camps create opportunities for all ability levels. Special prices are offered to seniors, youth, and education groups. Ambitious explorers can access Catamount via the Cross Vermont Trail, a statewide walking route.

Choose your own adventure

Winter wonderland

In winter, Catamount becomes a snowy playland. The rolling meadows and wooded glens become the perfect place to snowshoe, fat-bike, and ski. There’s also a sledding hill. Once grooming begins, all walkers must wear snowshoes to help protect the trails.

Night Trail is lit for winter evening access, offering a welcome window of opportunity for anyone stuck indoors or otherwise busy during daylight hours. Check the Outdoor Family Center’s website for up-to-date specifics.

Summer fun

From late spring through early fall, Catamount is a beautiful mix of blooming meadows and deep green forests, beckoning visitors to explore the area on bikes or on foot.

Bikers are drawn to the area for a variety of surfaces and features. The terrain includes everything from wide, smooth gravel paths to technical single-track and fun terrain learning areas.

A variety of educational and competitive events are held at Catamount throughout the season, and the Outdoor Family Center hosts weekly running and biking races from May to October.

Water, water everywhere

Springtime at Catamount means constant sound — of birds, of course, but also the rushing, dripping, and splashing of water.

With almost 4,000 feet of streams, Catamount contains headwater tributaries for the Winooski River. It is an important section of the Lake Champlain watershed. Its wetlands are of huge ecological benefit to the area, contributing to overall water quality and providing vital seepage areas that help guard against flooding.

All that water also provides essential corridors for species movement. Wildlife can move between open, shrub, and forested wetlands, including beaver-influenced cattail marsh and shallow emergent marsh areas. There are also seepage wetlands, including a hemlock-balsam fir-black ash seepage swamp.

In the spring a vernal pool emerges, an uncommon and essential natural community in Vermont, providing high-quality amphibian breeding grounds.

From poultry to preservation

Farm to ski

In 1796 Vermont Governor Thomas Chittenden settled a verdant piece of forestland about two miles east of Williston Town Center and built a two-story brick home for his son. Pastures were created and wetlands were drained or redirected. For almost 200 years the land was used as a diversified farm.

Smith Wright bought the land in 1873. In addition to farming, Wright wound up pioneering the process of cold storage for fresh agricultural products like milk and eggs. He originally used ice harvested from the Winooski River. The Wright family became the McCullough family, which has worked and lived on the land since then.

In 1978, the McCullough family decided to transition from traditional farming and forestry to what they called “farming family fun.” Seeing a need in the community, Lucy and Jim McCullough turned their land into a cross-country ski center. In subsequent seasons, they welcomed biking, hiking, and snowshoeing. Over the years, they built up a loyal community of bikers, birders, trail runners, and families drawn to the place for its natural beauty and year-round education and recreation.

Restoring an important wildlife corridor

In 1990, the McCullough family began the long process of restoring the land. Through the Partners for Wildlife program of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, they helped reinstate previously drained wetlands, returning their land closer to its natural state and encouraging the growth of native plants.

Over the next 30 years, their continued land management has provided vital wildlife habitat. That includes nesting grounds for declining populations of forest songbirds, a resting place for migratory water birds, and winter feeding grounds for deer. The open meadows are leased to a neighboring farmer for haying with bobolinks and other grassland bird habitat in mind.

In 2019, the McCulloughs worked with the Town of Williston and the Trust for Public Land to conserve the nearly 400 acres of forests, fields, and wetlands. The partners recognized the importance of its continued stewardship and its value to the community. The land will remain undeveloped forever in accordance with a conservation easement that Vermont Land Trust now holds.