Zack Woods

Perched just north of Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield, is a treasured natural escape called Zack Woods, with 393 acres of trails and unpaved backcountry roads. Here, visitors and locals alike hike, run, mountain bike, ski, snowshoe, walk dogs, and enjoy the great outdoors.

This lush, wooded landscape transports people to a state of solitude. But it’s the waters that really make the area stand out. Within Zack Woods are 11 undeveloped ponds—some of the few remaining in the state—that offer opportunities for paddling, swimming, picnicking, and fishing. This is, of course, a perfect natural habitat for the local wildlife as well. A rare natural island in Zack Woods Pond provides safe nesting habitat for the common loon, a state-threatened species.

Zack Woods is considered a gem by both scientists and local residents, and it is a conservation priority for three state agencies. So to protect it permanently, Trust for Public Land happily got involved. In 2013, with the help of several nonprofit and state partners, we protected the last stretch of privately owned and undeveloped shoreline of Green River Reservoir, including Zack Woods Pond and Perch Pond. The area has been added to the existing 5,110 acres that currently make up Green River Reservoir State Park.

“On behalf of all Vermonters, we are thrilled to have this valuable resource added to one of the jewels of our state park system,” says Michael Snyder, Vermont’s former commissioner of Forests, Parks, and Recreation.