PARKS WITH SWIM AREAS

South of Burlington:

Button Bay State Park, once a working farm, is located on a bluff in Ferrisburgh on Lake Champlain. The 253-acre park features a swimming pool with lifeguards, picnic area and open pavilion for large group gatherings. Also, boat rentals, fishing and swimming in Lake Champlain, as well as a nature area hiking trail and nature center. Campers will find a mostly open area with 73 sites, including 13 lean-tos, flush toilets, hot showers and a play area. Season: mid-May to Columbus Day. Information: summer, (802) 475-2377; winter, (802) 483-2001

Kingsland Bay State Park, a 264-acre area along Lake Champlain is a relatively new park and has limited services. Swimming, picnicking, and scenic hiking trails along the shoreline are featured. There are several buildings available for large group gatherings. Toilet facilities are available. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 877-3445; winter, (802) 483-2001

D.A.R. State Park is named for the Daughters of the American Revolution, which donated the park to the state in 1955. Much of the 95-acre park, located on the shores of lake Champlain, was once open farm and pasture land. A small picnic area occupies a bluff above the lake; a stone pavilion picnic shelter is available for group gathering. Campers will find 70 sites, including 24 lean-tos in an open grassy area and under a mature stand of hickory trees. There are flush toilets, hot showers and a dump station. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 759-2345; winter, (802) 483-2001

Waterbury Center State Park lies on the easterly trivium of the Waterbury Reservoir, a quarter-mile off Vermont 100. It is one of the newer park facilities within Mount Mansfield State Forest.

The reservoir is the ninth-largest body of water in the state and is maintained to a surface area of 860 acres with a maximum depth of 100 feet. The park is on a 90-acre peninsula with picnic sites, tables, hibachis, a swimming beach, nature trail, boat ramp and rest rooms. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Contact: summer, (802) 244-1226; winter, (802) 479-4280

Little River State Park is Central Vermont's largest campground with 81 tent/trailer sites and 20 lean-tos. Three of the four restrooms include hot showers. A sanitary dump station is available, but no hookups. There are swimming beaches, play areas, a boat launch, ballfield and miles of hiking trails. Season: mid-May to Columbus Day. Information: summer, (802) 244-1226; winter, (802) 479-4280

Kamp Kill Kare State Park, located on the sourthwestern tip of the 3-mile St. Albans Point peninsula is surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain. The 17-acre park serves as a mainland link to Burton Island State park and features a south-facing swim area with sandy bottom and shallower northwest shore for wading. Other amenities include picnic tables and cooking grills in open or shaded lawn areas and a large open-air shelter with group-sized grills and electricity that can be reserved for large group functions. Also featured: public boat launching, rowboat rentals, and the Burton Island ferry, which departs about every two hours. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 524-6021; winter, (802) 879-5674

Knight Island State Park is on a 185-acre island that is a mile long and nearly a half-mile wide (including about 10 acres of privately owned land). It affords rustic camping conditions in a unique and unspoiled environment. Camping is by permit only and only on designated sites. There is a maximum of eight persons per site and a maximum length of stay of 14 days. There is neither potable water nor sanitary facilities. A ferry runs from camp Kill Kare State Park by advance arrangement only. Call Burton Island State Park at (802) 524-6353 for more information about the ferry service. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 524-6353; winter, (802) 879-5674

Sand Bar State Park takes its name from the natural sandbar between South Hero Island in Grand Isle County and the town of Milton on the Vermont mainland, or eastern end, of the sandbar. The sandbar itself is the result of the Lamoille River's washing sediment downstream from the present Lamoille Valley into Lake Champlain over tens of thousands of years. Natural lake depths here, without the sandbar, would be more than 150 feet; because of the sediment, water is only a couple of feet deep along the sandbar, making for a shallow swimming area that warms up earlier than other parts of the lake and provides a good beach for young children.

The park is 15 acres, including a 2,000-foot sand beach for swimming and boat and sailboard rentals and lessons. The areas is one of the most popular sailboard spots on the lake. It also has a concession stand and shaded or open picnic grounds with tables and cooking grills as well as swings and a play area. Season: Mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 893-2825; winter, (802) 8795674

Lake Carmi, with a circumference of 7.5 miles, is the fourth-largest natural lake entirely within

Vermont. It averages about 20 feet deep and is 33 feet at the deepest point, making it one of the first lakes to warm up for summer swimming. The 482-acre park includes more than two miles of lake frontage on the south and east shores of Lake Carmi. There are 140 tent/trailer sites, 35 lean-tos and two cabins that make this the state's largest campground. There is a trailer dump station but no hookups. Most sites are large enough to accommodate self-contained RVs. There are swimming beaches in both camp areas, a day-use beach with concession area, rest rooms and rental boats. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 933-8383; winter, (802) 879-5674

Elmore State Park is a 700-acre park on the southeastern part of Lamoille County. It includes 500-acre Lake Elmore, which empties into the Lamoille River through Pond Brook. A picnic shelter, play area, concession, rest rooms and boat rentals are available at the day-use area. There are several hiking trails to Elmore Mountain. The campground has 45 tent/trailer sites and 15 lean-tos. Restrooms inlcude hot showers. A sanitary dump station is available, but no hookups. Season: mid-May to Columbus Day. Information: summer, (802) 888-2982; winter, (802) 479-4280

Woods Island State Park is on a 125-acre island in Lake Champlain and is one of the most primitive and remote state parks. A mile long and a quarter-mile wide, the island serves as the habitat for a rich variety of plant life including many species rare or threatened in Vermont. There is no ferry service to the island; visitors must make their own arrangements. Camping is permitted only on the five designated sites and by permit with a maximum of eight persons per site. There are no sanitary facilities or potable water on the island; fires are prohibited at all times. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 6353; winter, (802) 879-5674

Grand Isle State Park on Grand Isle, a 226-acre park, is the second-largest campground in the state park system and features 4,150 feet of Lake Champlain shoreline for swimmers and boaters.

Facilities include a boat launching ramp and rowboats for rent, sand-court volleyball, horseshoes, a play area, fitness trail and nature walk. Campers will find 120 tent/trailer sites, 36 lean-tos and one cabin site. Restrooms have running water and hot showers. There is a trailer dump station but no hookups. Campers are also allowed free entry to the sand beach at Knight Point State Park, seven miles north. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 372-8389; winter, (802) 879-5674

Knight Point State Park on North Hero Island is a 54-acre day-use park that features expansive lawns, a sandy beach for swimming, boat rentals and shaded or open picnic grounds with cooking grills. An open-air shelther can be reserved for group functions. A meandering trail loops around the point and offers scenic lake and shore vistas. The cobbled shoreline, from west of the swimming beach and extending around the point, is home to an unusually diverse group of rare plant species. It is a designated State Natural Area. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 372-8389; winter, (802) 879-5674

North Hero State Park, a 399-acre park, supports a diversity of wildlife habitats. A variety of migratory waterfowl -- mallards, wood ducks and more -- nest in the wooded wetlands. Map turtles, known to nest at only a few sites in Vermont, nest along the beach where a section is roped off to protect them during hatching season. The park features lakeside picnic grounds, a nongraded swimming beach, boat rentals and a boat launch. There are 99 wooded tent trailer sites and 18 lean-tos that are arranged in three camp loops. There are restrooms with full plumbing and showers and a sanitary dump station for RVs, but no hookups. Campers are allowed free entry to the sand beach at Knight Point State Park, 10 miles away. Season: mid-May to Labor Day. Information: summer, (802) 372-8389; winter, (802) 879- 5674

PARKS FOR HIKING

Mount Philo State Park, a 168-acre park, located atop Mount Philo (968-foot elevation), overlooks the Lake Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains of New York. The top can be reached by foot or vehicle along a narrow, steep road (not recommended for trailers.) Two small camping areas contain a total of 16 sites and three lean-tos, flush toilets and hot showers. An enclosed picnic shelter is available for large group gatherings. Season: mid-May to mid-October. Information: summer, (802) 425-2390; winter, (802) 483-2001

Underhill State Park is within Vermont's 34,000-acre Mount Mansfield State Forest. Located on the headwaters of the Browns River at about 2,000-feet elevation, the park lies on the west slope of 4,393-foot Mount Mansfield, the state's highest peak. The elevation and corresponding exposure to harsh climatic conditions have resulted in low, stunted vegetation types along the mountain's summit ridge of the type found in the Arctic tundra, a thousand miles farther north. This vegetation is fragile, and hikers are asked to remain on rock and trail if hiking to the summit. The upper camp area, about three-quarters of a mile above the ranger station, has nine lean-to sites and is reserved for organized group use. In the lower camp area, around the ranger station, are 11 tent sites and six lean-to sites. Cold water and flush toilets are available in the restrooms, but there are no showers. Because campers park in the lot and cannot drive the last several yards to their campsites, this park is not recommended for RV or tent-trailer campers. There is a large log picnic shelter for group functions. Four trails lead to the summit ridge of Mount Mansfield Park, with the three-mile Sunset Ridge trail being the most popular. Vermont's Long Trail traverses the summit ridge and, with several trails from the other side of the mountain, many loops are possible. Trail maps are available at the ranger station. Season: mid-may to Columbus Day. Contact: summer, (802) 899-3022; winter (802) 879-5674