Along Vermont Route 100 in Waterbury, the Green Mountain Club is building a new visitor center on the same site as the current one. The new building will be a modern, welcoming place for hikers and visitors to learn about Vermont’s trails and stock up on supplies for outdoor excursions.
“I think our goal with the new space is to be able to offer a little bit more,” said Emily Mosher, the nonprofit’s Waterbury visitor services manager. “We’re updating our educational panels and having a little bit more resources in the visitor center itself to be able to welcome people to the area.”
The current visitor center suffers from mounting repair needs and mold problems. In addition to replacing the worn-out building, the new facility will house a gathering place “where people can come in and learn about all the hiking attractions in the area,” club executive director Mike DeBonis said in an interview this spring.
The center includes a store where hikers can purchase maps, clothing, guidebooks and other trail-finding tools, “so it’s the perfect place to stop on the way up Mount Mansfield,” DeBonis said.
Founded in 1910, the Green Mountain Club built the 272-mile Long Trail. Today, it maintains about 500 miles of trails in Vermont, including the Long Trail and its spur trails, the Vermont section of the Appalachian Trail, and the Kingdom Heritage Lands trails in the Northeast Kingdom.
The visitor center is also a gathering place for local clubs and hiking events throughout the year, including a beginner’s hiking class, a women’s backpacking program, wilderness first aid and more. “We’ve also had a number of speakers in the past who have been here in person in the building; sometimes they’ve been virtual, which has been great,” Mosher said. “So it will be great to have that space again to be able to host some programs like this.”
Construction has stretched into the busy summer hiking and tourist season, but promises improved amenities for visitors when completed. The new center will include a multi-purpose education space with historical archives open to the public. The ground floor of the building will house field program staff and there will be a dedicated room for the Green Mountain Club archives.
The renovation project began last summer but was delayed following the devastating floods in July 2023 that caused damage across the state and subsequently led to a shortage of available contractors, DeBonis said. This spring, workers completed the foundation and erected the wooden frame. The project is now moving along at a rapid pace, DeBonis said this spring: “We hope to have it completed and open to the public sometime in the fall.”
Since then, all insulation panels have been installed, the building has been largely waterproofed with new windows and all mechanical systems such as plumbing, heating and electrical have been installed, DeBonis said. Flooding in early summer has not affected the center or construction, and the plan to open in the fall remains on track, DeBonis said.
The estimated cost of the project is $1.4 million, which includes demolition of the old building and construction of the new center, as well as additional interior work for offices.
