Grand Isle State Park is located on South Hero Island in Lake Champlain. The Island, also known as Grand Isle, is 14 miles long and over 3 miles wide, making it the largest in Lake Champlain. It contains the towns of Grand Isle (on the northern half) and South Hero (on the southern half). The North and South Hero Islands are named in honor of early pioneering Vermonters who served in the American Revolution.

Grand Isle State Park was opened in 1959 when 54 acres of land was purchased from Birchcliff, a private summer resort. The original acquisition included a hotel-like building, cabins, and a recreation hall. Today’s nature center is the last remaining Birchcliff building. Three additional property acquisitions brought the park to its current 226-acre size. Park development during the 1960s was spurred by a successful effort to attract visitors to the area by providing quality camping opportunities.

Today, the result of that effort is apparent. Grand Isle State Park is the most-visited campground in the state park system. With 4,150 feet of Lake Champlain shoreline, Grand Isle is popular with many destination campers who spend their entire vacation here. At the same time, the park location on US-2 attracts a high number of one-night campers, while proximity to population centers in Burlington, Vermont, and Montreal, Quebec makes it an easy destination for the weekend or spur-of-the-moment camper. Park property extends all the way west to US-2, where part of the land is being kept open by agricultural lease, and some of what was pasture thirty years ago has reverted to woodland.

A description and map of the trails at Grand Isle State Park is on the TrailFinder website.