Green Mountain Club is a non-profit conservation organization founded in 1910 with a mission to “make the mountains play a role in the lives of people.” The GMC began by building a 275 mile backpacking trail that runs the length of Vermont – the Long Trail; one of the original long distance hiking trails and an inspiration for the Appalachian Trail.

Today the GMC maintains 450 miles of hiking trails, 70 backcountry campsites, and helps manage thousands of acres of conserved mountain land. We work closely with State Forests, US Forest Service, National Park Service, and private land owners.

The Green Mountain Club continues the commitment to “make the mountains play a role in the lives of people” with a wide ranging outdoor education program.

The heart of this program is, of course, providing education and outreach to hikers out on the trails in Vermont – ranging from informal interactions between individual hikers and GMC seasonal staff patrolling the trails to a significant outreach to schools, camps and other organized groups who receive Leave No Trace workshops and other formal education as part of their Long Trail hike.

Off the trail, GMC education program offers a full series of workshops training people in basic outdoor skills so that they can safely and respectfully enjoy the mountains in Vermont.