The Green Mountain Club hosts events, workshops, and occasional community outings. Check the upcoming schedule below for introduction to hiking workshops, panels from experienced thru-hikers, Wilderness First Aid training, trail maintenance training, and more. Check the calendar of events and outings to see what the volunteer sections have planned. We host both in-person and virtual events.
Coming up:
- Guided Short Trail Hikes
- Hiking and Yoga
- Backpacking Skills Workshops
- Outdoor Adventure Speaker Series Events
Find recorded sessions below, or on YouTube.
Winter Guided Hikes on the Short Trail
Green Mountain Club Headquarters, Waterbury Center
Join the Green Mountain Club’s Visitor Services Manager, Emily Mosher, for a hike on the Short Trail! Learn more about hiking in Vermont, the Long Trail and the Green Mountain Club, and seasonal hiking tips and recommendations as we explore the 0.5 mile loop at GMC’s headquarters building in Waterbury Center. These hikes are open to hikers of all ages, from beginner day hiker to seasoned backpacker. Allow about an hour with plenty of stops to explore.
Saturday, January 3 at 10 a.m. (family focused with storytime)
Saturday, January 17 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, February 7 at 10 a.m. (family focused with storytime)
Saturday, February 21 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 at 10 a.m. (family focused with storytime)
Saturday, March 21 at 2 p.m.
No RSVP necessary; for questions, email [email protected] or call 802-244-7037.
Living on the Edge: Past, Present, and Future Changes of Northeastern Alpine Zones
Thursday, January 22 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
Alpine zones in the Northeast are small and few, but support distinctive ecological communities and are an important source of biodiversity. However, alpine ecosystems are vulnerable to overlapping forces of environmental change including rising temperatures, CO2 fertilization, variability in air quality and atmospheric nutrient deposition, declining snow cover, invasive species, and intense recreational use. Pulling from over 40 years of research in this system, terrestrial ecologist Dr. Jordon Tourville will talk about how northeastern alpine has developed over time, the ways in which it is currently changing, and what future threats it may be exposed to, and of course, what this all means for the amazing plants found there.
Register for this Event on 1/22
Backpacking Skills: Planning and Wayfinding
Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
Learn about trip planning and wayfinding before hitting the trails. This workshop will cover what to consider when planning a backpacking trip: where and when to go, personal goals & ability, timing, expectations, etc. We’ll also discuss how to break up your section or thru-hike with overnight camping: selecting a campsite (shelters and tent sites), transportation (shuttles), and resupplies. Lastly, we’ll explore the Hiker Responsibility Code, community platforms and wayfinding apps, respecting wildlife (bear cans, ur sacks, bear boxes), basics of navigating with a map and compass, what to do in an emergency, as well as how to source gear. This workshop is an excellent follow-up to GMC’s Backpacking 101 workshop.
Register for Backpacking Skills on 1/24
The North Country Trail: The Way Too Fast Version
Thursday, January 29 | 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
The North Country National Scenic Trail is the country’s longest national scenic trail, stretching 4,800 miles east to west across eight states from North Dakota to Maine Junction in Vermont. Few people have hiked the entire trail. Joan H. Young, an author and avid hiker living in Michigan, has hiked it twice. She completed her first hike of the North Country Trail over the course of 20 years as the trail’s route was still expanding and evolving, finishing in 2010. Throughout 2021-2023, she completed her second hike of the trail. Join Joan for stories, advice, and photos from her North Country Trail experiences in this virtual presentation.
Hiking the Long Trail Side-to-Side
Thursday, February 5 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
The Green Mountain Club certifies two hiking accomplishments: a complete section or thru-hike of the Long Trail, called the End-to-End, and a lesser-known achievement known as the Long Trail Side-to-Side. The Side-to-Side requires hiking all 88 trails (166 miles) that lead to the Long Trail from the east and west, spanning the entire Long Trail from north to south. Suitable for all ages, hiking the Side-to-Side can be completed as day hikes or backpacking trips. Whether you’re an experienced End-to-Ender or a novice hiker, taking on the Side-to-Side challenge is a great way to experience the Long Trail system. Join author, mountain guide, and GMC board member Philip Werner as he shares his highlights of the Side-to-Side Trail list and discusses different strategies for completing it.
Register for this Event on 2/5
Running Home: A Vermonter’s Solo Speed Quest on the Long Trail
Thursday, February 12 | 7:00 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
Tori Constantine had never camped more than one night before she stepped onto the Long Trail for a thru-hike amidst an ongoing pandemic in 2020. But she took to backpacking like a natural, going on to complete another thru-hike of the LT, a thru-hike of the AT, and many other adventures before her 2025 unsupported Fastest Known Time event on the trail that started it all, the Long Trail. From inexperienced backpacker to record setter, Tori will share photos and stories from her speedy, solo attempt and how her experience as a Vermont local shapes her time on the trail.
Register for this Event on 2/12
Watershed Species Illustration and Short Trail Hike
Saturday, February 14 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
Join the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the Green Mountain Club for a Watershed Species Illustration Workshop, and learn to create naturalist illustrations of local watershed flora and fauna. Afterward, take a hike on GMC’s half-mile short trail to identify and illustrate the flora and fauna as found in nature. This workshop is for all ages, and no drawing or illustrating experience is necessary. All art materials provided. This program will take place both indoors and outside, so please wear/bring appropriate layers for both environments.
Register for Watershed Species Illustration on 2/14
Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc
Sunday, February 15 | 7:00 p.m.
Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, Middlebury
Hosted by GMC’s Bread Loaf Section, Ted Scheu will share photos and reflections from his bucket list adventure in 2024 on the Tour de Mont Blanc, a 105-mile hiking trail through the Alps in France, Italy, and Switzerland. Ted is widely known as “The Poetry Guy,” a former teacher (among other things) from Middlebury who now visits schools nationwide, teaching kids the joy and pleasure of writing poetry.
Register for this Event on 2/15
Creatures of the Night: Conservation and Recovery of Vermont’s Bats
Thursday, February 19 | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
White-nose Syndrome decimated Vermont’s hibernating bats between 2008 and 2010 and the disease continues to threaten the remaining population. But there is hope. The drastic 90% decline has slowed, and some individual bats have survived multiple years despite being exposed to the disease. Join Alyssa Bennett, Small Mammals Biologist for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and learn about Vermont’s nine fascinating species of bats, what research we are doing to understand White-nose Syndrome, how Vermont is a leader in bat conservation, and what you can do to help.
Register for this Event on 2/19
Vermont’s Climate: Floods, Droughts, and a Changing Climate Future
Thursday, February 26 | 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Green Mountain Club Headquarters
Dr. Dupigny-Giroux is a Distinguished Professor of Climatology in the Department of Geography & Geosciences, the Vermont State Climatologist since 1997, and the President of the American Association of State Climatologists from 2020-2022. An applied climatologist by training, Dr. Dupigny-Giroux’s research interests intersect with several interdisciplinary fields including hydroclimatic natural hazards and climate literacy, climate services, geospatial climate and land-surface processes, all within the context of our changing climate. She is an expert in floods, droughts and severe weather and the ways in which these affect the landscape and peoples of Vermont and the US Northeast. Join Dr. Dupigny-Giroux’s presentation to learn more about Vermont’s climate and actions that can be taken to help the state’s people, land and infrastructure adapt to our changing future.
Register for this Event on 2/26
Hiking and Yoga
Saturday, February 28 | 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Stowe Pinnacle Trail & Green Mountain Club Headquarters
Join an invigorating morning hike and an easy therapeutic yoga class post-hike at the Green Mountain Club’s Visitor Center! We’ll hike the Stowe Pinnacle Trail to the overlook, a moderate 3.2-mile round-trip hike with 1600 feet of elevation gain. The trail is rated between moderate and difficult, and will keep a ~2 mph pace. Due to snowy conditions, please bring microspikes, trekking poles, and winter layers.
After the hike, we’ll return to the Visitor Center for a 1.5-hour Restorative yoga practice, a gentle and contemplative form of yoga that focuses on deep relaxation and rejuvenation, led by yoga instructor, licensed attorney, and GMC board member Samara Anderson. The goals are to reduce stress, create resiliency in the body to prevent injuries, and an enhancement of overall wellbeing. Samara’s therapy dog, Elia, will also join for the hike and yoga!
No yoga experience is required and all props will be provided, but if you have your own, please bring them.
Register for Hiking and Yoga on 2/28
Recordings of Recent Events
Setting the Overall Speed Record on the Appalachian Trail
Thursday, March 13, 2025 | Zoom
No More Pits: A New Era of Waste Management on the Long Trail
Thursday, March 6, 2025 | Green Mountain Club Meeting Hall
48 by 4: Hiking New Hampshire’s Highest Peaks with a Toddler
Thursday, February 13, 2025 | Zoom
Paved Paradise: Highways, Wildlife Crossings and the Future of our Roaded Planet
Thursday, January 30, 2025 | Zoom
Wide, Open Spaces: Why Trails and the Outdoors are Vital Places for Processing our Hardest Emotions
Thursday, January 23, 2025 |Green Mountain Club Meeting Hall
The Triple Tiara: Thru-hiking the Long Trail, Colorado Trail, & Nüümü Poyo
Thursday, January 16, 2025 | Green Mountain Club Meeting Hall
The History of the VT Civilian Conservation Corps
Thursday, January 11, 2024 | Zoom
Long Trail End-to-Ender’s Panel
Friday, May 5, 2023 | 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | Zoom
Hiking 101 (Online)
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.| Zoom
Airplane Crashes Along the Long Trail in Vermont
Thursday, March 2 | 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.| Zoom
The ‘American Alps’ in Washington’s North Cascades (Online)
Thursday, February 16 | 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.| Zoom
A Woman Alone in the Woods at Night (Online)
Thursday, January 26 | 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.| Zoom
Secrets of Aging Well: Why Hiking is the Closest Thing We Have To The Fountain of Youth (Online)
Thursday, January 19 | 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Zoom
Introduction to Winter Hiking
December 16, 2022 | 5:30pm – 6:30pm | Zoom
The Art of Race and Leadership with Melody Walker Mackin
June 10, 2022 | 7pm – 8 pm | Zoom
Long Trail End-to-Ender Panel
May 6, 2022 | 6pm | Zoom
The Long Trail End-to-Ender Panel is an informative Q&A, show-and-tell style panel intended for folks to learn about backpacking in Vermont from experienced Long Trail Thru-Hikers. Wondering about the best lightweight tent or how to not get bored with PB&J’s? Sign up to learn the ins and outs of a long-distance hike and get answers to all your questions about food, equipment, and planning.
Backpacking 101 Webinar
April 18, 2022 | 6pm | Zoom
“No Other Lake” Short Film – Sneak Preview
March 17, 2022 | Zoom
In Search of Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams
March 10, 2022 | Zoom
The Northeast Kingdom Meets the American Southwest
March 3, 2022 | Zoom
Breaking it down to build it back: A story of rediscovery in the outdoors
February 3, 2022 | Zoom
Moving Mountains: Overcoming obstacles in 2022 and beyond
January 27, 2022 | Zoom
Long Trail Family Thru-Hike
January 20, 2022 | Zoom
Join Matt Krebs and his three children, Charlie (16), Ruth (14) and Joe (8), as they share the challenges and joys of thru-hiking the Long Trail together.
This presentation is part of the 30th annual James P. Taylor Outdoor Adventure Series — bringing adventures to you through stories, photographs, and videos. It is sponsored by Sunset Lake CBD.
Arizona: Day Hikes and Other Adventures
January 13, 2022 | Zoom
Long time Green Mountain Club volunteers, Rich and Sheri Larsen share photos and stories from their adventures in Arizona. Enjoy this presentation and the beautiful imagery.
This presentation is part of the 30th annual James P. Taylor Outdoor Adventure Series — bringing adventures to you through stories, photographs, and videos. It is sponsored by 802 Cars.
Crosscut: A Trail Builder’s Memoir
January 6, 2022 | Zoom
Author, poet, trail builder, and professor Sean Prentiss shares stories and poems from his memoir Crosscut: Poems, inspired by his time leading trail crews for the Northwest Youth Corps.
This presentation is part of the 30th annual James P. Taylor Outdoor Adventure Series — bringing adventures to you through stories, photographs, and videos. It is sponsored by Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel.
