Holiday Gift Ideas for Every Adventurer

Holidays are fast-approaching, leaving limited time to shop, wrap, and set gifts under the tree, with the Menorah, or inside the shoes. Luckily for you, we’ve considered all your outdoorsy family members and friends. Check out these gift ideas from GMC and our partners, and click away for seamless shopping.

You can also shop locally at the GMC Visitor Center in Waterbury Center or at a nearby outdoor retailer. The following Vermont businesses are part of GMC’s Outdoor Business Member Coalition; they carry our products and support our work. If you can, shop at one of these great, Vermont-based stores:

• Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington
• MountainOps in Stowe
• Onion River Outdoors in Montpelier
• The Mountain Goat in Manchester
• Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters in Brattleboro

For GMC items, you can shop in-person on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays; 10 am – 4 pm. Your online order is available for local pickup on weekdays after 2 p.m.

*Please note* The Visitor Center will be closed all of Thanksgiving week, Nov. 22-26, to give our staff a much needed paid break. We will re-open for in-person shopping on Nov. 29. Online orders placed this week will be processed starting 11/29.

And don’t miss GMC’s legendary Cyber Monday sale, November 29 only! Members will receive 30% off of their online order with the code MembersCyberMonday. Nonmembers can get a 15% discount on their online order with the code CyberMonday. Free tote bag with any local pick-up orders placed on Cyber Monday.

For the Budding Adventurer

• Almost as exciting as your first hike is all the gear you start accumulating afterward. Get their collection started with GMC’s custom Buff design. This multifunctional headwear will keep them stylish and warm, and they can style it any of 12 different ways.
• Can you even explore Vermont without our Day Hiker’s Guide? Encourage the next adventure — and the next and the next — with this comprehensive list of trails.
• Not sure what gear they need? A day pack or hiking boots (shop boots from our partner, Oboz) are great starter items, or supply a gift card from one of our partner outfitters listed above.

For your Kiddo Explorers

• Inspire your little ones with the magic of Mt. Mansfield and the legendary Wampahoofus. This place-based book is a perfect gift for six- to eight-year-old children.
• If your child loves the outdoors, give them a summer of experiential learning at Farm & Wilderness Summer Camps. Our partners will spark their curiosity while providing memorable, hands-on adventures.
• Get them excited about the outdoors and STEM savvy with nature journals and games. We recommend products like these: Backpack Explorer; Planet board game; Life on Earth memory & matching game.

For the Peak Bagger

• Know an avid hiker? Set them up for success with a Wilderness First Aid course and medicine guide.
• Map their successes! We love this map of New England’s 50 highest peaks and this personalized map of Vermont’s mountains. Add a frame and set of pins for a gift set.
• Does your loved one always celebrate a great hike with an après beer? Supply the next round with a six-pack from one of our local partners: Athletic Brewing, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, and Burlington Beer Co. See membership benefits for discounts!

For the Experienced Winter Hiker

• Keep them stylish, warm, and comfortable this winter with this collaboration from GMC and Skida. The alpine hat is a poly-blend and lined with cozy mid-weight fleece. Available in adult and kid sizes.
• Once they’re outfitted with layers and Microspikes, they’ll need handwarmers for those snack breaks. We’re a fan of reusable packs like these: HotSnapZ; Hot to Go; and this Zippo rechargeable hand warmer.
• Icy downhill trails can wear on a hiker’s body. Shop the Black Friday sale with our partner Sunset Lake CBD for up to 60% off on topical salves and tinctures designed to help with stress, aches, and pains. And for the rest of the year, use coupon code GMC20 for 20% off all products.

For the Avid Traveler

• Give the gift of adventure with a GMC membership. Membership includes a slew of discounts toward retailers, inns, and experiences that they’ll surely use in the year ahead.
• Treat them to an experience –local or international—with our partner, Country Walkers.
• Set them up with an overnight staycation at The Swanson Inn or the Inn at the Long Trail, or try a more rustic overnight at one of GMC’s rental cabins (limited dates remaining).

For your Four-Legged Companions

• Keep your pups visible and stylish in these boldly colored bandanas.
• From travel kits to antler chews, shop Orvis for gifts for the pup and pup lover alike.

For the Aspiring End-to-Ender

• Every End-to-Ender needs the Long Trail Guide, End-to-Ender’s Guide, and Long Trail map. They’re musts for your adventurer’s safety and success.
• Keep them on-track with a subscription to the FarOut app (formerly known as Guthook Guides) — the navigational app for long-distance trails. All GMC maps are also available digitally via Avenza; these georeferenced maps provide your real-time location, even with no network connection.
• Hiking stories are a great inspiration. We’re fans of Derick Lugo’s The Unlikely Thru-Hiker. This novice’s comical storytelling eases insecurities and preps beginning thru-hikers.

For Your Trail Blazers

• Keep them visible while they bushwhack through the woods with this orange trucker hat.
• Prevent bears and other critters from getting into their food stash. Shop bear canisters from our partner supplier, BearVault. See membership benefits for retailer discounts!

For Your Armchair Adventurer

• Supply a historic adventure or two with these reads: A Century of Long Trail Guidebooks and So Clear, So Cool, So Grand.
• Fuel their learning with a hot beverage. This GMC coffee mug is a great reading companion.
• Stay cozy by the fire with comfy socks from our partner, US Sherpa or the Vermont classic, Darn Tough.

For the Nature Lover

• Bring the outdoor inspiration indoors with GMC’s 2022 calendar, complete with landscape spreads and motivational quotes that content them all winter long.
• If they’re constantly marveling at the features, footprints, and foliage while hiking, then equip them with the Nature Guide to Vermont’s Long Trail. It’ll answer all their identification questions in an easy-to-use manual.
• Help them spot their favorites species with a set of binoculars. Check out this guide for gift recommendations.

Adventure Inspiring Stocking Stuffers

• Introduce them to trails that are suited for snowshoes, spikes, and otherwise with our Winter Hiking Guide to Vermont.
• Show off their Long Trail pride with patches, window decals, and stickers.
• You can never go wrong with extra hydration. Send them on their next adventure with a GMC Nalgene.