The Green Mountain Club has 14 regionally-based chapters that maintain specific areas of the Long Trail, Appalachian Trail in Vermont, and Northeast Kingdom trails. Sections and their members and volunteers are an integral part of the work the Green Mountain Club does to maintain and protect the Long Trail System.
Joining a Green Mountain Club section is a way to meet other club members in your region, enjoy local outings, and work with other section members on trail maintenance in your area. As a section member, you will receive outing schedules and newsletters from your section to keep you up-to-date on section news. Most sections have a year-round program of outings and social events. You do not have to be a member of a section in order to attend its outings. Any member can join or switch section affiliations at any time by contacting us.
Check out our outings calendar to learn more about section events and group hikes. If you’d like to volunteer with your section, the Section Leaders’ Handbook and Trip Leader’s Handbook are valuable resources for information about doing so. You will find contact information for each section at their website listed below.
Green Mountain Club Sections
Bennington Section
- Location: Bennington area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Harmon Hill to Glastenbury Mountain
- More information: meetup.com/gmcbennington
Brattleboro Section
- Location: Brattleboro area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Winhall River to VT 11/30
- More information: brattleborogmc.com
Bread Loaf Section
- Location: Middlebury area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Sucker Brook Shelter to Emily Proctor Shelter
- More information: gmcbreadloaf.org
Burlington Section
- Location: Burlington area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Winooski River Footbridge to Smugglers’ Notch
- More information: gmcburlington.org
Connecticut Section
- Location: Central Connecticut area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Glastenbury Mountain to Stratton-Arlington Rd.
- More information: conngmc.com
Killington Section
- Location: Rutland area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: VT 140 to Maine Junction
- More information: gmckillington.org
Laraway Section
- Location: St. Albans/Enosburg area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Lamoille River to VT 118
- More information: gmclaraway.org
Manchester Section
- Location: Manchester area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: VT 11/30 to Mad Tom Notch
- More information: gmc-manchester.org
Montpelier Section
- Location: Montpelier area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Camel’s Hump to Winooski River Footbridge and Smugglers’ Notch to Chilcoot Pass
- More information: gmcmontpelier.org
Northeast Kingdom Section
- Location: Lyndonville area
- Maintenance: Trails on Bald, Hor, Moose, Burke, Haystack, Middle, and Wheeler Mountains, Gnome Stairs and Unknown Pond trails, and GMC’s Wheeler Pond Camps
- More information: nekgmc.org
Northern Frontier Section
- Location: Montgomery area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Hazen’s Notch to Canada
- More information: gmcnorthernfrontier.org
Sterling Section
- Location: Morrisville/Stowe area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Chilcoot Pass to Lamoille River
- More information: gmcsterling.org
Upper Valley Ottauquechee Section
- Location: Woodstock, VT/Hanover, NH, area
- Maintenance: Appalachian Trail: Maine Junction to NH border
- More information: gmc-o-section.org
Worcester Section
- Location: Worcester, MA, area
- Maintenance: Long Trail: Stratton-Arlington Rd. to Winhall River, and Cedar Meadow Pond Camp
- More information: gmcwoo.org
GMC Section Trail Maintenance
Both volunteers and paid trail crews maintain the Green Mountain Club’s trails. While pros handle big projects like building bridges and shelters or new trails, volunteers perform seasonal maintenance such as cleaning up the trail before and after winter, clearing blowdowns, trimming branches and undergrowth, painting blazes and signs, and improving drainage. Volunteers also inspect shelters and tent sites, make minor repairs, report major problems, and clean fire rings and remove trash.
Volunteer responsibilities are assigned to our fourteen sections (shown in yellow on the map below) and individual adopters (shown in orange). Every section hosts trail maintenance outings each spring and fall, and often have work parties during the hiking season as well, depending on whether they have other projects planned for the year.
Click on the map below to zoom in.
