Hubbard Park & Tower | Montpelier

Hubbard Park, a 194-acre forested preserve rising above Montpelier, is one of Vermont’s oldest and most beloved public parks. Established in the late 19th century, it offers miles of wooded trails, picnic groves, and panoramic overlooks that connect the city’s compact downtown to the quiet majesty of the surrounding Green Mountains. At its heart stands the Hubbard Park Tower, a stone lookout built in the early 1900s, which has become both a local landmark and a symbol of Montpelier’s enduring connection to nature.

Origins & History
The park was gifted to the city in 1899 by John Erastus Hubbard, a local philanthropist who envisioned a public green space for recreation and reflection. Modeled after the ideals of 19th-century landscape parks, Hubbard Park was designed to blend natural beauty with gentle human use. Over the years, paths, shelters, and the stone tower were added through community efforts and programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s.

The Hubbard Park Tower
Completed in 1933, the stone observation tower crowns one of the park’s highest ridges. Built from local granite, it rises nearly 50 feet, its rough-hewn exterior blending with the forest. A winding spiral staircase inside leads to an open platform offering sweeping views of downtown Montpelier, the golden dome of the State House, and the distant Green Mountains. In autumn, the scene is breathtaking-layers of crimson, amber, and gold stretching to the horizon.

Trails & Natural Setting
The park contains more than seven miles of trails, winding through mixed hardwood forests of maple, beech, and birch. The paths range from gentle walks to steeper climbs leading to the tower or stone shelters. Along the way, visitors pass mossy boulders, ferns, and quiet clearings where deer and songbirds are often seen. In winter, locals use the trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, while in spring, the woods fill with wildflowers and the sound of running water.

Facilities & Gathering Spaces
Hubbard Park includes picnic areas, stone pavilions, fire rings, and an outdoor amphitheater built into a natural slope. Families often gather here for barbecues or community events. The park also hosts the annual All Species Day Parade, a colorful local festival celebrating nature, creativity, and community-its costumed participants often finish their procession beneath the tall pines of the park.

Civic & Cultural Role
Though only a few minutes’ walk from the State House and downtown Montpelier, Hubbard Park feels like a world apart. It represents the city’s long tradition of blending civic life with environmental stewardship. Generations of residents have come here to hike, picnic, or simply think quietly above the city’s bustle, reinforcing Montpelier’s identity as both a capital and a small town grounded in its landscape.

Atmosphere & Seasons
Each season brings its own rhythm to the park. Autumn is the most dramatic, with its canopy blazing in color; winter transforms it into a snowy sanctuary for solitude; spring brings renewal with the scent of damp earth and new growth; and summer fills the park with laughter, sunlight, and the echo of children playing.

Essence of Hubbard Park & Tower
Hubbard Park and its tower embody Vermont’s balance of nature, community, and reflection. Rising quietly above the capital, the park is not only a place to walk and look outward but also a space that draws Montpelier inward-toward the calm, enduring beauty that defines life in the Green Mountains.