Mountain bikers can roll out of their tents in Ricker Pond State Park and onto the in-progress multi-use Cross-Vermont Trail for a ride along a former railroad line. The trail, on dirt, gravel, and sand, stretches by hillside farms, raspberry bushes, beaver dams, and under the cliffs of Owl’s Head Mountain.
Located within Groton State Forest and on the shores of a small pond worth paddling, it is one of three state parks in the forest.
18 Ricker Pond Campground Road, Groton, 802-584-3821, www.vtstateparks.com, camping $18-$20. Day use adults $3, children (4 to 13) $2; camping Vt. residents $16, $18, others $18, $20; lean-to Vt. residents $23, $25, others $25, $27.
Marty Basch can be reached through www.onetankaway.com.
(Marty Basch for the Boston Globe)
