The Park is open for camping from Memorial Day to Labor Day. To use the trails at the Park during the season, check in at the Ranger's Station and pay a small fee. You can pick up a trail map or look at it on the information board.
During the off season, park near the gate. The hike for this cache, from the parking area, is approximately one mile and a half in moderate terrain. For all the caches in the Park, the hikes can be linked for about a three and a half mile hike.
There are two separate hiking trails that are connectible using campground roads. The Sunrise Trail begins near a junction between the two campground loops and is marked by a sign. From the sign the trail makes a loop to the Sunrise viewpoint -- go right for a shorter distance, go left for a longer distance.
To do this cache in combination with the Fort Dummer Sunset cache, I like to start on the trail/road along the highway, near the main gate, which leads you to the Sunset Trail. Continue from the sunset viewpoint to the play area and then through the campground roads to the Sunrise Trail.
There is a picnic table and a bench at the viewpoint. Despite the Sunrise name, the cleared view faces mostly south to the Connecticut River. The cache, a clear lock-n-lock with a strip of camo, is in the woods within sight of the trail. The cache will be accessible in winter. There are a lot of hemlocks, which can make it hard to keep a signal.
Leashed dogs are allowed with proof of rabies vaccination. The trails are great for snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter. Check out the quarry on the main campground road, too. (There used to be another cache there, but it's long gone. An earthcache is there now.)
Fort Dummer is named after the first white settlement in Vermont. The original location was flooded when the Vernon Dam was built in 1908.
The land for Fort Dummer State Park was acquired by the state in the 1950s when Interstate 91 was being built. It was turned into a State Park in the '60s.
The campground has 50 tent/trailer sites and 10 lean-to sites. These are located in two adjacent areas and are served by two toilet buildings, both with hot showers (for an extra fee). There is a sanitary dump station, but no hookups. Also located within the park are a small picnic area and a play area. (The play area has a kick-ball diamond and horseshoe stakes.)
If anyone is camping here and wants to get up early, it would be great to see some sunrise photos!
For more info go to: www.vtstateparks.com/htm/fortdummer.cfm.