Green Mountain Club

The Green Mountain Club (GMC) was founded in 1910 largely upon the initiative of James P. Taylor (1872-1949). Taylor had been assistant principal of Vermont Academy in Saxtons River where he took students on hiking excursions in the Green Mountains. He was discouraged by the lack of suitable trails and shelters and vowed to do something about it. He contacted many prominent Vermonters and convinced them that there was a place in Vermont for a hiking club to build and maintain trails and shelters in the state. On March 11, 1910, the Green Mountain Club was formally organized with twenty-three members and a broad vision, "to make the Vermont Mountains play a larger part in the life of the people."

From the beginning the Club undertook the huge project of building a trail from the Massachusetts border to Canada along the crest of the Green Mountains. The project was finally completed in 1930, and the Long Trail remains the major focus of the Club.

The Club is organized into sections by geographic regions, most in Vermont, but some out-of-state as well, and an at-large category of membership for those who prefer not to affiliate with a section. The sections sponsor hikes and excursions and also maintain certain portions of the Long Trail system. Sections publish calendars of events and newsletters to keep their members informed.

The Club is governed by a board of directors elected from the membership. Annual meetings are held in the spring with quarterly meetings of the trustees. Members are kept advised of Club activities by The Long Trail News, published four times a year. The Club's first headquarters were in Rutland; they then moved to Montpelier about 1973; and in 1992 moved to buildings and land purchased by the Club in Waterbury Center. The Club has approximately 8,000 members who support the Long Trail system consisting of 270 miles of main trail and about 175 miles of side trails. In addition, the Club has built and maintains 70 shelters along the main trail.