Recreation Around Bennington

Outdoor Activities

Bennington offers an outdoor recreation program that sponsors a variety of off-campus outdoor activities. Fall term excursions include a range of activities from canoeing and hiking to caving and rock climbing; spring activities include cross-country skiing, white-water rafting, overnight snowshoeing trips, and mountain biking.

Students can walk or bike the campus Blue Trail, an easy hike winding through the wooded parts of campus and connecting to several trails throughout the region, including the Mile-Around Woods and the Long Trail, Vermont's oldest long-distance hiking trail, is a short drive from campus.

In warmer weather, students can visit the nearby Walloomsac and Battenkill Rivers or Lake Paran for fishing, canoeing or tubing, and swimming. Bennington and its surroundings are also home to numerous natural watering holes, water tubs, and water slides.

In the winter months, Bennington College is only a short drive to some of the best skiing and riding in the Northeast, as well as some of the region's best snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails. The Crossett Library carries an expansive collection of area guidebooks for these and many other outdoor activities.

Bennington Tennis Center: The Bennington Tennis Center (BTC) is a locally owned and operated full service indoor tennis club located in Southern Vermont. Through a partnership with the Bennington College outdoor tennis courts, local pro Seth Gabriel offers special group lessons for members of the college's Tennis Club.

Bennington Sports Center: The Bennington Sports Center is an indoor soccer facility in downtown Bennington offering both Men's and Co-Ed adult leagues through the winter. Bennington students regularly enroll teams in these leagues and we occasionally rent out the facility for soccer activities during the colder/rainier months.

The Bennington Rec Center includes a six-lane, 25-yard indoor pool that is handicapped accessible with an aquatic lift and stairs. The pool serves many groups including adult swim, family swim, senior therapy swim, club and high school swim teams, lifeguard training, swimming lessons, and more. The Rec Center also offers a sauna, showers, cardio vascular equipment, weight training, and multi-purpose rooms. Outdoors at the Center includes basketball courts, tennis courts, a volleyball court and softball fields. Summer programs are offered for the Towns youth and include T-ball, sports camps, tennis and basketball programs, and more.