2026 vermont wildlife festival
Wildlife Appreciation & Family Fun
Sunday, September 20 - 10am to 4pm
Mount Snow Resort, West Dover, VT
Rain or shine! Activities under tents.
Admission by Donation
Meet live animals. Explore hands-on activities. Join a guided stroll along the forest edge. Talk to wildlife experts. Take a scenic chairlift. Have lunch. Enjoy a fun fall day discovering Vermont's wild side!
Meet the Animals and Learn Something New
Anna Caputo, the Museum's Education Director and Wildlife Festival host, will guide the day’s presentations and activities and introduce you to live animals and wildlife experts throughout the day.
Explore and Play
Meet Your Backyard! Join a casual, all-ages exploration of the forest edge with Michael Clough of Rockhopper Outdoor Education, looking at local plants and animals and connecting what you might see to what is in your own backyard.
Under the festival tents, join us in the kids activity zone. Get ready to play, have fun, and discover!
Try Your Luck!
50/50 Raffle at $10 a ticket or 6 for $50.
- or -
Win a private animal experience at the Pool Nature Center! Free to enter.
Visit our raffle table at the event for more information.
Program Schedule
Ongoing activities include scenic chair lift (tickets through Mount Snow), animal encounters, kids activity zone, food vendors, and education tables.
10:00 - Gates open
10:30 - Colors of the Wild presentation by VMNH
11:30 - Meet Your Backyard guided walk* with Rockhopper Outdoor Education
12:30 - Raptors Up Close presentation by VINS
1:30 - Our Wild Neighborhood presentation by VMNH
2:25 - Raffle drawing
2:30 - The Human Animal guided walk** with Rockhopper Outdoor Education
4:00 - Festival ends
* Meet Your Backyard guided walk: Michael Clough of Rockhopper Outdoor Education will lead us on a casual stroll around the forest edge to look at the local plants and animals of Mount Snow and discuss what might be in your back yard. We will explore the use of iNaturalist as an identification tool and also as a way to participate in community science. Downloading the iNaturalist app is recommended but not required.
** The Human Animal guided walk: Ever wonder how humans managed to survive in the world before cars and grocery stores? How about before the domestication of animals, farming, or bows and arrows? Join Rockhopper Outdoor Education founder, Michael Clough, to learn about the adaptations that made human beings one of the most successful animals on the planet. We'll look at fire making, some stone tools, edible plants and finish up trying our hand at the atlatl, a 20,000 year old hunting tool that changed everything for human expansion.
If you are joining a walk, it will be useful to have sturdy shoes, dress for the weather, and prevent ticks by tucking long pants into socks. Feel free to download the iNaturalist app before you arrive so you'll be ready to identify the wildlife around you!
Plan Your Visit
Hours: 10am - 4pm
Admission: Admission by donation. Note: some vendors prefer cash for merchandise or food items. Venmo may be accepted. An ATM is on the resort grounds.
Parking: FREE. Follow signage to Lot C. From there it is a short walk to the festival entrance.
Lot C is most easily accessed by taking the North Access Road, the 2nd entrance to Mount Snow from Route 100 when heading north. Be on the lookout for signs.
Chairlift Ride: Separate fee. Tickets available online or at Mount Snow.
Food: Food and beverages will be available from local vendors such as Mama Maria's Gyros, 802 Soul Food and More, Shital's Indian Cuisine, Boy Scout Troop 461, and Letti's Besitos Taqueria.
Weather: Festival is under large tents. Rain or shine, we'll see you there!
Dogs: Leashed dogs are allowed on the resort property, but for the safety and comfort of our animal ambassadors we ask you to keep them away from live animal exhibits and presentation areas.
Who You'll Meet
American Chestnut Foundation
Awesome Animal Academy
BEEC: Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center
Boy Scouts #461
CROC: Christina's Reptiles and Other Critters
CT River Conservancy
Ecological Land Management
Feral by Nature - Artist
Grafton Nature Museum
Martha Haskins
Master Gardeners
Master Gardeners SE Chapter
Medical Reserve Corp
Jonathan Otto, author of Child of the Wild book series
Pettee Memorial Library
Rockhopper Outdoor Education
Strengthen Your Mind: Fly Fishing
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Vermont Museum of Natural History
Vermont Mycological Society
Vermont Wilderness School
VINS: Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District
Jen Wood - Artist
Thank you to our sponsors!
About the Vermont Museum of Natural History
The Vermont Museum of Natural History brings the rich diversity of Vermont's wildlife and natural world to life through hands-on educational programs, natural history collections, and live animal ambassadors. Currently based at the Pool Nature Center in Marlboro, the Museum is preparing for an exciting new chapter.
