Big Deer State Park is located in the Groton State Forest Recreation Area close to the Groton Nature Center, Boulder Beach State Park, and Stillwater State Park.

As early as 1704, Native Americans and the French were using routes through Groton to reach Canada and Massachusetts. Colonists settled this area of Vermont slightly earlier than the rest of the state due to the accessible network of waterways.

The rocky, tree-covered hillsides were originally cloaked with white pine, spruce, hemlock, beech, maple, and birch. These were logged by local farmers for lumber, fuel, and potash. The logging industry was large-scale for almost 100 years while the railroad was operating.

Today, logging is still a vital industry in the area but has lost some of its dominance in favor of modern society’s leisure time movement – private cottages, seasonal homes, and a variety of outdoor recreation activities.

Groton State Forest, with over 26,000 acres, is the second-largest landholding administered by the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. It contains over 17 miles of hiking trails and over 20 miles of gravel roads and multi-use trails suitable for mountain biking and horseback riding.

The acquisition of Groton State Forest began in 1919. The Forest is managed for timber resources, wildlife habitat, and recreational activities. Many rare, threatened, and endangered plants and animals occur in the Forest. The most sensitive species are associated with the cliffs, bogs and swamps, lakes, and forests around lakes.

Groton State Forest is home to seven state parks, the Groton Nature Center, and eight lakes and ponds. The area was once home to 12 sawmills and remnants are still visible. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was instrumental in developing the area, constructing roads, trails, fire lookouts, and picnic shelters, and planting trees within the forest. Glaciers covered the area 10,000 years ago and their retreat created the mountainous terrain mixed with streams, ponds, bogs, and wetlands.

Groton State Forest is also home to several state-designated natural areas, such as Peacham Bog Natural Area (748 acres) and Lords Hill Natural Area (25 acres).

Groton State Forest is open for varied and dispersed recreation, including but not limited to camping, hiking, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, trapping, horseback riding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. The Montpelier and Wells River Railroad bed was converted to a multi-use trail and is part of the Cross Vermont Trail. Snowmobiling is allowed on designated VAST trails.