The Next Outdoor Playgrounds

by Shelley Pembroke | Mar 6, 2022 | Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

The State of Vermont recently made one of the biggest state-wide investments in outdoor recreation in its history. On Monday, March 28, Gov. Phil Scott announced that $4,549,313 in grants from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) had been awarded to municipalities and nonprofit organizations around the state for projects to enhance outdoor recreation and foster economic growth.

Over the next two years, the VOREC Community Grant Program will bring to life 24 outdoor recreation projects. Some examples: One grant will revive the 150-year-old Danville train station as an information hub for visitors on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. Another will help Montpelier explore the feasibility of a whitewater park for paddlers. Still another will provide scholarships for youth who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to take sailing lessons in Burlington.

Ludlow will build a skatepark. Killington will get a new single track cross-country mountain bike trail. Marlboro will build new trails … the list goes on.  

Grants will also go to statewide organizations such as the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance, the Town of Randolph and the Vermont Huts Association, and the Vermont River Conservancy and White River Partnership. Many outdoor communities proposed worthy projects that met the $50,000 minimum grant-ask threshold. In fact, 103 ideas were submitted, totaling $21.5 million in requested funding.  

As Jackie Dagger, VOREC Program Manager, notes: “The grant program is intended to support VOREC’s vision of a network of communities across Vermont supported by thriving local economies that are organized on five key principles: 1) To grow outdoor recreation-related business,  2) Increase participation in outdoor recreation among all demographics, 3) Strengthen the quality and extent of outdoor recreation resources, 4) Increase stewardship of outdoor recreation and environmental quality and 5) Promote and enjoy the health and wellness benefits of outdoor recreation.”  

The grant program was established as a pilot program in 2018 with the passage of Act 194. In 2019, $100,000 in grants were awarded to two communities. Newport received $35,000 to build a trail connecting Prouty Beach and Bluffside Farm—a critical piece of the city’s larger Waterfront Recreation Trail and Lake Access project. 

The town of Randolph was awarded $65,000 to help the Ridgeline Outdoor Collective (then called RASTA) build The Trail Hub information center, as well as signage, maps and trails.  

In 2020, a new round of grants awarded $200,000 to seven additional communities. All nine VOREC communities were featured in “The New Basecamps,” an outdoor recreation and business guide that appeared in Vermont Sports thanks to a partnership between the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance (VOBA), the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM), and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. 

Thanks to another partnership among those groups, this guide features 11 communities and 3 statewide projects that are receiving the next round of VOREC Community Grants. The best part?  Governor Phil Scott has recommended that another $5 million be allocated to the program and the Vermont Legislature is on track to support this same amount for another year. 

“Vermont’s natural beauty, combined with outdoor recreation opportunities, are economic engines for our state and a driving force for why people visit and live in Vermont,” say Gov.  Scott. “These grants will help continue to connect trails to downtown centers, develop new recreation assets and promote all we have to offer.” From (roughly) north to south, here are 11 of the places that were VOREC grant winners. The remaining 10 will be featured in a fall issue. 

1. Derby

When it comes to outdoor recreation, there is always something going on in Derby.  Kingdom Games holds dozens of swimming, biking and running events in the region starting in February with the Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival (a 25 meter swimming pool cut in the ice of Lake Memphremagog) and ending in October with the Fly to Pie Kingdom Marathon. Each spring, Kingdom Games hosts the Dandelion Run which starts at Derby’s Beach House on Lake Salem with options to do distances up to a half marathon. On July 4th, the Harry Corrow Freedom Run on the Newport-Derby Bike Path covers 3.5 of the 20 miles of the beautiful Memphremagog Trails.  In the winter, those same trails are groomed for skiers and snowshoers.  

The lakes and rivers of Derby are popular with boaters and anglers as well. Paddlers on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail can follow the Clyde River and traverse several of Derby’s small lakes including Lake Salem and Charleston Pond. 

Clyde River Canoe Rentals can help set up a trip, rent boats or provide shuttle services for anyone wanting to do a longer stretch of the NFCT. They also offer 5-mile and 16-mile paddle trips—shuttle, boats and gear provided. Pick up a copy of the Clyde River Paddling & Fishing Guide (available from the Northwoods Stewardship Center).

The Clyde is, of course, known for its fishing, too, with a stretch near Newport, holding landlocked salmon –a species that was once prolific here – as well as brook and brown trout. Guides from all over Vermont often head to the Clyde.  

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: The Derby Fish & Game Club will use its $173,000 grant to help rebuild a 100-year-old dam on Kid’s Pond off Route 5.  At no charge, the pond introduces children to the sport of fishing and provides seniors with accessibility issues a place to continue to fish. Plans also include making the facility accessible to all with a platform where a wheelchair can be securely locked in place for fishing.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: For fishing and hunting gear, stop in at Wright’s Sports Shop. The Derby Line Village Inn is an old Victorian inn furnished in period antiques and is also a local’s favorite for weekend dinners. The East Side is the spot to go to for dinner on the water. If you are up for a drive, the peaceful and updated cottages at Quimby Country are about a half hour east on Great Averill Lake. Quimby Country is America’s oldest sporting camp. Stay in one of the lakeside cottages or sign up for guided activities that include fly fishing, rock climbing and mountain biking. For a fishing guide, Gibb’s Guides out of Island Pond is the local expert. 

2. St. Johnsbury

For some, St. Johnsbury at the junction of I-91 and I-93, is a place to stop on the way to bike Kingdom Trails. But that’s not giving the cultural epicenter of the Northeast Kingdom its due. St. Johnsbury is home to gems like the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum,and Catamount Film and Arts. 

Now, with the completion of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail due this year, there’s a new reason to make this a destination. By the end of 2022, you will be able to bike 93 miles from its terminus in St. Johnsbury all the way to Swanton, near the Canadian border on New England’s longest rail trail. 

The gravel trail follows the old railroad route which was designed to take passengers from Portland, Maine, across the northern states to Ogdensburg, N.Y. on Lake Ontario. 

The railbed has been resurfaced with firm gravel to make a perfect, car-free route for cyclists, walkers, skiers, snowmobilers and snowshoers. 

And there are plenty of resources for cyclists of all kinds in St. Johnsbury. LINK Vermont is a nonprofit workspace for bicycle repair and maintenance. In summer 2022, they’ll be located in a popup space at the former Caplan’s Army Navy Store, hosting bike repair services, a bike and outdoor gear lending library in partnership with NEK Prosper!, build-a-bike workshops, swaps, and other activities. All Around Rental in St. Johnsbury Center just added E-bikes to their fleet and delivers them to the LVRT trailhead.  Lamoille Valley Bike Tours will also be expanding to offer rail trail tours, as well as bike and E-bike rentals in St. Johnsbury.

For a touring guide, meet local Fritz Fay of Land Animal Adventures who hosts a weekly no-drop gravel ride for all levels on Tuesday nights  that meets at the Trailhead Pavilion.  You can also explore a brand new, 1.7 mile flow trail scheduled to open in early June in the Town Forest; a project led by the Caledonia Trail Collaborative. New to mountain biking? Contact professional mountain bike instructors Joe Fox and Bryna McCarty of Noble Fox Adventures to schedule a tour or skills clinic.

But don’t be too quick to bike (or ski) out of town. Make a pilgrimage to nearby Dog Mountain, a 150-acre property with trails, a gallery, and a dog chapel that the late artist Stephen Hunek turned into a tribute to all things canine. Walk the trails, or enjoy live summer concerts.

Catamount Arts aslo puts on live performances that range from hip hop to poetry readings to classical concerts. 

What the VOREC Grant will do: St. Johnsbury will use its $128,00 to develop signage and wayfinding for cyclists and pedestrians to use the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT). The grant will also help start a bike lending library and free or low-cost bike, snowshoe, and exercise programs and gear.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop There are plenty of places to stay in in St. Johnsbury like the dog-friendly Comfort Inn or the Cherry St. B&B, or splurge and head just 10 miles east to the luxurious Rabbit Hill Inn.  For an after-bike brew head to Whirligig Brewing and the Taco Poco onsite taqueria. For drinks, try the St. Johnsbury Distillery’s cocktails and  Kingdom Taproom’s craft beers and for food, Table features farm-to-table fare. St. J. also has some amazing diners, including Salt Bistro and Pica Pica Fillipino Cuisine. 

3. Danville

You might know Danville as the home of Joe’s Pond, the roughly 400-acre pond (well stocked with fish) where locals bet on when the ice will melt out each spring, a ritual that has helped track Vermont’s changing climate. Or you might have lost yourself once or twice in The Great Vermont Corn Maze. At 24 acres it’s New England’s largest and draws crowds from August through September when the corn is head high. 

Or maybe you’ve headed to Danville to take a course with , an outfit that offers one-day classes to train arborists, saddle hunters and anyone who wants to learn the techniques of climbing trees without harming them. After, you might head to the town green and catch one of the free family movie evenings with classic favorites projected on a big screen and free popcorn.  

Want to learn another important skill? Just a few miles south in Peacham, Train NEK offers SOLO-certifying Rural and Backcountry Medicine courses including Wilderness First Aid and CPR.

Thanks to a VOREC grant, the 150-year-old Danville Train Station is being reimagined as a hub to guide visitors and anyone exploring the four-season Lamoille Valley Rail Trail to all there is to do in the area.  This spring cyclists and hikers can use the 15-mile completed Section 1A between St. Johnsbury and Danville and soon they will be able to continue west from Danville to Morrisville, Johnson and all the way to Swanton. Lamoille Valley Bike Tours of Johnson offers rentals—including e-bikes—and shuttle services all the way to St. Johnsbury.  

Danville also holds the title as the Vermont town with the most miles of dirt roads (102 miles), which makes it a gravel riding dream. If you who want to try some of the other gorgeous bike routes in the area, sign up for the nearby Peacham Fall Fondo (Sept. 24), a fun community-minded bike ride on the region’s back roads put on by former Tour de France pro and Unbound gravel race winner and Peacham resident Ian Boswell. The best part? It has an aid station that’s stocked with homemade apple pies. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: The $97,650 VOREC grant will help create a transportation and recreation hub in the former Danville Train Station. The hub will offer amenities such as ADA bathrooms and information about the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT) as well as other outdoor recreation, attractions, and businesses within a 10-mile radius.

 Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: Stay at the three-bedroom Emergo Farm Bed & Breakfast, a sixth-generation working dairy farm on 200 acres that’s a mile from the rail trail or the four-room Danville Restaurant & Inn in the village.  For pub fare and a Little Devil IPA head to Red Barn Brewing on Route 2. After a ride, refuel with Vermont comfort food such as fried chicken and waffles and a spiked switchel at Three Ponds’ new location on the town green or order the daily special at the family-run The Creamery. For lunch, pick up a sandwich or panini at Bentley’s Bakery and Café.

4. Champlain Islands

For a different view of Vermont, bike the Island Line Trail from Burlington to the Champlain Islands. The Island Line follows the narrow Colchester Causeway, the old railroad bed that crosses Mallett’s Bay. Riders or walkers then take the bike ferry run by Local Motion across the narrow cut to South Hero. Just 14 miles from Vermont’s biggest city you’ll find a very different world. 

Grand Isle and North Hero islands –connected by bridges—are marked by low terrain, farm fields and orchards. The islands are a popular biking destination with quiet roads, a rural landscape and beaches such as  White’s Beach, where you can cool off. The Champlain Islands Bikeways Brochure offers a number of suggested routes, including ones that will take you by the Birdhouse Forest (yes, a forest populated by birdhouses) or Stone Castles, which passes miniature castles made from pebbles and stones. On Isle La Motte, explore the 85-acre Goodsell Ridge Fossil Preserve where you can take a self-guided tour of fossils that date back 480 million years.  

For more adventures, Lake Champlain’s Inland Sea offers protected waters for paddling. From North Hero, stock up at the North Hero General Store and you can kayak out to Woods Island and Knight Island State Parks for an overnight at one of the park system’s remote campsites and lean-tos. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: Grand Isle County’s VOREC grant of $99,726 will allow partners in South Hero to develop a plan for safe and connected biking and walking routes, connected to the increase in traffic from the Local Motion Bike Ferry. The region plans to build a new website portal with an interactive map as well as improve signage, safety outreach and education, and organize events.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop:  Snow Farm Winery and Ellison Vineyards have tasting rooms where you can taste some of Vermont’s top wines, with live music on occasion. Stop for a pie or a pastry at DonnaSue Bakes on Grand Isle, an honor-system shack that serves up baked treats. The Blue Paddle Bistro in South Hero has been a local’s favorite for fine dining for years and Hero’s Welcome General Store is a classic general store. Just next door, spend the night at The North Hero House with views of the lake, or paddle out to a campsite on one of the state park campgrounds on Knight, Woods or Burton islands. 

5. Burlington

For a small city, Burlington packs in big recreation with beaches and parks, climbing gyms and outdoor retailers all within walking distance. Stroll along the waterfront on the Burlington Greenway, (a bike path that runs from downtown all the way to the Champlain Islands) and you will come to the Community Sailing Center, which provides access to boats ranging from SUPs to keelboats. The boats rent at low-cost and some are equipped for people with disabilities. 

Just past the sailing center is the world-class A-Dog Skatepark. North Beach, just a bit farther north, is where Burlington locals stretch out their beach towels or rent SUPs from Paddlesurf Lake Champlain. North Beach also has its own campground, as well as a sandy beach—one of three in the city. 

On the other side of the bay, to the south, the Burlington Surf Club has regular SUP events, and windsurfers and other watercraft to play with. Nearby, Petra Cliffs’ indoor climbing gym is where everyone can learn to climb. For expert climbers, Lone Rock Point, which juts out into Lake Champlain, is home to one of the most scenic crags in New England and has a series of wooded trails that parallel the cliffy shoreline. 

And if all that isn’t enough? Rent a bike from Local Motion, Skirack or Outdoor Gear Exchange and you can cruise all the way to the Champlain Islands on the bike path. 

What the VOREC Grants will do: Burlington’s $300,000 VOREC grant will help fund a pilot project that will offer low and no-cost gear, such as camping equipment and bike rentals through Burlington Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. It will also provide scholarships for sailing camps for youth who identify as BIPOC. Some of the funds will go to building an urban bike park in Leddy Park and a boardwalk on the Wetlands Walk at the Ethan Allen Homestead near the Winooski River. 

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop:  Burlington has a wealth of shops, such as Outdoor Gear Exchange, Skirack and WNDNWVS that will outfit you for just about any outdoor adventure. After a day on the water or the waterfront, stop in for a sunset tropical cocktail by the lake at The Beach House VT at North Beach State Park or at Splash by the docks on the Burlington waterfront. Or go for a cruise on the lake on the Spirit of Ethan Allen. After, check into Hotel Vermont or camp out at the North Beach campground. 

6. Montpelier

Thanks to its many parks and trails, Montpelier has been growing as a recreation destination. From just behind the Statehouse you can take a short hike to one of the best views in Vermont from Hubbard Park’s stone tower. Completed in 1930, the tower is on the National Register of Historic Places and provides sweeping views of the Green Mountains, the Worcester Range, and east to New Hampshire. Hubbard Park also offers miles of trails for exploring, biking, and hiking. 

North Branch River Park, a 200-acre park, follows the North Branch of the Winooski River just outside of town. You can find wide paths for walking along the river and thrilling mountain bike trails up on the hill — there is something for everyone. Head across the pedestrian bridge at the north end of the park to access the North Branch Nature Center, an outdoor education center that hosts year-round events and programming on their 28-acre nature preserve. For an even longer adventure, head north out of the park on the Sparrow Farm Trail and you can walk/bike all the way to East Montpelier. 

Montpelier’s Siboinebi Recreation Path is a 4.5-mile paved, accessible path that cuts right through the heart of downtown. It follows the Winooski River the whole way, and is a great place to see the river, teach a kid to ride a bike, or just go for a stroll with a friend. You can access it on the west end from the Dog River Recreation Area, on the east end from Old Country Club Rd., or park downtown and head either direction. 

The Winooski cuts through the center of town and the upstream section of river between Marshfield and the city has Class II and Class III rapids. The new VOREC grant will help explore the possibility of building a whitewater park. 

For boaters and SUP’ers, there’s also Wrightsville Reservoir. Just 5 miles outside of town, the nearly two-mile long reservoir has a beach area that rents boats, a separate boat launch and a disc golf course. Motorboats are allowed on the southern end of the reservoir. Head north for a quieter paddle and swim, and for some great bird and wildlife watching.

After a day on the trails or on the water, head downtown. Onion River Outdoors organizes a host of events, ranging from gravel rides like the Muddy Onion, to bike swaps and mountain bike clinics, to regular shop rides and runs. Right next door, ROAM has a top selection of apparel and there are no shortage of places to go for a beer and the city has a an impressive selection of restaurants that feature international cuisine. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: Montpelier will use its $213,000 VOREC grant to hire the Montpelier Youth Conservation Corps to build two connector trails that will strengthen the downtown’s connection to existing trails and recreation assets and to design an urban Whitewater Park. The funds will also help create promotional videos and an adventure guide.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: Book a room at the Capitol Plaza hotel downtown or the Inn at Montpelier and then plan a day and a night on the town. There’s everything from authentic Thai at Wilaiwan’s Kitchen to Italian fare served with a riverside view at Sarducci’s. For drinks, hit the Three Penny Taproom for a huge selection of local brews or stop by Gin Lane where Caledonia Spirits distills its now world-famous Barr Hill gin and its bar serves up cocktails. 

7. Mad River Valley

It’s hard to imagine what you could add to the Mad River Valley to make it a better destination for outdoor recreation. Sugarbush Resort has skiing in the winter. In the summer, it hosts lift-served downhill mountain biking, an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Sr. golf course and disc golf. Plus, there are regular afternoon corn hole competitions with wood-fired pizzas and live music at its Lincoln Peak plaza. 

Mad River Glen may not run its lifts in the summer but its slopes are there for hiking and General Stark’s Pub for refueling after. And you can hike past both ski areas, from Lincoln Gap, all the way to Appalachian Gap on the Long Trail with big views west to Lake Champlain and east across the Mad River Valley. 

Summer is a time to savor here. It’s Cool off in the pools and cascades at Warren Falls or rent an SUP and paddle around the still waters of Blueberry Lake. It’s when you can wade deep into the Mad River and catch a sizable trout on a fly rod or go soaring with Sugarbush Soaring.  Or simply meander on the Mad River Path, a system of public pathways that connect the towns of Warren, Waitsfield, Fayston and Moretown. 

It’s the time road cyclists make a point of testing themselves on both “Gap” rides, knowing that the steepest paved mile in America is on Lincoln Peak.  Increasingly, the Mad River Valley is a mountain biking destination. The Mad River Riders has worked to create a network of nearly 60 miles of trails that link and loop throughout the Valley and now connect up to the downhill trails at Sugarbush Resort.  The Valley’s network includes the beginner-friendly Blueberry Lake trails in the Green Mountain National Forest, classic technical trails at Eurich Pond, Chase Brook Town Forest, Camel’s Hump and Phen Basin State Forests, and flowy classics starting at Lareau Farm.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do:  The $408,019 grant “represents one of the largest investments in outdoor recreation in the history of the Mad River Valley,” says Eric Friedman, executive director of the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce. The funds will go toward developing a recreation hub with a welcome center with parking and restrooms. The hub will act as a jump off point for the surrounding trails. The project will also build a new pedestrian bike bridge across the Mill Brook with a new crosswalk across Route 100 to link the hub to Waitsfield’s walkable downtown.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: The Valley is famous for its home-grown food and beverages. After a day on the bike, stop at Lareau Farm for American Flatbread’s specials topped with produce grown out back and local meats and cheeses. Mad Taco and Canteen Creemee are must stops, as in a pilgrimage to Lawson’s Finest Liquid’s brewery and pub. Rent a bike at Sugarbush or get yours tuned up at Stark Mountain Bikeworks. 

8.  Vergennes 

Halfway between the urban bustle of Burlington and the college town of Middlebury lies the city of Vergennes. One of Vermont’s 9 cities, Vergennes combines the best of city and country life with an historic opera house and plenty of boutiques and restaurants. Large Victorian homes line one side of the main street with boutiques, galleries and cafes such as the acclaimed Black Sheep Bistro and the Vergennes Laundry bakery on the other. Vergennes is something of a foodie town with Daily Chocolate, lu.lu. ice creams and Shacksbury craft ciders all calling this place home. 

Vergennes is also a good jumping off point to burn any calories you consume in town.  From downtown, head west  for a bike ride through gorgeous farm country toward Kingsland Bay State Park, where you can camp or launch a kayak and navigate the rocky points that jut into Lake Champlain. Continue on to Basin Harbor Club where you can dine with views of Lake Champlain or play golf on its beautiful 18-hole golf course, which is open to the public. Just south of the city, hike up Snake Mountain for spectacular views of the Champlain Valley, all the way across to the Adirondacks. In the spring and fall, watch for the thousands of snow geese that land in the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area during migrations. 

The Otter Creek flows through the middle of Vergennes. Falls Park and Macdonough Park, located on either side of Otter Creek just under Vergennes Falls, offer a beautiful view of the falls as well as picnic tables and grills and prime fishing opportunities. 

Boats can follow the Otter Creek from Lake Champlain all the way to Vergennes, the farthest navigable point, and tie up at the town docks, just steps from downtown’s restaurants, shops, and brewery. Check the maps for the Addison County Bike Club and you can find a small network of mountain bike trails off Comfort Hill St. or visit their website to find out about group rides and other events.

Should you need help with your bike, Little City Cycles specializes in saving old bikes. Owner, Tim Mathewson, builds, repairs, rents, and sells all types of bicycles and accessories. It is also home to Green Mountain Foster Bikes, a nonprofit whose mission is to give foster children bicycles to ride. Or head to Frog Hollow Bikes in Middlebury. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: The Vergennes Connector Trail East will create a universally accessible trail between New Haven Rd. and Monkton Rd. The 2,300 feet of trail will cross city and school owned lands creating a major link in the proposed Vergennes Pedestrian Loop around the city and includes a boardwalk to span Mossy Brook near the southern end. 

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: Check into The Basin Harbor Resort on Lake Champlain or stay at the historic Strong House, a 14-room bed-and-breakfast set on five acres of gardens. Go for pub fare at Antidote and try whatever is on tap at its on-site hyper-local Hired Hand Brewing, which sources all of its ingredients from within 20 miles. If you need some Skida wear or Darn Tough Socks, Linda’s Apparel and the Men’s Corner have you covered and boutiques such as Malabar, Ten Stones and Blue Lily are great places for gifts. 

9. Killington

Killington, the largest ski resort in the East, is now also the biggest downhill bike park in the East. With more than 35 miles of lift-served mountain biking, The Beast of the East has become known as the place to go to learn to downhill, to perfect your skills or compete at its many events.

But it’s not all about the downhill.  Since 2015 the town of Killington has been working to build out its cross-country trails. 

At present, you can ride downhill at the ski resort or head to the Kent Pond area for some mellower but also fun trails. You’ll find beginner and intermediate cross-country trails at Sherburne Trails or more advanced ones at Base Camp Trails. Together, those trails represent about 15 miles of singletrack.

Kent Pond is also a favorite destination for paddling an SUP or canoe or fishing. Just across Route 100 from Kent Pond, Gifford Woods State Park has campsites, cabins, and lean-tos you can rent. 

Of course, there are a million other ways to recreate in Killington from hiking the trails or the Long Trail which crosses Route 4, to trying the resorts’ Wrecktangle obstacle course. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: The $75,000 grant will go toward building a 3.4-mile single-track cross-country mountain bike trail, from Gifford Woods State Park toward the Velomont trail.  It will also help create a new a kiosk and wayfinding and a new trail map. The new addition of 3.4 miles of trail be one of the longest flow trails in the state and move closer to connecting with the proposed Velomont Trail which will connect Killington to the Green Mountain Trails to Rochester so you can ride off-road the whole way.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: For hotels, the Killington Grand, on the mountain, is right on the downhill trails or check into the newly renovated Killington Mountain Lodge which sits on the sixth hole of the par 72 championship Killington golf course. For outdoor shops, try First Stop Board and Barn, Base Camp or Alpine Bike Works. For food, The Foundry has fancier fare or try any of the many eateries on the Killington access road.

10. West Pawlet & Rupert

While a lot of attention has been given to the completion of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail in the northern part of the state, many folks are not even aware that the D&H Rail Trail makes for great riding from Castleton south to Rupert.

Little to no bike or foot traffic, open meadows, and a goat farm with a self-serve cheese stand are just a few of the things that make the Delaware & Hudson Line rail trail one of the most interesting and beautiful trails in the state. The northern section goes about 10 miles from Castleton to Poultney, where you can connect to the Slate Valley Trails network of mountain bike trail and gravel routes. The crushed-stone and gravel trail then dips into New York and is interrupted with a 4-mile gap where it crosses private land before starting up again in Granville. 

Perhaps the most scenic part of the trail though starts in West Pawlet and heads south to Rupert. Here the trail crosses broad meadows with big views of the Taconic range. The trail passes small streams and goes by the 300-acre Consider Bardwell farm where you can stop and buy some of their renowned cheeses and watch the goats cavort. 

In Rupert, stop at Sherman’s Store, which dates back to the 1850s or the historic Sheldon Store, nearby, which has been newly revived as a community hub and café. 

Ride back to West Pawlet or if you have two cars, do a shuttle. Save some energy to hike up Haystack Mountain, just north of West Pawlet for huge views to New York and the Green Mountains. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do:  West Pawlet and the town of Rupert will use their $80,212 grant to help alleviate parking issues near the D&H Rail Trail by designating new parking areas and improving existing parking lots.

Stay/Play/Eat/Shop: Rent one of the rustic cabins, shelters or dispersed campsites at Merck Forest & Farmland Center, set on 3,200 acres.  For bike gear, Analog Cycles is the place to stop if you are coming from the north or Battenkill Bikes, in Manchester if coming from the south. There is no shortage of great local food. In Pawlet stop in at Mach’s Market (yes, Mach’s) where organic sweet treats are baked in a wood-fired oven and most of the provisions are local. For a fine local meal, head to The Barn in Pawlet or The Station. 

11. Marlboro 

Marlboro is a town that is reinventing itself. In 2021, the campus of Marlboro College was purchased by The Marlboro School of Music which has been putting on music festivals in the town for more than 70 years. Once a ski area, Hogback Mountain now has a brewery at its summit and the mountain itself attracts backcountry skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer who come for the 100-mile views from the summit.   

Halfway between Brattleboro and Wilmington and Mount Snow  (where downhill mountain biking is big in the summer), Marlboro is a great summer destination, with wild areas to explore. Thanks to the VOREC grant, Marlboro’s Southern Vermont Natural History Museum is building out a new trail system with accessible trails and gardens and will be creating more programs to help people learn about the natural world.  

The museum currently hosts talks with top wildlife experts in the state and owns  600 mounted specimens of native northeastern birds and mammals – the largest in the state — as well as live birds of prey, reptiles, and various other critters. 

Nature abounds in this region. A biologist who recently completed an inventory of the 600-acre Hogback Mountain Conservation Area found 11 amphibian/reptile species, 22 mammals, 80 birds, and close to a hundred insect species use the area. Among that list: moose, bear, beaver and raptors. 

If you want to see wildlife, try paddling Harriman Reservoir early in the morning. A short drive from Marlboro, Harriman Reservoir is the largest body of water that is entirely in Vermont. The reservoir stretches north/south for about 10 miles with undeveloped shoreline. The reservoir caters to everyone from paddlers and SUP’ers to the clothing-optional bathers who congregate at The Ledges (be forewarned). While there is no camping on the reservoir, set up a tent in Molly Stark State Park, where you can climb to the top of the Mt. Olga firetower for big views. 

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: The $62,000 grant will help build a new trail system, including a section that is accessible, with signage and connections to existing trails. The museum also plans to create a sensory garden and a natural playground. The grant will also help provide rentals and loaner gear such as snowshoes, binoculars, field guides, and other environmental education materials.

Stay/Eat/Play/Shop: To explore the Harriman Reservoir, High Country Marine in Wilmington rents everything from SUPs and kayaks to pontoon boats and speedboats. Rent bikes (downhill or other) at Mount Snow and ride its downhill trails. Taste local libations at Vermont Distillers and Beer Naked Brewery, both right in Marlboro. There are many great places to stay ranging from the historic Crafts Inn or Wilmington Inn to the Shearer Hill Farm B&B, situated on a working farm in Marlboro. One of the best bike shops in the region is West Hill Shop, out of Putney and for outdoor gear, head into Brattleboro to Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters.

Explore VT From These 8 New Basecamps

by Shelley Pembroke | Nov 27, 2020 | Lifestyle, Outdoor Recreation

This will be the winter to explore Vermont and find new places to play outdoors. Thanks to a RESTART grant, the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance (VOBA) (a statewide non-profit dedicated to strengthening, expanding, attracting and retaining outdoor recreation businesses in Vermont) teamed up with Vermont Sports to profile emerging recreation regions. In the last two years, the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) has given out Community Grants, totaling $300,000, to help nine communities fully leverage their outdoor recreation assets.  Here’s what’s going on in these regions and what the grants will do for regions, north to south.

1. Newport, VT : Where The Lake Comes to Life

As the ice starts to glaze over Lake Memphremagog, Newport puts away its kayaks and bikes and rolls up its sleeves for its second season: winter. The Orleans County city has a population of just over 4,000 and it feels like everyone turns out when the lake hardens.

Pond hockey tournaments pop up. Folks gather around small bonfires. Parents pull their kids on sleds. Skaters follow a path that connects outdoor rinks in Gardner’s Park. As soon as the snow falls, cross country skiers glide along the 25 kilometers of groomed routes at Memphremagog Trails.

The last weekend of February the town will bustle as folks from around the state turn up  for Winter Festival (still on the schedule). “We have chuck-a-puck, horse-drawn sleigh rides,  sledding on the hill near Prouty Beach, bonfires along the shoreline and fireworks,” says Jessica Booth, Newport Parks & Recreation Director.

That weekend is also typically the time when Kingdom Games hosts its famous Winter Swim competition with top swimmers racing laps in a “pool” that’s cut out of the ice on Lake Memphremagog.

All winter long you can hear the hum of snowmobiles buzzing on the network of VAST (Vermont Association of Snow Travelers) trails that crisscross the region. “I think we are the only city that has groomed trails that go right into town,” says Booth. “You can literally ride your snowmachines right to one of our restaurants and on nice days in the winter you’ll see dozens of snowmobiles parked outside The East Side where they have outdoor dining and an ice bar.”

Shop: The Great Outdoors which rents kayaks and bikes in the summer switches over to skis, snowboards and ice skates in the winter. Wright’s Sports Shop has been serving local anglers and hunters for 30 years. Pick and Shovel has everything from Muck Boots and Carhartts to apparel . To find bargains on quality bike gear, head to Louis Garneau’s factory outlet and U.S. headquarters on Route 5 in Derby.

Eat/Drink: Watch all the action on the lake from your table at The East Side, a shore-side restaurant and pub that serves up dinner specials such as a Fried Fisherman’s Platter and Roast Duck. It also has an antiques and gift shop.

After a day out on the trails or lake, stop in for a pizza, sub or pasta at Hoagies—a Newport staple since 1966. Lagos has fine dining and don’t miss the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center where you can sample local cheeses, bakery treats, brews, jams and more or try farm-fresh fare at the Warehouse Restaurant.

Stay: Downtown, the Newport City Inn & Suites is a comfortable motel with an indoor pool and small fitness center.  Newport has a number of cozy B&Bs that are steps to the lake such as the Little Gnesta (closed in winter, though), and if you want a bit of old-world elegance (think fireplaces and four-poster beds), head to the Derby Line Village Inn.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: In 2019, Newport received a $35,000 VOREC grant for a critical trail connection and boardwalk project between Prouty Beach and Bluffside Farm, a 129-acre dairy farm on the lake that was acquired by the Vermont Land Trust in 2015.

More info: Discover Newport

2. Brighton/Island Pond: The Wild, Wild Northeast

The village of Island Pond was once a bustling railway stop with 16 tracks, the historic midway point between Portland, Me. and Montreal. Now, the hum of engines you might hear in winter is from snowmobiles as the area bills itself as the snowmobiling and hunting capital of Vermont.

With more than 125 miles of groomed VAST trails, it’s a reputation that’s well deserved. The trails, maintained by the Brighton Snowmobile Club, fan across miles of undeveloped land in the most northeastern corner of the state, a place that has few roads and fewer towns.

But there is a lot more going on here in terms of outdoor recreation. Brighton/Island Pond is also the jumping off point for exploring the Nulhegan Basin section of the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge—more than 26,600 acres of forest interspersed with wetlands, peatlands and shrub swamps, lined by three of the four tributaries of the Nulhegan River. Hunting is permitted in several sections of the refuge and it’s not uncommon to come across moose, bear, deer, fisher, coyote, grouse and snowshoe hare. The refuge is also an important stopover for migratory birds in the spring and fall.

From the Silvio O. Conte visitor contact station in Brunswick, you can head out on a number of short interpretative trails. This section of the refuge also  has 40 miles of gravel roads that are open until mid-December. After that, many become part of the VAST trail network for snow travelers.

In the warmer months, this area has scenic sections of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, connecting from the Clyde to the Connecticut River. In 2017, the Vermont Huts Association built the 14- by 18-foot Nulhegan Confluence Hut on the river, a short walk or ski in from Route 105. The cabin is open year-round, by reservation, and has access to miles of VAST trails for snowmobiling or skiing

Nature lovers should also stop off at the NorthWoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston, just west of Island Pond. A  non-profit devoted to conservation and education, the center hosts classes in everything from mountain bike skills to leadership programs to wilderness survival workshops – including one billed as the “Yeti Challenge.”

The Center owns more than 1,500 acres where it does sustainable forestry and habitat management and also hosts a number of “challenges.”  The NEK Peak Bagging Challenge is one you can do on your own, scaling the Center’s list of more than 20 peaks in the Kingdom.

And each fall, the Westmore Mountain Challenge sends hikers and runners to the summits of five peaks in a day – including Mt. Hor and Mt. Pisgah – near Lake Willoughby.

If you do all five and finish the route at the NorthWoods center, it’s a full 26.2-mile marathon —and undoubtedly Vermont’s toughest. For something with a little less elevation, the NEK Marathon and Half Marathon are scheduled for May 1, 2021.

From Brighton/Island Pond you can also explore the backcountry ski glades and Nordic trails on Mt. Hor and Bartlett Mountain in Willoughby State Forest.  For advanced climbers, Black Mountain, northeast of Brighton/Island Pond has become something of a hot spot and the cliffs on Mt. Hor and Mt. Pisgah have rock and ice climbs with views across Lake Willoughby.

Shop: Simon the Tanner in Island Pond and Gervais Ace Hardware carry all the rugged outdoor apparel you need to stay warm. For holiday gifts, try The Hearth and Home Country Store.

Eat/Drink: Kingdom Grille opened in the summer of 2020 with a lake view, pub fare and live music on weekends. For something more upscale, try the Maple Bourbon Scallops at Essex House and Tavern.

Stay: Locally owned and recently restored, the Essex House and Tavern harkens back to the town’s railway boom with simple, country-chic rooms and a bustling tavern. The recently sold Lakefront Motel (now renamed Island Pond Country Inn) is right off the VAST trail and right on the water. It has efficiency suites and, in summer, dock space. For an adventure, book the Nulhegan Confluence Hut ($80 for the entire hut, via Vermonthuts.org) which has a wood stove.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: Thanks to a $62,500 grant from VOREC in 2019, and grants from The Northern Forest Center and the NEK Collaborative,  Brighton has been improving the Bluff Mountain Trailhead and creating maps to area recreational opportunities and assets, which will be available at the Welcome Center. The town is also installing a public bike repair facility and a dock in Lakeshore Park.  

More info: visitislandpond.com

There are few places in the Northeast where you can find a higher concentration of world-class athletes per capita than Craftsbury. There are two reasons for this. For starters, Craftsbury (which comprises Craftsbury Village, Craftsbury Common, East Craftsbury, Collinsville and Mill Village) has a year-round population of under 1,200 that’s spread out over 36 square miles of rolling hills, fields and small villages.

On any given day there you might run into a former World Cup Nordic skier skating the trails at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center or, come spring, an Olympic oarsman sculling the length of Big Hosmer Pond.

You might also see families skiing trails that lead to Caspian Lake or snowshoeing on The Nature Conservancy’s Barr Hill Preserve. Or you might find a crew of Sterling College students fatbiking or bucking up firewood as part their community projects or sustainable agriculture classes. The college, based right in Craftsbury, is known for its focus on ecology, sustainability and outdoor education.

Just north of Craftsbury Village on the shores of Big Hosmer Pond, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center has been welcoming top athletes, as well as recreational skiers, cyclists, runners and rowers to its campus and trails since 1976.

In 2008, former Olympic rowers and co-founders of Morrisville’s Concept2, Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer helped purchase the center and turned it into a non-profit with the mission of promoting excellence in lifelong sports such as rowing, Nordic skiing, biathlon, cycling and running.

What draws so many elite athletes to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center is, of course, the training opportunities, top-tier coaches and a state-of-the-art gym. However, the 105 kilometers of carefully groomed trails are  a draw for beginners and experts alike. The trails cross open meadows with big views, wind up and down the forested hillsides and connect to Greensboro and to Caspian Lake.

Keith Woodward, himself a multi-time age group world champion in duathlon, has been grooming Craftsbury’s trails since 1976 and in 2019 he and the grooming team worked with University of Vermont geology professor Paul Bierman and students on a study on how to save snow. Craftsbury stockpiled snow (preserving spring snow under an insulated blanket covered with wood chips) to get it ready for an early winter start.

Between the reserved snow and snowmaking, the Center has been able to kick off the season reliably in mid-November.

By early February, when Craftsbury usually hosts its famous marathon and 50K races, the snowpack is thick. Note that  this year the event won’t be held but Craftsbury has planned a series of Sunday citizens’ races (see Calendar).

You don’t have to be a top athlete to stay at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The Center has cabins, cottages and a dorm-style building with rooms for singles or doubles and serves up three meals a day featuring fresh local produce (some of it grown on premises) to its guests.

Craftsbury Outdoor Center isn’t the only skiing in the area. You can ski the Craftsbury-groomed trails all the way to Greensboro and connect to trails on 136 acres owned by The Highland Lodge, a classic 1860s inn that Wallace Stegner featured in his book Crossing to Safety, written after he spent time in Greensboro.

Shop: The Craftsbury General Store has gifts made by local artisans such as pottery, candles, wooden bowls, yarn, paintings, and jewelry.

Eat/Drink: In Craftsbury, the Black Bird Bistro has over-the-top grilled cheese sandwiches such as a Veggie Hipster, made with Jasper Hill Cave-Aged Cheddar, broccoli rabe pesto, avocado and green onion aioli.  In addition to regular deli fare such as pizza and sandwiches, The Craftsbury General Store  has been offering international specials for weekly  Wednesday takeout dinners such as Swedish Meatballs, Hawaiian Huli Huli or Vietnamese Pho. If you prefer traditional deli sandwiches and chips head to the C-Village store. Don’t miss a stop to Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, where visitors line up to buy the small-batch brews that are consistently rated among the top beers in the world. 

Stay: Craftsbury Outdoor Center has cabins, cottages and dorm rooms in clean, minimal rooms on the trails. Lodging comes with three farm-to-table meals using locally sourced food. Highland Lodge  is offering its cabin rentals and pre-packaged meals for Friday and Saturday nights, as well as its lodge rooms.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: As part of a town-wide effort to build on Craftsbury’s reputation as a winter-trails destination, a 2020 VOREC grant of $26,750 will be used to create an official Craftsbury Trails brand, maps, kiosks, and wayfinding signs.

Come winter, this Franklin County hub doesn’t slow down. Ten years ago, The St. Albans Messenger launched The Running of the Bells, a mile  run where participants attach jingle bells to their hats, shoes, gloves, coats, strollers, and wherever  as they move through the town and Taylor Park, lit up with holiday lights and decorations. This year,  the event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on November 27, in conjunction with the town’s Holiday Extravaganza but has been moved down to St. Albans Bay. It benefits local families in need.

The community spirit here is alive and well, as a trip to Hard’Ack Recreation Area, one of the few town-owned ski hills in Vermont, will demonstrate. The tiny ski area has been around since the 1950s but was recently purchased by the town, which opened the new Greg Brown Lodge last winter. On Friday and Saturday nights lights beam out across two trails for 700 vertical feet of skiing, sledding and tubing off a rope tow.

Thanks to donations from neighbors Jay Peak and Smugglers’ Notch, Hard’Ack also has a terrain park that features a rotating cast of rails and boxes and jumps. “We get folks who come up from Burlington to play around because it’s such a unique setting,” says Kelly Viens, St. Albans’ Parks and Recreation Director. It’s a family-friendly scene with some serious shredders of all ages and an annual Duct Tape Derby, often held during St. Albans February Winter Carnival.

With 4k of groomed Nordic ski trails, the ski area also sits adjacent to about six miles of snowshoe trails which move through birch and maple glades on the back side of Aldis Hill.

Of course, you can still head out onto Lake Champlain. St. Albans Bay and Missisquoi Bay are hot spots for ice fisherman after Northern Pike, according to the Agency of Natural Resources. In February 2020, St. Albans’ Mill River Brewing BBQ and Smokehouse launched the Clean Water Derby, a day of fishing for yellow perch for families on Missisquoi Bay.

And you can still ride the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail – on a fat bike, by foot or on skis—some 26 miles from St. Albans to Richford, near the Canadian border, traveling across open farmland with stunning views of the Green Mountains.

Shop: Back Country Sports’ motto, “Where fishing is in our blood and hunting is in our soul,” says it all.  Lenny’s Shoe and Apparel carries Skida, Darn Tough and a variety of other outdoor apparel and footwear brands.

Eat/Drink: St. Albans has no shortage of watering holes. One of Vermont’s most recognized breweries and brewpubs,  14th Star Brewing Company is based here. But there are plenty of others with every type of food imaginable. Try 84 Main Bar & Grill, Catalyst Coffee Bar, The Drake Bar & Kitchen, Evelyne’s On Center, Feldman’s Bagels, Grazer’s, The or Grind Café. There’s also Jeff’s Maine Seafood, La Casa Bar & Grill, The Main Squeeze, Mimmo’s Pizzeria, Nelly’s Pub & Grill,  Red House Sweets, Tim’s Place Diner, The Traveled Cup or Twigg’s American Gastropub.

Stay: Back Inn Time is a B&B in a classic, tastefully restored Victorian manor house right downtown. St. Albans also has a number of chain hotels such as the Hampton Inn, in the downtown, and La Quinta Inn and Econolodge on the outskirts.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: Using a $64,417 VOREC grant,  St. Albans City is partnering with the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council, Northwest Regional Planning Commission, and communities along the trail to install wayfinding signage along the 26.4-mile Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail.

More info:  https://downtownsaintalbans.com/

5. Montpelier: A City of Trails

One of the reasons Montpelier was chosen to be Vermont’s state capital back in 1805 was its central location. Nestled between the mountains, roughly in the east/west middle of  the state with the Winooski River running through it, Montpelier was relatively easy to get to.

Today, that’s still true and  good news if you want to base out of there to recreate. From Montpelier, it’s a 40-minute drive to the base areas of Sugarbush, Mad River Glen or Stowe. The Millstone Trails (which circle around the deep Barre granite quarries) are a 20-minute drive. It’s another 45 minutes to Groton State Forest.

It’s no wonder that when ultra-runner and social media influencer Mirna Valerio came to visit Vermont, she chose to live here. Or that other ultra-runners such as Alex Jinks (two-time winner of the  Ghost Train 100-Mile trail race in New Hampshire) call Montpelier home.

You don’t need to go far out of town if you want to just get out and burn some calories. As soon as the weather is cold enough, a lighted outdoor skating rink appears on the State House lawn. 

Just steps from the State House, Hubbard Park has more than 7 miles of hiking and skiing trails running through its nearly 200 acres,https://roamvt.com/ as well as a sledding hill and a cool 54-foot stone observation tower built in the 1920s. This past summer, the Montpelier Area Mountain Bike Association worked with North Branch Nature Center to add a pump track and four-miles of machine-carved flow trails to the network.

Those trails have been the site for the Frozen Onion, a mid-winter fat bike event put on by the town’s outdoor gear shop, Onion River Outdoors which also hosts weekly fat bike rides and a January candle-lit snowshoe romp with hot chocolate and bonfire.

ORO also has avalanche awareness workshops and provides skate rentals and free snowshoe rentals to anyone headed over to North Branch trails. “We really want folks out there packing the trails, not postholing,” says Jen Roberts, Onion River Outdoors’ owner.

Shop: Run by outdoor experts with years of experience in paddling, running, cycling and skiing, Onion River  Outdoors has been the hub of the region’s outdoor community for years and has an extensive selection of the latest gear as well as advice on where and how to use it. Next door ROAM offers apparel that’s good for trail wear and a night out. SlopeStyle Ski & Ride also has a great selection of alpine gear. With dozens of specialty shops and boutiques featuring local artists and craftsmen (and free parking over the holiday season) Montpelier is a great spot to shop for presents.

Eat/Drink: The Three Penny Taproom is Montpelier’s legendary bar serving up a wide variety of local brews. Sarducci’s offers finer dining with views of the river and Kismet offers take-out only for its eclectic specials, which range from beef tartare to noodle soup bowls. Caledonia Spirits, makers of Barr Hill gin, also has its distillery and tap room on the outskirts of town on Gin Lane.

Stay: The Capitol Plaza Hotel is within a stone’s throw of the Capitol building and is a favorite of lawmakers during the legislative session. An elegant hotel, The Inn at Montpelier, which dates back to the early 1800s, has 19 rooms right off Main Street.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: Working with private landowners, the town is using a VOREC grant of $25,400 to create and market a 5-mile universally accessible loop connecting downtown Montpelier, U32 High School, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Caledonia Spirits, East Montpelier Trails, and the Cross Vermont Trail.

6. Randolph: The Backcountry Hub

If you haven’t been to Randolph recently you need to go. Start by visiting the Outdoor Hub, a literal trail hub and source for maps and beta, located in The Gear House (a new bike shop) near the entrance to town. There, you can walk into a room with a large 3D topo map of the area showing all the new trails (and some old ones) that have been carved out of the surrounding mountains and hills of the central Greens.

There are trails up and down Braintree Mountain where the Ridgeline Outdoor Collective  helped cut backcountry ski glades. There are also maps of the cut and named ski glades in Brandon Gap (just over the hill), trails in the Sayward Town Forest, trails up and down Abel Mountain, leading out and around Vermont Technical College and soon, out toward Silloway Maple’s vast sugarbush…in short, trails everywhere. Randolph now has  more than 240 miles of mapped trails for hiking, biking, cross-country and back-country skiing, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing

Some of the trails are left over from when Randolph was a burgeoning mountain bike town in the 1990s and early 2000s. But many are the work of volunteers with the Ridgeline Out Door Collective. Led by Zac Freeman and Rochester’s Angus McCusker, Ridgeline Out Door Collective  volunteers have cut and mapped routes with an eye toward making the area a center for backcountry skiing, mountain biking and gravel riding,  supported with one of the first two VOREC grants.

The trail work is building on other efforts around the town.  In the 1950s, Harold Farr put up a rope tow on his farm near Elm Street so local kids could ski and toboggan for free. After many bustling winters, the rope tow and area shut down in 1966. Recently, local businessman Perry Armstrong and his wife Lynn purchased the 12-acre property, reinstated a tubing hill and are considering adding a rope tow.

House bike shop in 2020. Sam Hooper (whose mother, Alison Hooper started Vermont Creamery) bought Vermont Glove, maker of goatskin hand stitched work gloves,  in 2018 and, overall, there’s a new energy in town focused on outdoor recreation. Couple that with the Chandler Center for the Arts, all that Vermont Technical College offers, and the prospect of a new hotel slated to be built just off I89, and Randolph is putting itself back on the map.

Shop: The Gear House has bikes and gear for fat biking, gravel riding mountain biking, snowshoeing, camping and backpacking—and consignment gear.

Eat/Drink: Black Krim Tavern, which recently moved down the street to a new larger location,  serves up mouthwatering weekly specials such as venison-stuffed poblanos. Chefs Market, located in the old train station, has locally sourced fare for breakfast and lunch and features crafts by area artists. One Main Tap & Grill also serves up meats, poultry and eggs from local farmers and Tacocat Cantina, the bricks-and-mortar version of the popular roving Taco Truck All Stars opened this fall serving local Vermont Chevon goat meat, among other things, in its tacos and burritos. The brew of choice is Bent Hill, brewed in Braintree.

Stay: A plan for a new hotel right off exit 4 on I89 has been in the works for many years but for now, options for places to stay in Randolph are limited to Airbnbs and the like. Or, head over the hill to stay in Rochester at the working farm, Liberty Hill Farm, or at Huntington House, a B&B.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: In 2019, Randolph (in partnership with RASTA) received a $65,000 VOREC grant for marketing and events, trail design and construction projects and trailhead amenities.

7. Poultney: The Southwest Kingdom

Over the past few years, the area around Poultney that was once the source of slate for much of Vermont has seen so much trail building some folks have started calling Slate Valley the “Southwest Kingdom.” 

With Morrisville trail builder Hardy Avery and his partner, Caitrin Maloney (former executive director of Stowe Land Trust) moving into town recently, an off-the-grid bike shop named Analog and an ambitious plan to build and map more than 20 new miles of trails in 2020 (adding to the 40 existing miles) “Southwest Kingdom” may well be building a reputation that follows in the footsteps of Kingdom Trails.

Some of the multi-use Slate Valley Trails, many cut and groomed by Avery, look through the forested hills above Lake St. Catherine, offering stunning views to the west. 

There are three major networks that spiderweb out from parking hubs at the Fairgrounds, Endless Brook and Delaney Woods and work is being done to connect them. You can also ride the D&H Rail Trail from Castleton to the New York border (about 10 miles) and plans have been in the works to connect the northern portion of the trail with the southern portion, which runs from West Pawlet south to West Rupert, another nearly 10-mile ride.

If that’s not enough, Slate Valley Trails has also mapped an extensive network of gravel rides.

Events are still going strong here. The September 2020 Slate Valley Scramble sent runners on a half-marathon scramble on the trails. In October, Analog Cycles, wove many of the Slate Valley routes into an ATB (All-Terrain-Bicycle) race that involved taking selfies at various checkpoints – including one on an island in a pond (accessible by paddleboat). The shop has also hosts a variety of other events. 

In winter, some of these trails firm up for fat biking, but snowshoeing and ski touring (when the snow is thick enough), can be just as fun. The area is also popular with snowmobiles and the Poultney Fish & Game Club’s “The Frosty” tournament usually draws ice fishermen from around the state to Lake St. Catherine.

Poultney has also been the home of Green Mountain College, which closed in 2019. In the fall of 2020, Raj Bhakta, the founder of Whistle Pig distillery in Shoreham, Vt., purchased the campus’s 22 buildings (many red brick classics built in the 1800s) and 155 acres.

Bhakta has moved his family there and intends to revive the college as an educational institution with a focus on sustainable agriculture.

Shop: Analog Cycles is an off-the-grid bike shop in East Poultney that carries All-City, Surly, Rivendell and more and also does custom builds and fitting. Mart’s Sporting Goods on Main Street has everything hunters and anglers need. Rabidbaits.com, maker of acclaimed fishing lures, is located in Poultney and owned by two of the area’s prominent fishermen, Bob Scott and his son, Bob Jr. It does online sales only.

Eat/Drink:  A sign of the evolution in Poultney is evident with a glance at the menu at Taps Tavern, a gastro-pub with specials such as Maple Bacon Poutine or Pumpkin Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese. Poultney Taco Experiment has eat-in and take-out and smokes their own meats.

Stay: Bentley House is a classic Victorian B&B right in town. In Wells, Pond Mountain Inn offers a loft apartment and garden cottage off a renovated farmhouse and has winter specials. In Fair Haven, the Maplewood Inn, Marble Mansion Inn and Haven Guest House are also B&Bs located in historic homes.

What the VOREC Grant Will Do: Poultney is using the VOREC grant of $20,874 to help attract visitors to the area and let them know about the growing trail system. It is creating maps and brochures as well as a website portal for its trails. The town will also conduct an economic assessment of area trails.

8. Springfield/Rockingham/Bellow’s Falls: The Valley Revival

Once a manufacturing hub, the Connecticut River valley towns of Springfield, Rockingham and Bellows Falls are finding new life. Springfield is home to Black River Produce and Meats, the Black River Innovation Campus and has the fastest internet speeds in the country (10 gigabits).

Rockingham sees thousands of visitors pass through, making stops at the Vermont Country Store to shop for everything imaginable. Bellows Falls, a former mill town right on the Connecticut, is seeing its downtown classic buildings given face lifts as antique shops and small restaurants move in.

When it comes to outdoor recreation, this is an area that has hidden gems that many Vermonters are not even aware of.

In Springfield, Hartness Park walking trails pass by the hill that was the former Springfield ski jump. You can also run, bike or cross-country ski on the Toonerville Trail – a 3-mile former railway corridor along the Black River that connects to Charlestown, N.H. The trail is the site of  the town’s EdgarMay 5K Turkey Trot each year (this year too.)

For nature-lovers there’s the 10,000-year-old North Springfield Bog, and Springweather Nature Area, 1,300 acres with trails used by cross-country skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers in the winter.  For a fun afternoon with kids, try one of the Springfield Valley “quests” —a treasure hunt of sorts—that let you discover places along the trails throughout the area (quests are listed in the Springfield Valley Trail Guide).

The city is also just 11 miles from Mt. Ascutney. A monadnock rising above the Connecticut River Valley, Mt. Ascutney, was once a full-fledged ski resort with lifts, lodging and a ski school.

After several changes in ownership and a bankruptcy it shut down. In recent years, locals have been reviving it via the non-profit Ascutney Trails Association. There are now mountain bike trails, more than 50 acres of hardwood and spruce glades for backcountry skiing, a T-bar and new base area lodge. Last season the ski area launched Thursday night citizen races on the lit hill. Okemo is also less than a 40-minute drive away.

From Rockingham and Bellows Falls, there are several major trail networks that are worth a visit from anywhere in the state—or beyond.

In the historic town of Grafton, Grafton Trails and Outdoor Center, affiliated with the Grafton Inn, has a network of trails groomed for cross-country skiing, fat biking and tubing and you can rent gear right there.

Not far from there, the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association has conserved more 2,000 acres in Rockingham, Athens, Grafton, Brookline, and Westminster with a 26-mile hiking trail system with stunning ridgeline views as far south as Mount Snow, a wildlife sanctuary and even a summit hut you can stay at (temporarily closed due to Covid-19). The Oak Hill trails, just outside Bellows Falls, also feature 2 miles of trails.

Shop: Two legendary shops support athletes in this area. The West Hill Shop, just south of Bellows Falls in Putney, has long been a leader in cycling and cross-country ski gear. In fall of 2020, the West Hill shop was bought by Zach and Amy Caldwell whose Caldwell Sport has helped some of the top Nordic racers in the world prepare for competitions. In 2018, Frank Wadelton, better known as Frank the Welder, moved his custom bike frame and R&D shop to a 12,000 square-foot facility in Bellows Falls.

Eat/Drink: If you are craving a hearty steak, it’s hard to beat the filet mignon at Springfield’s Black Rock Steakhouse.  Wash it down with a local brew such as a Harpoon or Trout River ale. Brownsville Butcher & Pantry, near Ascutney, is the locals’ place to pick up a breakfast or lunch sandwich.  In Rockingham, Wunderbar is doing take-out only but it’s worth calling ahead for dishes like Pumpkin Bolognese or Bourbon Apple Ribs.

Stay: For a step back in time to a town that has hardly changed in the last two centuries, treat yourself to a night at the historic Grafton Inn, home of Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center and Grafton cheddar. Near Springfield, the Hartness House Inn is a beautiful, updated B&B  on the National Historic Register with 38 rooms set on 35 acres. At Mt. Ascutney, Holiday Inn Club Vacations operates villas with one to three bedrooms.

What the Grants Will Do: Springfield and its team of volunteers will use its $19,250 VOREC grant to develop improved up-to-date marketing materials and trail signage, rehabilitate existing kiosks and build new ones at trailheads on the Toonerville Trail and Hartness Park. It will also build community engagement and stewardship of the Toonerville Trail and Connecticut River Byway through development of an inventory and action plan to track and control invasive (especially noxious) plant species

Rockingham, in partnership with local trail non-profits and the Village of Bellows Falls, will use its $19,000 VOREC grant to plan connectivity in its trail systems, create maps and signage, build trail stewardship programs, and create a pump track.