Click here to view to the LOWER SECTION MAP.

The Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT) now has the right of way for the land from the old West River Railroad bed — from the parking area near the Marina in Brattleboro to the old quarry on Rice Farm Rd in Dummerston! It is exciting to have the support of our corporate sponsors, our friends and neighbors—the entire community is wonderful, and we thank you all!

The recent history of this acquisition started with members of the Brattleboro Energy Committee who were interested in increasing opportunities for active methods of transportation. We began thinking about improving that stretch of the West River Rail Bed, so that bicyclers could use it to commute to town. (The 3.7 miles to Rice Farm Road has been used unofficially for years by walkers, skiers, snowshoers and mountain bikers). We met with the FWRT, based in Londonderry, in spring of 2011 and subsequently decided to join them, and named ourselves the Lower Section Steering Committee. Many people worked diligently off and on over the 10 to 15 years prior to this acquisition, towards establishing this section of the railroad bed as a public trail. Their work and research laid the groundwork for acquiring the land. Since then, the experience of trail users has been transformed by the many efforts of professionals and mostly volunteers. The surface has been smoothed, bridges repaired, drainage improved and trash removed. If you haven’t yet, please visit the trail to experience it for yourself! And be in touch if you would like to do some volunteer trail work. We always have fun!

Lower Section Steering Committee
Jason Cooper
Peter Doran
Elia Hamilton
Dan Healey
Matt Mann
Malcolm Moore
Steve Shriner
Jesse Wagner
Mark Westa
Kathleen White
Alex Wilson