Author: KW

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Support the West River Trail

West River Trail - Upper Section Trailhead Nov 2025

Our apologies! Our letter went out yesterday without the necessary links! Please find the correct donation pages below.

Your support today will help us move from maintaining the past to building the future of the West River Trail.

Upper Section: $10,000 Matching Grant

Every dollar you give is doubled to eliminate property debt and unlock future improvements in South Londonderry, Jamaica, and Townshend.

Click to Donate & Double Your Impact: Upper Section donation page

Lower Section: New Fort Hill Trail Extension

Help fund the ambitious expansion project that will create a stunning new pathway connecting Brattleboro to 80 miles of trails in New Hampshire.

Click to Fund the Trail Extension: Lower Section donation page

Thank you for investing in the Trail! We appreciate your generosity.

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Invest in the Trail: Matching Grant & New Pathway Campaign Launches!

West River Trail Autumn

We have an unprecedented opportunity to advance the mission of the Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT) on both ends of our beloved corridor. The Upper Section is leveraging a $10,000 matching grant to eliminate property debt and unlock future improvements, while the Lower Section is launching the ambitious campaign to create the new Fort Hill Trail Extension. Your support today will ensure we move from maintaining the past to building the future.

Since 1992, the long-term goal of the Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT) has been to establish a seamless, scenic corridor through the West River Valley, securing as much of the historic West River Railroad bed as possible to ultimately link towns from Brattleboro to South Londonderry; this vision is realized through the focused efforts of two groups: the Upper Section, which maintains and enhances trails on public lands in Londonderry, Jamaica, and Townshend, and the Lower Section, which concentrates on expansion efforts in the south, from Brattleboro into Dummerston.

Upper Section: $10,000 Matching Grant to Eliminate Debt: Letter from Greg Meulemans, President, Friends of the West River Trail

We have very exciting news to share. The FWRT has been offered a special, one-time opportunity to eliminate the debt incurred by our acquisition of the Derby property adjacent to the South Londonderry West River trailhead. A generous donor has offered a matching grant of up to $10,000 to help us shed this burden. Eliminating this debt will immediately enhance our ability to improve both the Trail and the Depot and to expand our educational and entertainment programs. Note the word “matching”, every dollar you donate is doubled!

As a user of this well-loved community resource, we are asking for your help to eliminate this debt so we can focus entirely on the trail. The Friends chose to acquire this property to protect access to the trailhead and to permit the potential future improvements of increased parking and the installation of an information kiosk. These enhancements have been delayed while we amortize the purchase cost.

Our normal operating income currently only covers our basic operating expenses, including those debt payments, leaving little room for the crucial improvements we want to make and leading to deferred maintenance of the Depot.

We know you believe in our organization’s mission. We hope we can count on you to be generous and not let this unique opportunity slip away.

Please help us realize this one-time opportunity for the Upper Section of the West River Trail. Thank you for your interest and consideration! 

While the Upper Section focuses on unlocking existing infrastructure, the Lower Section is focused on an exciting new expansion.

Lower Section: Building the Fort Hill Trail Extension: Letter from Friends of the West River Trail, Lower Section Steering Committee

The Lower Section has had an active year, significantly improving the West River Trail by installing new culverts, clearing ditches, and enhancing accessibility, all thanks to your ongoing support!

Now, we’re looking to the future with an exciting vision: the creation of the new Fort Hill Trail Extension in Brattleboro. This ambitious project will extend from Bridge Street to the abandoned Fort Hill Railroad Bridge, securing key easements and rights-of-way.

Imagine a pedestrian and bicycle path offering stunning river views and directly connecting Brattleboro to over 80 miles of existing rail-trails in New Hampshire!

We are committed to building this pathway without direct town funding, but realizing this vision, including necessary infrastructure separation, requires significant capital.

Our Goal: The estimated capital required for the Fort Hill Trail Extension is at least several hundred thousand dollars.

Please consider an early donation today to help us make the Fort Hill Trail Extension a reality! Your generosity is also vital for the ongoing, critical maintenance of the existing West River Trail.

Support the FWRT Today

As the year comes to a close, we sincerely hope you will consider including the West River Trail in your year-end charitable giving plans, if you are able. The West River Trail is a vital place of community, happiness, and outdoor recreational opportunity.

As an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, your contribution is fully tax-deductible. Click here to donate.

To double your impact for the Upper Section. Click on Make a Donation for the Upper Section. Donations can also be made out to Friends of the West River Trail, Upper Section, and mailed to P.O. Box 2086, South Londonderry, VT 05155.

To help fund the new Pathway for the Lower Section and to support the ongoing, critical maintenance of the existing West River Trail, click on Make a Donation for the Lower Section.

Thank you for your generosity!

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Celebrate the Gift of Land to Riverstone Preserve

West River Trail, Brattleboro Vermont

The gift of a spectacular, undeveloped property on Rice Farm Road and Black Mountain Road in Brattleboro dramatically expands the Riverstone Preserve, owned by Friends of the West River Trail. 

The 166-acre acquisition adjoins the existing 22-acre Riverstone Preserve, which was purchased by Friends of the West River Trail in 2012. The Preserve now encompasses 188 acres of woodland and an important cobblestone ecological community along the West River. The donated land includes three-quarters of a mile of West River shoreline and the West River Trail that follows the river, so the Preserve now extends for a mile-and-a-quarter along the river. 

This is the largest property along the Lower Section of the West River Trail in Brattleboro and Dummerston. “We are absolutely thrilled by this remarkably generous gift,” noted Alex Wilson of the Friends of the West River Trail Board, who had been in discussions with the donors (who wish to remain anonymous) for more than three years. 

Friends of the West River Trail will hold a gathering at the Marina Restaurant on Thursday, November 21st, from 4-6 pm, to celebrate this expansion of the Riverstone Preserve in Brattleboro and introduce the first several upland trails on the Preserve. Those trails, totalling nearly two miles, have now been blazed with color-coded markers. 

The expanded preserve borders on Black Mountain and Rice Farm Roads and extends along both sides of Fox Farm Road. A parking area for a dozen cars has been created at the end of the public portion of Fox Farm Road, and a trail kiosk will be installed there in the coming months. 

The newly acquired land has been managed since the 1990s by local forester Lynn Levine, who is thrilled that the property is being conserved in perpetuity. According to Levine, the entire property is underlain by bedrock known as the Waits River Formation, a calcium-rich rock that makes it a wonderful place to grow plants because it produces sweet soil. “Such a special land this is,” said Levine.

The woodland is unusual for Vermont, with a number of tree species that are more common further south, including white oak, black oak, and shagbark hickory. As climate change advances, preserves such as this that support these more southern species will be highly important ecologically, providing seed stock for migrating ecosystems.

The Lower Section of the West River Trail extends for 3.5 miles from the Marina Restaurant in Brattleboro to a trailhead at Rice Farm Road in Dummerston. With a tripling of usage, the trail became an even more important recreational amenity for the region during the COVID pandemic, as it allowed visitors to enjoy the outdoors while practicing social distancing. 

The West River Trail is managed by the all-volunteer Friends of the West River Trail, based in Brattleboro. The organization is currently looking into the feasibility of designating at least a portion of this section of trail as accessible, based on standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA); this designation can be achieved without paving.

Friends of the West River Trail invites area residents and users of the West River Trail to join the November 21st gathering, which is being generously hosted by the Marina Restaurant. The restaurant, and owners Dennis Smith and his wife Jill, have been extraordinary supporters of the Trail over many years, and in the past year they significantly expanded parking at the trailhead. The restaurant and the many recreational amenities associated with it, including the Brattleboro Outing Club’s rowing access, kayak and canoe launch docks, and the trailhead, provide a wonderful gathering place for trail users and others from the community. 

At the November 21st event, attendees will be able to sign up for a West River Trail mailing list and find out about volunteering opportunities. Future plans for the Trail and Riverstone Preserve will also be discussed, and attendees will be invited to donate to those efforts. 

For further information, visit www.WestRiverTrail.org or check out the organization’s Facebook page. Please RSVP if you plan to attend: lowersection@westrivertrail.org.

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Help Preserve the Beauty of the Trail

West River Trail

Love the West River Trail? Help Preserve Its Beauty! The Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT) invites you to join their “Adopt an Acre” program and help maintain the trail’s natural splendor.

What’s Involved:

  • Adopt: Choose one of two remaining parcels (each one acre or less).
  • Care: Dedicate 8-16 hours per season to your parcel (work can be shared with friends or family).
  • Learn: Receive training on identifying invasive plants and using a GPS app to track your progress.
  • Enjoy: Spend time in a beautiful setting while contributing to the trail’s upkeep.

Upcoming Training:

Join Dan Healey of Longview Forest on Friday, May 17th at 9:30 AM at the Riverstone Preserve for an informative training session. Can’t make it? Don’t worry; we’ll schedule a time that works for you.

Ready to Get Involved?

Contact the FWRT Steering Committee at lowersection@westrivertrail.org to learn more and sign up.

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Surprise Blooms on the Trail

One early spring day, Jim Webster was strolling along the Riverstone Preserve’s cobblestone shore, just downstream from the picnic area. He spotted a cluster of spiky green leaves under a sycamore tree and couldn’t quite identify them. Daffodils crossed his mind, but his friend, after hearing the description and location, suspected they were more likely yellow flag iris.

Curious, they returned to the spot together about ten days later. To their surprise, they found a cluster of daffodils in full bloom, brightening up this unexpected location. 

The mystery remained: how did these daffodils end up here? Whatever the reason, their unexpected appearance was a charming reminder of nature’s resilience and ability to surprise.

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West River Trail Gets a Spring Spruce-Up

On a beautiful and sunny day in April, Tim Morton and his Forest, Parks and Recreation (FPR) crew (Brian and George) did leaf-blowing on the entire Lower Section of the West River Trail. 

They had their big blower pulled behind an ATV, plus two backpack blowers. They are tentatively scheduled to do leaf-blowing on the trail again in November, after the autumn leaves are on the ground. We are deeply grateful to Tim and the Department of FPR for doing this as a gift to the West River Trail. Take a walk or ride on the trail soon and check out their beautiful handiwork!

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West River Trail Annual Greetings

We’ve been busy at Friends of the West River Trail during 2023!

Our Lower Section Steering Committee and a group of other dedicated volunteers have been working actively to repair flood damage, improve drainage along the trail, add new benches, clear down trees, and remove invasive vegetation to help restore ecosystem health on the Riverstone Preserve.

We experienced significant flooding this year, necessitating bringing in an excavator and additional rip-rap to repair the trail in places. While we depend a lot on volunteers, carrying out some of this work takes money, and costs keep going up. 

Please consider a year-end donation to Friends of the West River Trail – Lower Section to support this work.

Here’s how we’ve been putting your support to work:

Through periodic work parties, we’re continuing our work to remove invasive plants from the 22-acre Riverstone Preserve. Following professional services several years ago to remove a variety of non-native plants, including oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, buckthorn, black swallowwort, and Japanese knotweed, we have been out there controlling the residual seedings of these plants that appear. It’s so satisfying to see that native plants are coming back! We are proud that the Vermont Land Trust and other conservation organizations are pointing people to the Riverstone Preserve to see how successful invasives management can be!

We’ve added a couple more benches along the trail, and we have another in the works. These amenities are making it easier for the trail to be enjoyed by older trail users—yes, some of us are getting older!

We’ve improved the access down to the trail from Fox Farm Road, following severe flooding, and we have further improvements planned.

We’re continuing regular trail maintenance, removing down trees, and dealing with some of the challenging drainage problems. We’re trying to do this in a way that protects some rare plant species found along the trail.

We hope to announce shortly a significant addition to the Riverstone Preserve. Our long-term goal is to obtain full ownership or control of the entire Lower Section corridor—from the Marina Restaurant to Rice Farm Road—giving us the ability to enhance recreational access and further protect the ecosystems along here. (A local botanist has identified more than 650 plant species and 120 fungi along the trail and on the Riverstone Preserve!)

And we are working with other organizations in the region in an effort to create a network of linked trails along the Connecticut River and extending into New Hampshire.

A study is being done this fall by a civil engineer (funded by a sizable local donation) to create a prioritized list of action items to ensure that the trail stays in good shape as climate change ushers in an era of more severe storms and flooding. This study will inform the improvements we make to the trail and help us be confident that our funds are well spent.

To be able to continue this important work on the trail and to take advantage of land acquisition and easement protection opportunities as they come along, we need your support. Please consider a year-end donation.

Please consider supporting these efforts. You can donate online at https://westrivertrail.org/donate/

Thank you and best wishes for a healthy and safe 2024.

Lower Section Steering Committee – Friends of the West River Trail
Jason Cooper, Brattleboro
Peter Doran, Brattleboro
Elia Hamilton, Newfane
Matt Mann, Brattleboro
Malcolm Moore, Marlboro
Steve Shriner, Brattleboro
Jesse Wagner, Dummerston
Mark Westa, Brattleboro
Kathleen White, Brattleboro
Alex Wilson, Dummerston

Friends of the West River Trail is a nonprofit (501(c)(3) organization that is 100% volunteer run. Those of us on the Lower Section Steering Committee are your neighbors in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Newfane, and Marlboro—working to provide critically important recreational opportunities for our community.

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Help Maintain the Trail: Adopt an Acre

Do you love the West River Trail?  Would you like to volunteer to help maintain the trail in a meaningful way?  If so, read on!

The Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT) are launching a new volunteer opportunity called “Adopt an Acre”.  There is a lovely 26 acre parcel of land that the trail runs through called the Riverstone Preserve, that includes an interpretive trail, called the Sibosen Trail. FWRT owns this property on which we have a conservation easement with the Vermont Land Trust.

In our Land Management Plan, we pledged to mitigate and control the invasive plants on this property. For several years, with the help of grant funds from the NCRS, we have hired Long View Forest to professionally treat the invasives. We have also been manually pulling the seedlings that continue to emerge, during monthly volunteer work days. Much of the 26 acres continues to need professional treatment, but there are 6 one acre or smaller parcels that can be managed manually, and we are looking for teams (families or groups of friends or individuals) to adopt the parcels. We estimate each parcel may take the equivalent of 8-16 hours per season (depending on how many people are sharing the work) and you may want to do it in 2-hour sessions. It can be a fun way to spend a couple of hours in a lovely place. If you are interested in “Adopting an Acre”, please contact the FWRT Steering Committee at lowersection@westrivertrail.org. We will provide training on identifying invasives, and how to use an app on your phone to show you the boundaries of your parcel, and where you are on your parcel in real time. We hope to hear from you!

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Two Trail Workday Opportunities on Sunday 9/24

Calling all trail volunteers for two workday opportunities on Sunday, September 24th.

Workday #1 Morning: Pull Invasive plants on the Riverstone Preserve
Sunday, September 24, 9 am – 11 am

Workday #2 Afternoon: Dig and rake out ditches and culverts on the West River Trail
Sunday, Sept 24, Noon to 3 pm

Volunteer workday details below: 

Workday #1 Morning: Pull invasive plants on the Riverstone Preserve
When: Sunday, September 24, 9-11 AM
What: Pulling (mostly) oriental bittersweet seedlings. We’ll teach you how to identify the invasive plants, if you haven’t done this before.
Where: Meet at the west end of the Sibosen Interpretive Trail, where it meets the West River Trail. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from the Marina Trailhead and from the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead. You can also get there by parking at the Fox Farm Rd, trailhead, and walking down the access road to the WRT, turn left and you’ll soon see the sign for Sibosen Trail on the right. Biking in from the trailheads gets you there more quickly, if you’re able to do that.
What to bring: Water, work gloves, insect repellant, snack if needed.

Workday #2 Afternoon: Dig and rake out ditches and culverts on the West River Trail
When: Sunday, Sept 24, Noon to 3 pm
What: Digging and raking out ditches and culverts
Where: Meet at the Marina Trailhead at noon. 
What to Bring: Work gloves, insect repellant and a metal rake if you have one, but we will have extras on hand. Sandwiches and drinks will be provided. 

For more info and to tell us you’re coming, please email us at lowersection@westrivertrail.org. 

Thanks and we hope to see you there!

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Invasive Work Morning on the Riverstone Preserve

Please join us for a work morning on the West River Trail. It’s a pleasant way to spend a couple hours in a lovely place. All are welcome!

We’ll teach you how to identify the invasive plants, if you haven’t done this before.

For more info and to tell us you’re coming, please email us at lowersection@westrivertrail.org. Thanks and we hope to see you there!

When:  Sunday, September 24, 9-11 AM
What:  Pulling (mostly) oriental bittersweet seedlings
Where:  We’ll meet at the west end of the Sibosen Interpretive Trail, where it meets the West River Trail. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from the Marina Trailhead and from the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead. You can also get there by parking at the Fox Farm Road trailhead, and walking down the access road to the WRT, turn left and you’ll soon see the sign for Sibosen Trail on the right. Biking in from the trailheads gets you there more quickly, if you’re able to do that.
What to bring:  Water, work gloves, insect repellant, snack if needed.

To learn more about Asiatic Bittersweet and other invasives visit the Vermont Invasives website.
Asiatic bittersweet is a deciduous, woody vine that climbs saplings and trees and can grow over 60 feet in length.
The alternate, elliptical to circular leaves are light green in color and 2-5 inches long.
Small, inconspicuous, axillary, greenish-white flowers bloom from May to early June. Oriental bittersweet closely resembles American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens). The main difference: Celastrus scandens has flowers and fruits at the terminal ends of branches; Celastrus orbiculatus has flowers scattered along the entire stem.
The small globose fruits are green when young; ripen to yellow; then split to reveal showy, scarlet berries that persist into winter.