June 27, 2017 by KW

Rice Farm Road Trailhead

West River Trail Rice Farm Road Access As many trail users are aware, branches and stick barriers have been placed at the Rice Farm Road (RFR) trail head for some time now. More recently, the words “No Trespassing” and “Private -Keep Out” were painted on the ground. The area being contested is the RFR trail head, including a couple hundred feet south on the trail. Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT) has deeds and surveys showing FWRT ownership of the trail for public use. Furthermore, the public has been using this trail for decades and because of that, has the continuing right to use the trail (this right is called a prescriptive easement).

Recently FWRT brought an action in court to stop this obstruction. However, it will take several weeks to 3 months or more for the court to address the situation. In the past, trail users who have come in contact with the contesting party have been treated politely by him and even encouraged to use the trail. Unfortunately, our efforts as members of the FWRT to resolve or even discuss the situation have been met with hostility. Given the situation, it is up to each trail user to decide whether to use the RFR access to the trail. If you are feeling concerned about using the RFR trail head, you can access the trail from Fox Farm Rd or the Marina trail head. We regret the uncertainty and any inconvenience this is causing.

June 25, 2017 by KW

Sunday June 25 Trail Work Day 1-5 PM

If you like and use the trail, we need your help!

Please come help repair the damage from last Monday’s storm. If you have a shovel or iron rake, please bring it along. Meet at the Fox Farm Rd Trail Access and stay as long as you like. Hope to see you there!

June 23, 2017 by KW

West River Trail Damaged in Storm

West River Trail, rainstorm damage to culvert Heavy rains last Monday exposed a culvert, and caused other damage to the lower section of the West River Trail. Please come to our trail work day this Sunday, June 25, from 1-5 PM to help maintain our community trail. Meet up at the Fox Farm Rd trail access. Wear your boots and work gloves, bring bug spray and water. We’ll have tools! The trail really needs your help! Thank you! Email us at lowersection@gmail.com for info or questions.

June 13, 2017 by KW

West River Trail Work Day

West River Trail mountain-laurel June 2016 Save the date!
Do you love the West River Trail?
Please come help out at our Volunteer Trail Work Day scheduled for Sunday, June 25, from 1-5 PM. Meet us at 1 at the Fox Farm Rd Trail Head and stay as long as you like.
Bring work gloves, water, insect repellent, loppers. We’ll have shovels and other tools. We’ll be working on improving drainage in some wet areas and trail clearing where needed. Email lowersection@gmail.com for more information and to let us know you’re coming. Thank you!

April 10, 2017 by EW

A Spring Ski on the West River Trail

A beautiful spring ski along the West River Trail, through the Riverstone Preserve and down onto the river shore. Snow-slides along the cliff edge created hilly terrain on an otherwise flat stretch of trail. Along the river edge, fresh snow covered ice floes, left behind on the banks when the river thawed.

Story submitted by Kathleen White. photos by Jim Webster, from a ski trip in early April. Probably the most unusual environment they’ve skied on!

Soon the snow will give way to spring ephemeral wildflowers. Enjoy the trail in all its glorious seasons. Happy Spring!

December 31, 2016 by EW

A Southern Vermont Trail for All Seasons

A letter from Friends of the West River Trail, Lower Section:

Dear users of the West River Trail,
The Trail has become an important feature in our local landscape and we hope you have had a chance to experience the trail for yourself recently. If so, you may have encountered other trail users walking, jogging, x-c skiing, snowshoeing, birding and biking, and you no doubt noticed improvements to several sections of the trail. During June and July, volunteers completed essential maintenance tasks of replacing damaged culverts, moving fallen rocks and leveling trail surface to control erosion, cover roots, and fill in holes. New this summer in the Riverstone Preserve is the installation of a beautiful picnic table hand-crafted from locally harvested white oak. Looking ahead, we’d like to embark on professional removal and suppression of invasive species that – despite on-going volunteer efforts to combat them – have taken hold and threaten the rich biodiversity along the trail. Please consider making a donation to help support the effort to maintain and improve the trail for all users.

To make a secure donation, click on the DONATE link or click on the tab above to go to the West River Trail DONATE PAGE. Checks may be mailed to Friends of the West River Trail, Lower Section, 138 Elliot Street, Suite 3, Brattleboro, VT 05301.Please help our community enjoy the trail for seasons to come by making a donation. Thank you!

Friends of the West River Trail is a registered 501 (3) (c) organization.

Please feel free to contact us via this website, by clicking on the CONTACT tab above.

Friends of the West River Trail Steering Committee: Lester Humphreys, Chair, Jason Cooper, Matt Mann, Malcolm Moore, Kathleen White & Alex Wilson

Friends of the West River Trail Fundraising Committee: Judy Davidson, Chair, Martin Langeveld, Brett Morrison, Orly Munzing, Marcia Steckler & Tom Yahn

October 24, 2016 by EW

The West River Trail in Autumn

The West River Trail is open and looking gorgeous in its autumn finery!

When passing through the bridge construction area, follow signs and take extra care at intersections between trail and construction work. As an additional safety precaution, please keep pets on a leash.

Trail Talks
The next trail talk will be held November 5th. Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead at 8 am and the talk will begin at 8:15 am. For more Information about the bridge project, please contact Bonnie Clark, Public Relations Officer, at bclark@pcl.com.

August 12, 2016 by EW

I-91 Bridge Construction Trail Talk Saturday August 13th

artist rendering of new bridge (photo courtesy FIGG)

Curious about the new I-91 bridge? The next trail talk will be held Saturday, August 13th. Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead at 8 am and the talk will begin at 8:15 am.

The West River Trail is open during bridge construction activity. There are intersections between construction access and the trail path, and users should exercise extreme caution at these intersections. As an additional safety precaution, users of the West River Trail are reminded to keep pets on a leash in this area. Please use caution while passing through the scaffolding protection system. The system restricts the overhead clearance to 8 feet.

If you would like additional information, or would like to receive bridge construction updates via email, please contact Bonnie Clark, Public Relations Officer, at bclark@pcl.com.

Enjoy the trail!

July 31, 2016 by KW

Successful Trail Workday + New Picnic Table

New Picnic Table on the Riverstone Preserve

Thanks to Jim Webster’s carpentry talents, there is now a picnic table on the Riverstone Preserve for all to use. It’s made of white oak and very pretty! Thank you Jim!

When heading north on the WRT, once you are on the preserve take the 1st trail. It leads to the water’s edge. As you get close to the shore, you will find the picnic table on a little rise to the right of the trail. Bring a picnic or just sit a spell. Let us know if you used it and how you like it!

Drainage Work Accomplished

Eight enthusiastic souls showed up for trail work at the Fox Farm Road Trail Access at 9 am Saturday July 23. John, a new volunteer who lives right in the neighborhood showed up with his Kubuto excavator, which was invaluable. Jenny, a hard worker from West Brattleboro, was also a new volunteer. Thanks to both of them! Paul, Lester, Jeff, Kathleen and Jim, veteran volunteers, also showed up, led by our intrepid trail work leader, Jason. The excavator helped us dig better drainage ditches in several areas that tend to overflow. A new 6″ plastic culvert was placed where an old rusty one was removed, and one culvert was extended with new pipe. We trust that when we finally get rain, trail users will see these sections of the trail stay dry or drier. Unfortunately, none of us remembered to take photos of the excavator and it’s driver, or the rest of the work crew and the work that was done. Sorry about that!!!

Thank you to everyone who worked that day to improve the trail for all users!

West River Trail Workday Sat July 23

wrt bridge july 2013 Please join us this Saturday, July 23, 9 AM for a trail workday!

We will be installing 2 culverts and cleaning some drainage ditches to improve drainage in heavy rains and do more work on removal and control of invasive plants.

The trail is in very good condition this year. Our work will help keep the trail dry and easy to use. Come help out for a couple of hours this Saturday morning! We will have fun and hope to have some refreshments.