Join The Nature Conservancy at their Black Mountain Natural Area on Rice Farm Road in Dummerston on Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 1 pm for a trip to the 275-acre parcel they plan to acquire this summer. Walk through oak, pine and hemlock forest. The mountain laurel should be at peak bloom!
Trip Contact: Jon Binhammer, jbinhammer@tnc.org or 802-229-4425 ext 110.
Difficulty level: Moderate 4 mile hike–walking on logging roads.
The Vermont State Parks and the Green Mountain Club recommends the West River Trail at the Jamaica State Park as a place to hike in early spring. Hurray for spring!
Here is an excerpt from the Green Mountain Club webpage: Click HERE for more info.
Plan spring hikes in hardwood forests at lower elevations. If a trail is so muddy that you need to walk on the vegetation beside it, turn back and find another place to hike. Avoid spruce-fir (conifer) forest at higher elevations and on north slopes before late May and from the end of October until frozen or snow-covered.
Some recommended places to hike this spring are:
Southeast Vermont:
• West River Trail , click HERE for details.
• Jamaica State Park Trails
Recreational Trails in Jamacia State Park: West River Trail, 2.0 miles from park entrance to Cobb Brook Bridge.
One of few converted rail beds in southern Vermont, the section in the park is universally-accessible and great for easy walking, jogging or biking. Open to all foot travel and bicycles. The trail meanders along the West River, following the old bed of the West River Railroad. Look for “The Dumplings,” a group of large boulders about one half mile up the trail. Follow the trail for another 1.5 miles to reach Cobb Brook. After crossing the brook, the trail continues to Ball Mountain Dam (another 0.5 mile on federal property). Completed in 1961 for flood control, the dam stands 265 feet high and is 915 feet long. The section of trail in the park is part of a rail trail that is managed by the Friends of the West River Trail.
With the trails in State Parks, check in with the VT Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation to see if the park and trails are open. Their phone number is (802) 241-3655.
Save the date!
The West River Trail Run
June 7, 2014
A spectacular run along the West River from South Londonderry to Jamaica in beautiful Southern Vermont. Open to single runners & relay teams of 3. Hikers and walkers are welcome and will start about an hour before the runners.
For more information, please call 802-824-4200 or check the The West River Trail Run website. Or follow on Facebook.
The West River Trail is open from the northern trailhead to a point just north of the bridge construction area. The northern trailhead access location is on Rice Farm Road, about a mile south of the Iron Bridge. The trail is closed at the Marina Trailhead and through access will not be permitted from the north. Truck activity on the West River Trail will be increasing heavily throughout the spring and summer. For everyone’s safety, recreational users of the West River Trail should seek out alternative access points to the West River Trail or one of several other trails available to the community. Signage at the Marina Trailhead and Rice Farm Road Trailhead will indicate current trail status. Check the project’s website for the current status of the trail.
If you would like additional information, or would like to add others to this distribution list, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. ccook@adamantaccord.com.
Some pictures from the recent I-91 Bridge Construction Trail Talk. Hosted by PCL and FIGG, the construction and design companies for the bridge, the trail talk was led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).
For additional information, or to be added to an email distribution list for all project updates, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. at ccook@adamantaccord.com.
The day started out brisk, cold and gray, but the sun came out and warmed us up nicely–perfect for working on the trail! We had a great group of 15 volunteers! The chainsaw group cut up and moved several fallen trees off the trail (including some on the new Riverstone Preserve property); the culvert clearing group dug and ditched and cleared the culverts of fallen leaves, allowing the water to flow through them again; the ATV group traveled the length of the trail, trimming the tops of the new mile marker posts, putting up some signage and collecting small piles of trash; and the loppers and trimmers cleared trails on the Riverstone Preserve. We were happy to welcome Amy Enochs, a staff from the Greenwood School and 4 of her students, Willie, Thomas, Dale and Zachary. We also appreciated the help of Jim Ethier, Tim Tyrrell, Steve Shriner, Joan Weir, Malcolm Moore, Marcia Steckler, and Kathleen White. Peter Yost co-coordinated the day’s work with Jason Cooper-thank you Peter and Jason! And Peter’s daughter, May, did a great job driving the ATV. Thank you to all who came out. A lot was accomplished and we received great feedback about the trail from many happy trail users!
Local non-profit Riverbank Media is pleased to announce a free public screening of its latest film, After the Floods: Vermont’s Rivers and the Legacy of Irene, on Thursday, November 14th, at 6:30pm at the Londonderry Depot at 34 W River St., Londonderry, VT. The hour-long film explores river dynamics, opportunities for improving flood resiliency, and the long-term consequences of river modification on town communities and fish habitat. Producer Joe DeFelice traveled to locations across the state interviewing agency experts and environmental leaders about the current state of our rivers and the challenge of preparing for likely future events. After the Floods was funded in part by a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Watershed grant and is Riverbank Media’s fifth film. For a small donation, DVDs of Riverbank Media’s other work will be available.
Recent West River Trail improvements are the result of the hard work of a crew from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. In their three weeks on the West River Trail, the crew rebuilt the bridge by the beaver dam, including stone work underneath, new locust posts set on new stone pilings and lashed railings in place. Wooden mile marker posts have been set every ½ mile, more drainage work was completed, all the old car metal debris and tires have been hauled away and a 1/2 mile of new trail will be cleared, north of the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead, on The Nature Conservancy land. A big thanks to Corps crew members Roslyn Peters, Emma Rubalcava, Gray Barret, Dylan Berger, Amelia Barton, Kate Stevens, Nick Martiros and Zach Sullivan and crew leaders Brittany Kusserow and Alec Harris of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps for their good work.
“A lifelong couch potato discovers the joys of sunshine and putting one foot in front of the other” — on the West River Trail in April.
A nice mention of the West River Trail from Maine on the blog Fresh Air for Dummies.
The 1st Annual West River Trail Run held on June 1, 2013 was a huge success! Runners were blessed with spectacular weather and a beautiful trail. A big thanks to the runners, volunteers and spectators, and to our partners – Friends of the West River Trail, Southern Vermont Technical Rescue, Winhall/Townshend Campground and Jamaica State Park. A big thanks also to our sponsors – Stratton Mountain Resort, TimberQuest, Prospect Rehabilitation, Real Sports, Peabody’s Apiaries, Taylor Farm, Maggie’s Farm and Grandma Millers.
More pictures can be found on the West River Trail Run Facebook page. Hope to see you again next year!
THE WEST RIVER TRAIL 