Thursday, August 18, 2016
The eastern section of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail opened officially at the end of last September. It is about 17 miles of trail from St. Johnsbury to Danville, ending alongside Joe's Pond. It is part of a project that is patching together pieces of the rail route to establish the longest continuous rail trail in New England, stretching about 100 miles across Vermont from S.t Johnsbury to St. Albans. Another 15 mile section opened this spring in the center of Vermont, I have not checked this new section out yet --stay tuned.
The surface is hard packed smooth stone dust. There are tunnels and bridges, lots of forest and good views of the Vermont hillsides. There is a good general store in Danville for hot soup, coffee and lunch. When we did the trail last fall there were many bikers, pedestrians, dog walkers, and two horses out enjoying the trail. The weather forecast, as of this morning, looks good for this out-of-the-valley-experience. Escape from the local traffic!!
The surface is fine for all bikes. A mountain bike is overkill. Teeny tiny skinny tires might do OK IF you watch for the rougher spots. The only occasional surface issues I saw were at some of the road crossings, the interface between the trail and the road was not always perfectly aligned and sometimes soft. The trail climbs gradually all the way to Danville. It is a hardly noticeable climb. The downhill trip back, however, is a hoot! It is certainly the easiest, flattest way to travel east-west across any part of Vermont!! Thank you to the railroad designers and engineers!
Check out the website: www.lvrt.org
Time: Ready to ride at the Lamoille Valley Rail Trailhead at 10:00 am.
Carpool? If you like, meet at Attitash parking lot, far end away from the lifts, at 8:30 am to carpool, otherwise, meet at the trailhead in St Johnsbury.
The eastern section of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail opened officially at the end of last September. It is about 17 miles of trail from St. Johnsbury to Danville, ending alongside Joe's Pond. It is part of a project that is patching together pieces of the rail route to establish the longest continuous rail trail in New England, stretching about 100 miles across Vermont from S.t Johnsbury to St. Albans. Another 15 mile section opened this spring in the center of Vermont, I have not checked this new section out yet --stay tuned.
The surface is hard packed smooth stone dust. There are tunnels and bridges, lots of forest and good views of the Vermont hillsides. There is a good general store in Danville for hot soup, coffee and lunch. When we did the trail last fall there were many bikers, pedestrians, dog walkers, and two horses out enjoying the trail. The weather forecast, as of this morning, looks good for this out-of-the-valley-experience. Escape from the local traffic!!
The surface is fine for all bikes. A mountain bike is overkill. Teeny tiny skinny tires might do OK IF you watch for the rougher spots. The only occasional surface issues I saw were at some of the road crossings, the interface between the trail and the road was not always perfectly aligned and sometimes soft. The trail climbs gradually all the way to Danville. It is a hardly noticeable climb. The downhill trip back, however, is a hoot! It is certainly the easiest, flattest way to travel east-west across any part of Vermont!! Thank you to the railroad designers and engineers!
Check out the website: www.lvrt.org
Time: Ready to ride at the Lamoille Valley Rail Trailhead at 10:00 am.
Carpool? If you like, meet at Attitash parking lot, far end away from the lifts, at 8:30 am to carpool, otherwise, meet at the trailhead in St Johnsbury.
Round trip we will have a 34 mile car-free adventure!!
Bring snacks and lunch or stop at the General Store in Danville.We can eat on the shore of Joe's Pond.
Directions:
Take Route 302 over Crawford Notch towards Bethlehem and get onto Route 93 north into Vermont. At the Route 91 interchange, go north on 91 for a very short distance, hardly off the entrance ramp. Take the first exit, Route 5, then take a right at the end of the ramp and go a short distance, noticing the sign for the bike path on the right. It is called Railroad Street or Main Street depending on map. Take the right and then immediate right again down a short steep slope into the trailhead parking lot. The map app says it is a 1 hour 15 minutes drive.
Bring snacks and lunch or stop at the General Store in Danville.We can eat on the shore of Joe's Pond.
Directions:
Take Route 302 over Crawford Notch towards Bethlehem and get onto Route 93 north into Vermont. At the Route 91 interchange, go north on 91 for a very short distance, hardly off the entrance ramp. Take the first exit, Route 5, then take a right at the end of the ramp and go a short distance, noticing the sign for the bike path on the right. It is called Railroad Street or Main Street depending on map. Take the right and then immediate right again down a short steep slope into the trailhead parking lot. The map app says it is a 1 hour 15 minutes drive.
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