Is the Path open or closed right now?

CLARIFICATION: The Mill Brook Trail is co-located with the Catamount Trail and a Mad River Riders trail once you head west from the top of Harris Hill, which includes the west side of German Flats Rd. This section is closed via this joint statement from various trail and recreation organizations and agencies. Also, this section is muddy and should be avoided anyways.

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You might have heard that many trails around Vermont are closed due to mud season and as a way to help curb the spread of COVID-19. We want to let you know that the Mad River Path and Mill Brook Trail (only from Marble Hill Rd to Tucker Hill Rd) are open, and we hope to keep them open. 

Click here for the Mad River Path interactive map


We want to be sure you have easy access to the outdoors since nature can be so important to one's health. Again, we hope to keep things open, but if it seems like keeping the Mad River Path and the eastern portion of the Mill Brook Trail open is increasing the risk to public safety, we'll reconsider. We're consulting health professionals to help guide our decision.

So please help us keep the Path open:

  • If you're feeling ill at all, stay home!

  • If a trailhead looks crowded, head to a less crowded spot. “Crowded” in this case means if a parking lot looks half full or more.

  • Recreate solo or in a small group that include only people living in your household.

  • Keep dogs on a leash so they don't brush up against others or tempt other dog lovers to pet your pup.

  • Give others space when passing--at least 6-10 feet.

  • Bring your own dog waste bags, but if you use one from the dispenser, sanitize your hands after (some dispensers are getting low--we are getting more this week).

  • Stay with ten miles of home (recommended by the State of Vermont).

  • Avoid risky areas or those that might be above your ability. We don't want to add stress to medical facilities, and I bet you don't want to go, either!

If things are looking too crowded or too muddy, you can always head to one of the MRV's low-traffic dirt roads.

Stay safe and happy trails!

Nature-based fun with your little ones

Written by guest blogger Lindsey Vandal, an independent nature-based early educational consultant in the Mad River Valley

So you’re at home with your youngster and you’re trying to figure out how to spend your time, keep them engaged and stay balanced, above all.  Here’s a tip: go outside!  The Mad River Path trails are open and ripe for exploration with kids.  Here are some prompts for your time outdoors.  Here’s the catch: I use the term “prompt,” because the following ideas are not a cookie-cutter curriculum.  There is nothing to print out, there are no worksheets; all you need is an optimistic, adventurous state of mind!  Here are some materials you may appreciate, but are surely not required:

  • Weather appropriate attire (for you and your kids)

  • Journal or paper

  • Colored pencils or crayons

  • Basket, paper bag or plastic bag for collecting things

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Then, just go play!  These ideas help you to be the “Guide on the Side,” rather than the “Sage on the Stage.”  You don’t have to be an expert in identifying birds or spring ephemerals, and your children probably wouldn’t listen to a lecture from you anyway.  They learn by playing and doing.  So turn off your phone, give yourself permission to unplug from technology and plug into the natural world. 

Go outside every day Every day!  It doesn’t matter if it’s cold or raining, just 15 minutes will help dispel the cabin-fever crazies.  There’s no such thing as bad weather; just poor clothing choices, as the adage goes, so don your snow pants and weatherproof wear and go join your children.  Kids are so tuned in to their caregivers’ attitudes and vibes, so try to keep a positive outlook and avoid complaining. 

Go for a walk  Doesn’t have to be a new one each time, in fact going on the same route helps kids notice changes over time.  Here are some fun games on your walk to keep things interesting:

Deer Ears: Walk along imagining you are a deer, and use excellent listening skills to see what you notice and hear (cars, birds, wind, etc.).  Try cupping your hands and placing them behind your ears so you look like a deer.  Does this change your ability to hear? 

Fox Walk: Walk like a fox, slowly and carefully, and see what you notice.  Slowing down and using your senses helps to notice more.

Owl Eyes: Imagine that you are an owl with huge eyes and amazing eye sight.  Stand still and observe the world around you.  What do you notice?  Can you hoot like an owl?  Spread your wings and fly silently through the forest? 

Touch Game: Give your kids prompts for things to find, like, “Go touch something green, and run back to me.”  You can invite them touch different colors, sizes, shapes, textures, etc.  This is a great way to introduce vocabulary.  Be playful and model this game and play with them.

Tornado: Every time you call “Tornado!” they have to grab a tree, as if a tornado was coming and it would keep them safe J

Flood: Every time you call “Flood!” they have to get their feet higher than yours, as if a flood was coming, like on a log or up a raised bank, etc.

Ice Storm: Have them walk behind you, and when you turn around they have to freeze like ice statues.  They really dig this one!

Change it up!  Walk at different times of the day, like first thing in the morning before breakfast, or have your kids write a picnic menu and pack a picnic for somewhere special along your walk.  Walk at night with headlamps and flashlights, or go for a “Crepuscular (dusk) Crawl,” and see what you see.  Any turkeys or deer out and about?  What else do you notice?

Write about it!  Enact a journal time where the kiddos can write/draw about their time outside after they come indoors.

Barefoot Game When the weather is a bit more amenable and spring is a bit further along, hit up your favorite trailhead and walk barefoot! (Of course, do a preliminary survey of safety for trash or unsafe objects and remind your child to avoid these things and tell you so you can pick them up and discard of them properly.)  Work together to find opposite feelings with your feet.  For example, can you find something bumpy and something smooth?  Work together, or if your kid/kids are up to it, have them work together and bring back their finds.  Here are some other opposite ideas:

  • Sharp/smooth

  • Warm/cold

  • Wet/dry

  • Soft/hard

  • Sticky/clean

  • Rough/smooth

  • What else can you find???

Choose a “Sit Spot”  Have your child find a place that feels special to them in some way, a place that you can visit together or s/he can walk to from their doorstep.  Have them visit it every day with a journal to write and draw what they see, notice, and experience.  Maybe record the weather or a cool plant/animal they saw?  The options are endless.  This is a great opportunity for a literacy connection, too! 

Make a Map Encourage your child to draw where they traveled today.  You can add to it each time you go out, or do a new one each time. 

**Here are some other nature pointers for successful nature adventures**

  • The biggest thing is to have fun and let the kids be the leaders.  You don’t have to have a set lesson plan or objective to have a good time.  I’ve heard master naturalists describe this way of being as “Forest Snorkeling.”  Go at the leisurely, pace of a good snorkel, where you’re up to find whatever you might find that day, except you just happen to be walking!

  • Give them parameters for safety, like staying away from cars, being able see a grownup or be able to hear a grownup.

  • Avoid the term, “Be careful,” and opt for descriptive explanations, like “I notice ____.  Are you okay with that?”  or, “Use your feet to help you balance there.”  The phrase, “Be careful,” makes us, as caregivers, feel better but the young folk often just tune it out and it doesn’t actually help keep them safer. 

  • A little bit of healthy, risky play is good.  Risk is how children learn, assess situations for themselves, and maybe get a little scraped up but can move on.  If there is a hazard, like a dead branch hanging above their play area that could fall and cause major damage, tell them to move to a safe place.  Try to balance the benefit of the risk with the possible outcome of them being hurt.  For example, if your child is balancing along a log in the forest, it’s risky because they might tumble off and get a scrape.  But the positive outcome of the balancing would be an increased sense of confidence, skill, strength and accomplishment.  All good things, right?! 

Go play, have fun, and enjoy the beautiful trails that we are so lucky to have in our backyard!

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Stay healthy with the MRV's trails

We’ve all heard how important social distancing is to saving the lives of high-risk people during this global pandemic. But being isolated indoors can also bring on other physical and mental challenges. So, please know that many public trails are available to you while staying a safe distance from others.

Click here for the Mad River Path interactive map

Click here to visit Trail Finder for more trails


Some things to consider while you're out on the trails:

  • Give others at least 6 feet when passing by to avoid spreading viruses, even if you feel fine.

  • Avoid groups of people.

  • Sanitize your hands after touching the dog waste bag dispensers.

  • Important to the trail's health but not necessarily yours, be sure to avoid muddy areas on warmer days.

  • Watch out for ice on the colder days.

  • Keep your activities low-risk. Medical facilities could soon have limited capacity.

  • Enjoy the fresh air!

COVID-19 Resources & Updates:

2020 Survey Results!

Thanks to the 156 people who answered the 2020 survey! The insight and guidance gained from the community through this survey is irreplaceable as we plan new Path and trail sections, protect our existing sections, and consider expanding our programs and audience. The survey results are compiled in a PDF linked below.

Click here to see the survey results!

Joe pye weed and a white morning glory flower alongside the Hosford Highway boardwalk between the Skatium and Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

Joe pye weed and a white morning glory flower alongside the Hosford Highway boardwalk between the Skatium and Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

Protecting our kids and trails one poop bag at a time

Also published in the Valley Reporter on February 20, 2020

By Ross Saxton and Lindsey Vandal

It goes without saying that our public trails and pathways here in the Mad River Valley are some of our most prized treasures for folks of all ages. Protecting these points of access to the outdoors is at least as important as keeping them well maintained, and it really is a community effort to keep them in great shape. As the managing organization of more than 11 miles (and growing) of popular and easily accessible trails and pathways in the Mad River Valley, the Mad River Path (MRP) keeps a close eye on needed repairs like erosion, fallen trees and branches, and aging bridges and boardwalks. Another type of maintenance that helps protect trails for years to come requires the help and cooperation from dog loving trail users—picking up after pups when nature calls. 

This fall, Kaitlyn Wimble, preschool teacher at Waitsfield Elementary School, and had an unfortunate run in with some dog waste.  Kaitlyn’s class participates in “Forest Fridays,” a weekly, nature-based learning program that happens at WES, where the students learn, play and explore along Wait’s Way, a section of the Path behind the school.  On this particular day, the children were eating snacks and listening to an oral story from Lindsey Vandal, the founder of “Forest Fridays.”  One student realized that he sat in a pile of dog poop and it was smeared on his mittens, and all down his pant leg and into one of his boots. 

"I felt sad when I sat in the dog poop,” said Kyler, the unlucky, yet incredibly good-natured youngster, who got dirty from the poop that had been left behind.  During a discussion with the class afterwards, one student shared, “We don't want dogs to poop in the middle of the path where we run into the grass and fall over. We don't want dogs to poop on the way in the path to the castle tree." Another chimed in, "It makes me mad when people don't clean up dog poop." Kaitlyn added, that it is “disheartening to see how dog poop has impacted our play outside.” Kaitlyn also wants people to realize that since the Mad River Path and our trails are “spaces that are shared within the whole community, we kindly ask that you consider others who are using the space.”

Lindsey Vandal explained that students started finding dog waste along the trail in mid- September when the class started their weekly outings.  “The dog messes that we found along the trail became mini- lessons, in a way.  A few children noticed the dog poop and warned their friends not to step in them.  We got really good at differentiating between dog waste and coyote scat.  One week, children suggested using the dog waste bags from the trailhead to then throw the waste away. This continued for a few weeks and it got to be the only focus of our mornings, which detracted from the planned curriculum. It was helpful of these kids to do, but it’s not these preschoolers’ job to pick up other people’s dog waste.”

When MRP heard about this from the class, it became obvious that we need to do a little more work to get the attention of the remaining few people who do not pick up after their dogs. The good news is that most people do pick up their dog’s poop when out on a public trail. But all it takes is one or two people who don’t scoop the poop to create a disastrous situation.

Our trails and pathways are shared by the entire community for all kinds of uses, which includes kiddos digging through the leaves, exploring wooded areas, and learning about the natural history of the Mad River Valley. These simple activities have the power to inspire a growing child to become a leader in protecting our natural world. All these spots where kids play “off the beaten path” are exactly where one might think is out of the way and ok for a dog to poop and leave it, but really, these spots are where kids are playing. And since the Path is near the river and many streams, any dog poop left might end up in our favorite swimming holes in the next rain storm or when the snow melts.

MRP makes it super easy to leave the Path as poop-less as possible. You’ll find free dog waste bags at six trailhead stations that we keep full. The Valley’s pathways and trails, including those maintained by Mad River Riders, are “pack in, pack out,” so you do need to bring these bags of dog waste with you. Let’s be sure not leave bags full of dog poop along the side of the trails! We know a bag of poop isn’t the most pleasant thing to have in your car, so keeping a plastic bag or container in your trunk for temporary storage can help. Another important habit is to keep your pup on a leash, even if well trained—it’s the policy of MRP and the towns. You’ll see exactly where your dog does his or her business and can pick it up right away.

It’s absolutely essential to follow the policies and rules of our public trails so that we can reliably build new connections and keep those sections we love so much. People who own land need to know that we take great care for our pathways and trails, and it’s imperative they see that trail users are respectful of the property that they generously open up for public enjoyment. We cannot let a few instances of carelessness risk the future of our trail systems. Please follow the request of Milo—one of Kaitlyn’s young naturalists—"Clean it up in a bag because we could accidentally sit on it."

Learning about doggy poop bags at a free dispenser on Wait’s Way.

Learning about doggy poop bags at a free dispenser on Wait’s Way.

2020 MRP Survey Now Open

The 2020 Mad River Path survey is now open! Your answers help shape the work of the Mad River Path. While we will make the overall results public, no one will know how you answered the survey questions. Two people who take this survey will be randomly selected to win a $50 gift card each to The Blue Stone (thanks to them for their donation!). Please add your name and email at the end to be entered into the drawing. This survey closes on February 12.

Click here to take the survey.

[SURVEY IS CLOSED]

2019 Annual Report

2019 was another productive year for the Mad River Path (MRP). A major focus on Heart of the Valley trail improvements and additions continued, while maintenance along all path and trail sections stayed strong. MRP is financially stable and stayed within our FY19 budget after spending just under $70,000. We are maintaining our operating reserve, which is important for long-term stability and can be used for unexpected expenses, opportunistic projects, capacity building, and to fill short-term unpredictable gaps. The charts at the end of this report illustrate MRP’s 2019 revenues and expenses. MRP transitioned from a part-time to a full time executive director this year, which will help the Path accelerate new path and trail sections. In addition to the executive director, MRP employees a seasonal trail manager for about 500 hours each year from about May through October. We would like to note that the work we accomplish cannot be done without the generous and enthusiastic Mad River Valley community. More than 250 individuals/households and 90 businesses supported MRP in 2019 with financial gifts. Plus, dozens of individuals contributed to our successes through volunteering, in-kind contributions, and donated construction materials.

Below is a list of projects and other accomplishments from 2019.

On-the-ground Projects:

  • Completed the Carroll Road boardwalk and surrounding site work with partners

  • Upgraded a bridge on the Sugarbush Snowmaking Pond Loop

  • Worked with Crosspoint to paint new crosswalk next to Taste Place, creating a safer pedestrian crossing

  • Successfully petitioned VTrans to paint new crosswalk from Carroll Road Boardwalk to the Route 100 sidewalk, thanks to collaborative work with MRV Planning District, the Town of Waitsfield, and public comments

  • Constructed a new public trail from The Swanson Inn to the Mill Brook Trail

  • Installed more than a dozen new trailhead kiosks in partnership with the MRV Trails Collaborative

  • Removed enough invasive honey suckle from the Hosford Highway Boardwalk wetland to fill a small bus

  • Completed the knotweed eradication pilot project on the Austin Parcel with the Town of Waitsfield, Friends of the Mad River, and Intervale Conservation Nursery

  • Restored and improved the gazebo on the West Greenway

  • Established an extension of Wait’s Way from the Route 100 sidewalk to behind the General Wait House parking lot

  • Began winter maintenance program for the Heart of the Valley trail in Irasville

Planning & Assessments:

  • Determined priority maintenance and path/trail resilience projects for 2020

  • Mapped new trails behind the Big Pic and began partnership with private landowner; applied for state and local funds to construct these trails with downtown access. Note: this is phase 1 to connect downtown with existing trail networks

  • Created public survey to gain a better understanding of the community’s wants and needs related to the Path and trails; survey results will be available in early 2020

  • Continued discussions with landowners to complete important gaps in the Warren to Moretown Path

  • Met with partners to strengthen collaborations on trail building and maintenance in the MRV

Heart of the Valley Trail this Winter

We want you to keep walking in downtown Waitsfield and Irasville all winter long! New this year, we're trying to keep the downtown section of the Path clear of snow and ice until the tulips come up. Stay attentive, though, as there will be times after storms that it'll be slick. Over the winter, a layer of compressed snow and ice may build up, so please keep an eye out for sections of that, too.

A HUGE thanks to Lawson's Finest Liquids for doing a lot of work to keep the boardwalks cleared! They're committed to keeping downtown walkable year-round. To the south, we hired a contractor to shovel, snowblow, and sand between the Skatium and Taste Place.

Enjoy!

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New Route 100 crosswalk coming soon!

Good news! VTrans approved our request to paint a crosswalk from the Carroll Road boardwalk to the Route 100 sidewalk. Crosswalk signs are coming soon while the paint will come in the spring. Projects like these are important to improve the safety of people walking and rolling in our downtowns. The crosswalk comes soon after the new Carroll Road boardwalk was constructed this past summer. A concrete “warning pad” was installed on the Carroll Road side of Route 100 to match the existing warning pad on the other side. These are required for a crosswalk to be painted.

Many thanks to our partners for making this a successful team effort, including the Town of Waitsfield, Mad River Valley Planning District, and everyone who sent in their comments.

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Battling invasive plants on Waitsfield's Austin Parcel

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If you spend any time near the Mad River, it’s more than likely you’ve noticed the thick stands of bamboo-looking plants that infest its banks. All that is knotweed, and it’s darn hard to keep at bay. Mixed in near the river are other invasive plants that offer little value to local wildlife and our native ecosystem, like honeysuckle and buckthorn. As invasives grow and expand, the native plants that make our local natural world function become choked out. As a way to test non-chemical methods to control these invasive plants on Waitsfield’s Austin Parcel, we partnered with the Town of Waitsfield, Friends of the Mad River, and Intervale Conservation Nursery.

For two years we hacked, cut, pulled, and composted knotweed, honeysuckle, and buckthorn—more than 1,200 plants! We then planted 19 different native species in their place, including box elder, silky dogwood, and silver maple, totaling more than 500 individual plants. The result so far is a successful project. We’re working with our partners to determine a long-term plan, but the idea is that new native plants will over-shadow and out-compete the invasive plants while we keep cutting and pulling the unwanted plants. The Austin Parcel is almost entirely free of invasive plants and is restored to a functional floodplain with thriving native plants. Take a walk on the Path to check it out!

Click here to read the full project report.