Vermont Outdoor Recreation Plan Highlights

This is a small, cut-and-paste collection of highlights from the plan. It probably won't cover all of the information you're looking for. If this is the case, download the entire plan (PDF file 3.3 MB, off-site link) and search for keywords or browse the table of contents. Happy trails!

Desired Conditions

1. Everyone who wishes to participate in outdoor recreation activities in Vermont has an opportunity to do so.
2. Vermont's natural resources base, which provides the foundation for outdoor recreational pursuits, is protected and enhanced.
3. The quality of existing outdoor recreation facilities, programming, and operations is high.
4. Vermont meets increasing needs for outdoor recreation by making more resources and diverse programming available.
5. Vermont finds creative solutions to situations where outdoor recreation conflicts occur.
6. The majority of private landowners in Vermont continue to allow free access to their land for outdoor public recreation.
7. Recreation participants of all ages appreciate the natural resource base, act as good stewards of natural resources and the recreation infrastructure, and treat private and public resources and other users with respect.
8. Outdoor recreationists in Vermont experience health benefits, and those communities which emphasize outdoor recreation in their development become healthier.
9. Information about Vermont's outdoor recreational opportunities is provided in user-friendly ways and directs people to appropriate places.
10. There is adequate administrative support for Vermont's outdoor recreation industry.

Trails-Based Activities in Forested and Back-Country Areas

There are many activities that occur in forested and back-country lands in Vermont during the months without snow cover. Among these are mountain biking, horseback riding, trekking, off-road recreation, and hiking.

Mountain Biking

The sport of mountain biking can be dated back to the 1940s, when individuals used bicycles with wide tires to ride around the forest. The mountain biking that people experience today has been done for about 25 years. Mountain biking appeals to people of all ages.

Resource Managers report increasing use of trails by mountain bikers. Results of the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) conducted between 1999 and 2004 found that annual participation by Vermonters is 35 percent of the population or 167,743 individuals. There are an estimated 200,000 mountain bikes owned in the state with well over 100,000 mountain bike visits to the state annually.

Mountain biking opportunities on private lands include many at alpine and nordic ski areas and facilities. Trails available for mountain biking on Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) lands include gravel-surfaced roads, forest highways (skid roads), rail trails, and state park roads outside of the regular operating season. In addition, there are a few pilot projects where mountain biking is allowed. Otherwise, use is granted by permission of the FPR Commissioner. On the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF), mountain bikes and other bicycle uses are limited to an approved system of travelways. The Wilderness, Primitive, and Special Areas of the forest are closed to bicycle use. Biking is not permitted on the Appalachian Trail or the Long Trail. The 2002 recreation survey of Vermont residents found that nearly 56 percent agreed or strongly agreed that more trails should be opened up on public lands for riding mountain bikes.

The Vermont Mountain Bike Association (formerly "Advocates) (VMBA) is the statewide organization dedicated to promoting the sport in the state.

Achievements

The Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) established their Landowner Support Fund in 2003. It provides money to landowners, who allow free access of their lands, to cover legal costs associated with defending a claim for injury brought by a mountain biker. VMBA offers the Sprockids program to towns so that children can learn how to ride safely and keep their bikes in good repair. An update of the Central Vermont Back Roads Bike Tour Guide was published in 2004. It was sponsored by Onion River Sports and written by the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission. Mount Snow has hosted the major competitions for the past ten years which draw bikers from all over the world. Men's Journal ranked East Burke number five in 2004 in its "Top Ten Best Fall Mountain Bike Rides." The Kingdom Trail Association has one of the most successful community- based trail system in the nation.

Issues

• Limited access to public and private land is on ongoing problem.
• More off-road (dirt), loop, and single track trails are desired by many riders.
• There is a need to grow public awareness about the benefits of mountain biking to dispel misinformation and prejudice about bike impacts on land.
• Increased use of undesignated trails and riders looking for the challenges of gullies, roots, rocks, and water have resulted in user conflicts and negative impacts to natural resources in some areas.

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