Captain Brainstorm
Well-Known Member
My kids hump my alcohol around the hills for me. It’s the least they can do for free room, board, and bikes.
Kingdom Trails trail closures
- Thread starter Kirt
- Start date
My kids hump my alcohol around the hills for me. It’s the least they can do for free room, board, and bikes.
goodvibe
Well-Known Member
Just got back from there and rode 75 miles over four days. I thought the closures would have been bad, but they were not too bad. A chunk of trails near Heaven's Bench were just opened up to add to the flow. There is a bunch of new stuff. Butter Tubs, Flower Brook, NewT are pretty good. The NewT is to try to make up for losing the Three T's. There was another one that was not open, but was a flow trail next to Fox Run.
Over in Moose Haven, Black Bear was extended and there was a trail that went down the other side of the hill. It was a good week of mountain biking.
Over in Moose Haven, Black Bear was extended and there was a trail that went down the other side of the hill. It was a good week of mountain biking.
How was the quarantine before heading up?
Agreed....The new stuff is great...new T, Emmas sanctuary, the flow trails and jumps behind the bike shop....The black bear extension is amazing....Heavens bench/ridge/rim is still one of my favorites and its open again...To me, losing the Ts was at most a bummer, but there is so much other stuff now....didnt change my mind at all about going to KT...its still amazing.
Big topic of discussion on our text thread yesterday. I guess I find it curious that the landowner allowed Flower brook to be built at all after they pulled the original parcel in 2019. However, maybe it was a short-term "loan" that connected the 2 Moose systems while they finished up the top connector.
Oddly, that little bit of White School is a big hit, because now you can't connect Moose Alley & Farm Junk anymore.
goodvibe
Well-Known Member
That is so crazy. They just built that trail recently and put a ton of work in and they pull use of the trail. So sad.
I thought the same, curious indeed. Its difficult to repair a relationship once things go south though. Not going to speculate on how the build was allowed then access pulled, but its a real bummer.
Yep, stings for sure.
Indeed. So much of VT mtb acess (75%) is on private land and I couldnt help but think of the old "don't jersey Vermont" campaign. How soon before it's all gone?
I do find this ironic given that NY/NJ brought almost $600M in tourist income to Vermont in 2022. That translates to almost $1000 per person in the state of Vermont.
I know these sorts of facts are pointless in a discussion like this. But tourism is 1 of the top 3 sources of income in the state, the other 2 of course benefitting from that tourist dollar in the form of hospitals & insurance.
Not saying that people from NY/NJ aren't assholes. I mean, we often are.
But you ask a great question. What's this system look like in 20 years?
Ian F
Well-Known Member
Perhaps... but I'm not sure the landowners are affected by that tourist income. At least not directly. Now if the local municipalities were to grant tax breaks for those who allow recreation on their properties... Hmm...
I'm currently working in NH again, so as soon as KT opens, I'll head up for a day trip and see how things play out. I'm already planning a route from town up around Burke Mtn towards the northern network. Losing that section of White School really sux, although I rode New School last year and it was ok. Then back-track on White School to get to Farm Junk and others.
I'm currently working in NH again, so as soon as KT opens, I'll head up for a day trip and see how things play out. I'm already planning a route from town up around Burke Mtn towards the northern network. Losing that section of White School really sux, although I rode New School last year and it was ok. Then back-track on White School to get to Farm Junk and others.
No you're right, which is why I said it's pointless in a discussion like this. It was more in reply of a "Don't Jersey Vermont" campaign. I am sure the landowners see much benefit to this at all.
JPark
Well-Known Member
You make a great point.
The landowner doesn't really see any benefit of letting people ride on their land. The local businesses see a benefit but not the landowner.
A tax break or some incentive could help a lot.
As mentioned probably way back in this thread, if they're compensated they lose their shielding from liability.
I had to think for awhile where Flower Brook in the old trail area was because it didn't occur to me that new trail connecting old & new would be taken away. With the loss of these two trails the trail sections are separated once again removing a lot of the all-day rides. Skydive/Farm Junk are definitely killed because there's no real parking over there and they're not worth driving and parking for anyway.
Not entirely accurate. You can connect through butter tubs/swamp donkey. it's a bummer not to have the more direct option for sure though.
You can still ride to them from anywhere in the network. Shorter days will lend themselves more to shuttles, but that's always been the case for that section.
The impact of eco tourism on locals is both positive and negative. Among the positive examples are increased property values, more employment and business opportunities, increased exposure and political clout for legislative/natural space protection issues, etc. Sadly the negative impacts, especially for a long time landowner who doesn't embrace growth / change (NIMBY, see Union/Essex/Bergen for pinnacle examples of this) can far outweigh the benefits. Visitors, even when respectful, stress the local infrastructure, crowd the once sleepy recreation scene, and add environmental impact.
They haven't published on yet like they did in 2019 that I've seen, but just cross Flower Brook completely off and presumably the White School section up near White School rd.
there's a couple of "schools" .. was wondering how much of that patch was pulled... and how you would even get to some of those trails over there without a "school" trail...
Ian F
Well-Known Member
The sections are hi-lited in the KT new email sent out yesterday, but it's not easy to read. Here's a Snipped section of the 2022 trail map on the website. Hi-lights by me:
The section of White School from the road will sting. I'm still trying to remember if I got to ride Flower Brook at all.
The section of White School from the road will sting. I'm still trying to remember if I got to ride Flower Brook at all.
