The Waitsfield Conservation Commission is exploring trail networks at the town-owned Old Fairgrounds parcel and possible connections to existing trails on other town-owned properties.
At a December 16 meeting of the Waitsfield Conservation Commission, a member of the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) presented a trail inventory for a 110-acre parcel that was once used as The Valley’s fairgrounds in the late 1880s.
The 110-acre parcel was donated to Waitsfield in 2023 by an anonymous group of investors, which purchased the parcel from the Lee family in 2022. It is located on the east side of the Mad River and near the southern end of Irasville. It adjoins other town-owned properties along Route 100 and the Mad River, including the Austin Parcel, the Tardy Parcel, and the Lareau Swim Hole.
Mead Binhammer, VLT, said that trails spread throughout the donated parcel – which used to function as skid roads for lumber harvesting and are now used recreationally – could be better connected up to the existing trail network in Wu Ledges Town Forest.
TRAILS
Trails in the donated parcel include two single-track trails and a few additional segments, Binhammer said. They are located in the northwest and southeast corners of the parcel, with entryways along the bank of the Mad River below a field and on private property to the south, respectively.
Binhammer said the town could think about how to make those single-track trails more visible for the public – through blazing, signage or other means – as well as merging them with the existing trails in the Wu Ledges network, which are more clearly marked. However, there are some challenges with trail connectivity, according to Binhammer’s report, since much of the donated parcel is steep and contains large sections of ledge.
He also talked with commissioners about creating better entrance points and crossings along the trails, especially at the Mad River. Those could look like foot traffic over large rocks, rock piers, or a 10- to12-foot bridge constructed from wood or aluminum. He suggested that commissioners walk the streambanks of the river to look for areas that would require the lowest allocation of resources to get across – with attention to distance and bank stability.
SENSITIVE AREAS
Commissions talked briefly about the possibility of creating parking areas in the parcel, but stressed that they are in an extremely early stage of any potential development work and are aware of sensitive areas on the property.
With the land donation, investors included a non-binding statement of intent for use of the parcel. They hoped the ‘Old Fairgrounds’ portion – the flat, approximately 15-acre open field behind Our Lady of the Snows – would be used to meet community needs like housing and/or a municipal wastewater disposal to support housing development.
They also said they hoped the town’s conservation commission would steward the remainder of the parcel, by doing resource assessments – which the town is currently engaged in – and creating a management plan with community input.
Commissioners said a county forester will present a report with forest management recommendations for the parcel at an upcoming meeting.
NEW TRAIL SEGMENT PLANS
At the December meeting, commissioner James Donaldson provided updates about plans to construct a new, approximately 5,700-foot segment of trail to expand the Scrag Mountain Trail in the Scrag Mountain Town Forest.
The proposed new trail will start at the end of the loop trail constructed on the Gateway parcel in late 2023 and will terminate at an intersection with the existing Scrag Trail just below and to the southwest of the beaver pond.
Donaldson told commissioners the town received an estimate of $45,000 for the construction work and is filing a Vermont Department of Forests Parks and Recreation grant application for just over $38,000, requiring a 20% match from the town. However, he said the town is not counting on it as the primary funding mechanism for trail construction, as funding is competitive this year.
The intent with the new trail is to “provide a sustainable route for hiking in lieu of the Scrag Trail and provide a more immersive experience in the forest,” Donaldson told The Valley Reporter.
