My last ride of my Vermont Trip was at this spot in Waterbury. You ride over the railroad tracks (an Amtrak Train whizzed by right before I headed in!)...
and then you ride thru this tunnel that goes underneath the Interstate Highway.
The only signage at this park is the kiosk at the bottom of a LOOOONNNGG slog up the green trail called Permission.
I was lucky to catch the mid morning sun rays beaming thru the woods - it was beautiful.
Stupid me got up quite a ways when I realized I didn't have my helmet. So I climbed the steepest section twice!! Truth be told, it was brutal for me as it was 90 degrees plus and super humid as well.
So I probably hiked 70% percent of the long climb. Once you reach the trail intersections, it is not quite as steep but it is a relentless climb way up to the top.
This short video is not at the top (although I thought it was in my narration)
As the video states, I opted to take the Yellow Trail and it still continued up the mountain! Fortunately this was more typical singletrack with switchbacks and roots galore and the grade was not as relentlessly up (some short flat and downhill spots for a change).
You reach this clearing (the trail skirts the edge) which perhaps is the actual top of the mountain! Satellite View >
The way down the Yellow was awesome - well benched with artfully sculpted berms. It was a speedy scenic descent.
The section thru the pines was awesome!
Further down, the trail skirts the edges of small ravines - twisting and turning to follow the edges...
The whole ride only took an hour and ten minutes and probably the descent was a mere 20 minutes -- but twenty minutes of pure ecstasy (especially after the long torture of the ascent! :-)
After riding the Island Rail Trail in Burlington (late morning), I grabbed lunch in Burlington and headed back to Stowe and got started here at 3 PM. I was here 4 years ago with my son back when it was still a purposely semi-secret place. Well things drastically changed (for the better!) and now--not only is the place recognized as “official”--but there has been considerably more trails added.
Simply put - it is freakin’ awesome...
Entrance on Mountain Road
After a strenuous but do-able one-way climb thru a series of switchbacks, you get to an intersection and your choice of riding fun begins...
Great Singletrack!
the climb...
well labeled intersections
(straight ahead - the climb to the "chair")
I opted to head up to the green chair, which I remembered from my previous visit. It's at the top of the first mountain. A chair from a ski lift was randomly hung here years ago and by looking thru the chair you can see the Mt Mansfield ski trails. Sadly that section of the photo got bleached out by the sun :-(
the "chair"
There are some rough hewn rock outcroppings here and there which you can ride (I simply chose the B line) and there is constant climbing and roots and twists and turns everywhere you go.
terrain features
Much of the higher ground is a tall pine forest so you have that lovely lack of undergrowth...just a lush bed of pine needles on the ground all around. All these side trails are "old school" and fun but challenging to ride.
nice "old school" trail
The trail aptly named "Bridgey" has quite a few boardwalks to traverse.
check out the bridge/boardwalk
After finding the trail "Zog", I planned on heading out (I was bushed!) but noticed the sculpted trail off to the side that wasn't on the map. Man... this was amazing! I--without even trying--end up flying down a series of huge sculpted berms and curves at probably close to 30 mph! I end up back on Zog and had to slog back up but it was worth it.
just made >> new flow trail - berms galore!!!
The rest of the main trail out-- on the Cady Hill connector-- once in the downhill section--was professionally sculpted as well and another fast bomb :-)
Lastly, the one-way out on Bear's Trail seemed to last forever. A series of switchbacks took me back down to the parking lot and I realized just how much the climb was to get into the park! Phew! For a change, it felt like I had done more descending then ascending!
Once in the parking lot, I chatted with another rider who said the sculpted trail I rode next to Zog's was just finished yesterday! Boy was I a lucky dude :-)
I am staying at a Trapp Family Guest House with family for a few days and I got to riding at around 9 am. These single track trails are really great! A good amount of well thought out climbing with switchbacks gets you up a couple of hundred feet but the loop itself continues "the theme of up and down" as there are many switchbacks on the loop section as well.
Rocks, roots, twists and turns and many climbs and descents make it a challenging place to ride but very do-able. There is more single-track to explore that goes further west and up - hope to get to that as well.
I was curious how this park was shaping up. Although I rode Hemlock Hills in the morning, I was up in the area and not too tired to give this place a go as well…
Last year our Bike Chapter FCNEMBA got the green light from the City of Danbury to build a trail system for this park. We had built some sweet singletrack already and folks have been slowly adding more.
The ride in from the parking lot is a fire road unless you ride the newly built trail starting from the west side of the lot. I discovered this on the way back and let me tell you>> it is AWESOME. Super twisty thru the pine trees but the flow and craftsmanship of the trail is superb. Nice work Mike and crew!!!!
Happily, the trail we built was nicely broken in by frequent riding and what was added on was perfect! The climb up reminded me a bit of Kingdom Trails - the long section you climb after doing Sidewinder. Believe me, I am not a fan of climbing but here is great flow, the benching is perfect and climbing wasn’t difficult. Needless to say... the ride back down was a blast. :-)
great benching
I rode up to where the benching stopped and then rode halfway back down to scoot over to the fire road. I then slogged up to the top of the mountain. It was awesome as the sun was shining and the forest was "shimmering"...
fire road - sunlight was just right on the pines all around
top of mountain
At The Summit
After I bombed back down the fire road (and then joyfully descended on the perfectly benched single track!), I headed over to the pond and checked out the old fireplace. Despite the off and on crappy clouds through out the day, by the pond it was beautiful and sunny!
I got off to a decent start and got to the Windwing Trails entrance around 9 am (its close to an hour’s drive from my house). I was still handicapped by a jerry-rigged hard tail with crappy brakes (my XC bike is in the shop) but I was anxious to explore the park as I have only ridden it a couple of times and remember it being stunning.
I parked by the baseball fields and rode through the Windwing Field Loops (aerial) for starters. These easy trails were created by locals to encourage young riders to hone their skills and have fun riding together off road.
Windwing field loops
I had to stop by the lake and snap a photo...
A kiosk greets you at the intersection with the Red.
I road west on the Red by the lake and then turned around and climbed up the middle trail to get to the Orange.
Once I rode up the first hill, I then turned west on the Yellow. The Yellow was a double tracked stoney hilly jeep road. Mistakenly thinking it was the main trail (since that’s where the double track headed), I bombed down a side trail and ended up on North Shore road... (bummer!)
... but headed back up and found the blazes where the Yellow turned into single track and headed up some steep hills. The trail thru here was awesome and the scenery super rugged. Massive granite cliffs loomed ahead while the trail was challenging rocky, rooty and hilly!
The Landscape
Finally right before the Yellow started plunging downward, I found the side trail going eastward. That was equally awesome and I ended back at the Orange. Getting my bearings, I headed north on the Orange double track and turned to struggle up the Yellow. After the hill, it got easier and then merged with the Blue.
But after the next intersection where the Blue veers of the left, the Yellow to the right was an absolute beast: rocks, rocks and more rocks and I ended up walking most of it :-(
It was treacherous for a long stretch and although I was intending on going to the Ives Cottage Ruins, I decided instead to take the Blue where it turned westward. It was partly down the rock strewn hill but once I got going on it, it was a little easier. There where a few ball breakers thru this stretch as well!
Rugged Rock Strewn Trail - Hike a Bike for Me :-(
Finally I took a breather where the Blue met the Red. Carrots in my Camelback hit the spot!
Lastly, I rode the Red back westward and settled in a little better - this was more my level of riding although there some tricky sections there as well. This park will waste you - the scenery is rugged and awesome but the trails are tough: rocky and super hilly much of the way. Flow is few, but stamina, fortitude and balance is mandatory!
It's been ages since I posted here. Not that I haven't been riding - it's just that there was nothing new to report. I have been riding Trumbull (pValley), Mianus, Colonie and Luther whenever I had time but today's ride was a bit usual as my FSR XC was busted big time - the H Link cracked and it'll take a month for the part to come in.
So rather than go stir crazy I took a different tact..
Retro
It was a retro day - my bike was a jerry-rigged old hard tail and my phone an old flip phone! Nevertheless it was a fun day and brought me back to then times I rode here with my son ages ago with the same bike and phone!
I took a short rest by the water’s edge at this lovely little spot… maybe some of you know it? You can sit on the tree trunk and there is a root protruding from the riverbank that’s a perfect spot for your feet! The photo is kinda crappy and doesn't do the spot justice!
I ventured down by the river near the old crossing in the middle of the park - right where the Serengeti begins. I was able to walk out on a sandbar (actually gravel) to get this shot. It came out not bad considering it was the flip phone camera.
I of course had to ride up to the Central Maze and do the Yellow Slab Rock section. I found out surprisingly that the heavier hard tail was actually a little easier to ride in spots - there were more lower gears I guess so the hills didn't seem as bad. But the rooty sections were rougher on the butt for sure!!
