2020 Circumburke Challenge Will be Cancelled
September 15, 2020
The Circumburke Trail Challenge is a 27-mile backcountry course for trail runners and mountain bikers to test their limits. Traditionally Circumburke has been a one-day event that circumnavigates Burke Mt. on a route through state land connecting Kingdom Trails, the Victory Hill sector, and Burke Mt. singletrack in a wild corner of Vermont’s NEK. Participants have embraced the intense physical and mental challenge that the course offers. Previous challenges have brought over 600 racers as well as their families and friends to the area.
This year, with careful consideration for safety, the event had been restructured in partnership with VT State Parks and Recreation to offer multiple date choices, capping registration numbers each day to protect the local community by avoiding a large group gathering, and allow for social distancing on course.
Conceived in 2010, the event has been produced in partnership between Victory Hill and Kingdom Trails to help provide economic support to the region during the Fall tourist shoulder season. With the cancellation of so many recent events and the resulting economic impact facing the area, KTA had been hopeful that Circumburke would provide a timely boost to morale and local businesses.
In 2020, the event was planned to be produced solely by KTA, the Circumburke Challenge has historically served as a fundraising event for the Kingdom Trail Association with a portion of the proceeds designated for access to Vermont state land and dedicated to maintaining and building trails to provide recreation and education opportunities, fostering the health of the local community, surrounding environment, and regional economy.
A part of the route of the Circumburke Challenge passes through a section of the Victory Hill Sector trails, an integral part of the course that is currently closed to bikes due to an ongoing Act 250 Jurisdictional Opinion proceeding. The final decision to cancel the event was made in consideration of the potential for further Act 250 complications for Victory Hill, as well as the potential impact on KTA’s own pending Act 250 Jurisdictional Opinion.
KTA wishes to thank all Circumburkers and our communities for understanding the decision to cancel the 2020 Circumburke Trail Challenge. Those who have registered for the 2020 event will receive a full refund. KTA looks forward to hosting the Circumburke in the future to celebrate epic single track and trail users and to help provide an economic boost during a slower time of year for the economy of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
If you would like more information on the Circumburke Trail Challenge, please email info@kingdomtrail.org
Dear KT Community, I write to you today as I begin a transition in my relationship with Kingdom Trails. I have made the difficult decision to take the next step in my professional journey and step away from my role as Executive Director. Serving Kingdom Trails and this incredible community over the past eight years has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I am deeply proud of the work I’ve led and supported, from navigating immense global challenges and natural disasters, to forging incredible relationships, with our landowners and community. And throughout this journey, the Northeast Kingdom has become not just where I live, but truly my home. It’s the place I chose to become a mother and where my family has put down roots. That said, I am ready to explore new ways to serve this community, ways that will allow me to continue growing as a leader. I’ve accepted the role of Interim Executive Director for the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative, where I will carry forward the work I fell in love with through Kingdom Trails: strengthening our communities and supporting thoughtful economic development. In this new role, I’ll have the opportunity to advocate not only for outdoor recreation, which is so essential to the heart of our region, but also for the many sectors that make the Northeast Kingdom such a unique and vibrant place. Please know I remain deeply committed to Kingdom Trails. This is my home, and it will remain my home. I wish to always be an ambassador for KT, including playing a role in ensuring a graceful, responsible transition with care. The Board of Directors and I have committed to this, to ensure continuity, stability, and the trust you hold in this organization. I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to have served my community through this role, and I look forward to closing this chapter with the same heart and good intention with which I began it. Georgia Gould is stepping in as interim Executive Director to lead the organization through this transition. Georgia has served on the KT Board of Directors since 2021, leading both the Landowner and Trail Advisory Committees. She is a KT Landowner with an impressive mountain biking and cyclocross resume - including a bronze medal in one of her two Olympic bids on Team USA and five career national championships in cross-country and short track mountain biking. Georgia, her husband Dusty, and their two young children are engaged members of the Burke community and the KT team. Her deep ties to the sport of cycling, dedication to providing great trails for all skill levels, and her love of this community make her the perfect choice to lead KT in its next phase. The Board and I are thrilled that Georgia has agreed to lead KT and feel confident that she will hold the mission of the organization at the center as she has throughout her Board service. You can reach Georgia directly and welcome her to this new role at ED@kingdomtrails.org . With deep gratitude, Abby ### Kingdom Trail Association The mission of the Kingdom Trail Association is to provide recreation and education opportunities by managing, maintaining, and building trails to foster the health of our community, surrounding environment, and regional economy. Kingdom Trails strives to accomplish this mission by offering a 100+ mile network of quality, non-motorized, multi-use trails for all levels of ability, incorporating the best of our local scenery and natural diversity. The Kingdom Trails are made possible through the generosity of 106 private landowners. Northeast Kingdom Collaborativ e The mission of the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative is to improve the quality of life for all residents of the NEK through coordinated economic and community development as the vision is a strong, vibrant Northeast Kingdom where we all thrive. The NEKC brings people together to spark positive change in our communities, creating structures that bring partners together across service areas, sectors, municipal and political boundaries to provide solutions for the renewal of the Kingdom. The NEK Collaborative serves as the backbone organization for the federally designated NEK REAP Zone and community partner for USDA Rural Development.
Cannondale Dirt Party a Success
KT is taking action—on the trails and in the Statehouse!
This 2025 Legislative Session, KT is teaming up with other amazing trail organizations through the Vermont Trails & Greenway Council, to advocate for H.147 a bill to establish the Recreational Trails Compensation Study.
Why does this matter?
Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy generates $2.1B annually, nearly 5% of the state’s GDP, that's 2nd in the nation after Hawaii (Go VT!) KT alone drives $10M in economic impact annually. Therefore, the state must recognize and incentivize these generous private landowners, including the 106 who make KT possible and allow public access to trails.
