Darling Hill Update
December 16, 2019
Trail access changes on Darling Hill
Recently three Darling Hill landowners notified the Kingdom Trail Association that they no longer wish to provide bike access on their properties.
We fully respect their decision, as it is their private property and they have the sole right to determine the use of their land. We are beyond grateful to each of them for allowing Kingdom Trails access over the past 25 years and continuing to allow Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, jogging, and horseback riding.
Kingdom Trails understands the concerns for the pressure and stress the continued strong growth in trail use and area visits has put on landowner’s properties as well as the roads and small villages where trail access exists. While the success of the trails has brought meaningful economic benefit to the area, challenges and tension points exist around traffic, congestion and pedestrian safety of residents and visitors alike.
Kingdom Trails fully recognizes these issues and we are taking action.
This past July, we were awarded a USDA grant for a Network Feasibility and Infrastructure Study. The study, through engaging our landowners and community, along with a systems approach, will advocate possible ideal Welcome Center locations, needed parking, access portals, assess traffic to recommend safe flow and dispersion methods, pedestrian crossings, as well as trail network capacity balance. The study will explore how trails, integrated with economic development, enhance visitor experiences, support local workforce, and most importantly improve residents’ quality of life. Kingdom Trails believes this study will aid in addressing many of the concerns community members and landowners currently have.
This study will be completed by the end of season 2020. In the meantime, we continue to strive toward mitigating congestion and creating a safe community. Kingdom Trails is working collaboratively with the Town of Burke to reconstruct East Darling Hill Rd. The project consists of new subbase, drainage and asphalt, plus a 5-foot bike lane for uphill cyclists. Additionally, KTA purchased two parcels of land adjacent to the road. This acquisition will secure a critical trail connection for KTA, ensuring that trail users will be able to have an off-road option instead of using East Darling Hill Rd for both uphill and downhill bicycle travel, avoiding a dangerous conflict between cycle and car, increasing the safety of our community and visitors, drivers and riders.
We have also worked hard to spread and disperse trail traffic through new trail development. These new trails are directed well off Darling Ridge headed to East Haven. The Flower Brook connector trail was built this summer to discourage trail users from biking along VT 114 from downtown East Burke to East Haven. KTA also works side by side with the OneBurke committee, exploring options to extend trails to the Burke Town School and possibly West Burke. A similar goal is our work with the Lyndonville Select Board, building a trail to connect to the potential new Lyndon Green Space where the old town garages currently are. These efforts would not only relieve congestion on Darling Ridge and East Burke, but broaden further economic opportunities to our neighboring towns.
While the Kingdom Trails network will be affected by this change in access and connectivity, miles of diverse trail terrain remains for all skill levels that promise a lot of smiles, technical challenges and enrichment with our stunning landscape and host communities. Further, KTA is committed to continuing to provide and enhance the incredible trail experience members have come to expect, as well as striving toward our mission of offering recreation and education opportunities to foster the health of our local community, surrounding environment, and regional economy.
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.
