3 miles of road to become forest path in Lamoille County

Approximately three miles of the Long Trail in Lamoille County will be relocated from paved roadways to a wooded route following the Green Mountain Club's acquisition of a final trail easement. The organization secured the necessary agreements after more than 30 years of negotiations with local landowners. Currently, hikers passing through Johnson must walk about half a mile along West Settlement Road. This segment is one of the last remaining stretches of public road required to complete the 272-mile trail. Hikers still face roughly one mile of road in the Winooski River valley and another mile near Manchester.

Mollie Flanigan, the club's director of land conservation, described the route through the Lamoille and Winooski valleys as a longstanding challenge. She noted that the trail travels through river valleys characterized by diverse land uses, smaller property parcels, and various human activities. The new route in Johnson is made possible by seven separate agreements with landowners in the Lamoille River valley. The easement allows the trail to follow a forested feature known as Dry Ridge. The path will traverse timber lands owned by Forest Investment Associates. The landowner will continue to use the surrounding property for logging, but the club will manage the forest within 20 feet of the new trail. Flanigan stated that the area will remain an active part of the Vermont timber landscape under private ownership.

Flanigan expects construction of the new trail to begin in 2030. The club will collaborate with the landowner to finalize the proposed route. She indicated that the path will likely wind through the woods, staying away from a wetland and a pond on the property. This easement brings the total protected portion of the Long Trail to more than 98 percent. Roughly four miles of trail along 13 properties remain without legally protected status.

In a separate project completed this fall, the club rebuilt a stretch of the Long Trail on Belvidere Mountain in Eden. The new route is located north of Route 118. The old trail followed a steep and crumbling former logging road that was eroding due to heavy foot traffic and frequent heavy rainfall. The summit features a 70-foot fire tower that draws many visitors. Keegan Tierney, the club's director of field programs, said hikers will likely notice a smoother hiking experience. He noted that the trail was built 100 years ago, and the original builders could not have anticipated the 500,000 to 1 million annual visits the Long Trail now sees. He added that such traffic increases erosion and environmental impact.

The new Belvidere Mountain trail was designed with climate change in mind. The route is built to prevent it from becoming a streambed during rainfall and to avoid a swath of bear habitat. Tierney said hikers might see bear-scarred beech trees in the area. The project also moves roughly a quarter-mile of the Long Trail from private land onto the Long Trail State Forest. The full hike up Belvidere Mountain covers 6 miles round trip.