Every spring, the Green Mountain Club’s fourteen regional sections visit the segments of trails that they maintain to get them prepared for the hiking season. Section volunteers spend the day (or days!) on the trail removing brush, clearing blowdowns, trimming branches and undergrowth, painting blazes and signs, and improving drainage, all to make sure that the trails are accessible for hikers and ready for another year of use. This past winter, in particular, was a rough one, with lots of storms throughout creating deep snowpack and large swaths of blowdowns. One trail adopter who got out to check on his piece of trail this week says he hasn’t seen this many blowdowns since Hurricane Irene.
No previous trail work experience is required to attend one of these trail maintenance outings, and you don’t have to be a member of the section, or even the Green Mountain Club, to come out and learn the basics of trail or shelter maintenance. We welcome all help! Check out the list of spring trail work dates below to join in on the fun.
This map shows which areas of the Long Trail System, Appalachian Trail, and Northeast Kingdom trails each GMC section takes care of so you can join a trail work outing near you!
Ready to join us for some trail work?
Here are the GMC sections’ upcoming spring 2019 trail maintenance dates. Go to that section’s website to find out more information about a particular outing, including where to go or who to contact to get started:
- Bennington Section: May 4th, May 7th, May 11th-12th
- Brattleboro Section: May 4th-5th
- Bread Loaf Section: June 1st
- Burlington Section: May 4th, May 11th, May 18th, May 25th, June 1st
- Connecticut Section: April 26th-28th, May 10th-12th
- Killington Section: May 11th, June 8th
- Laraway Section: May 4th, May 11th, May 18th, May 25th, June 1st, June 8th
- Manchester Section: May 18th
- Montpelier Section: May 11th, May 18th
- Northeast Kingdom Section: May 18th, June 8th
- Northern Frontier Section: TBD in late May/June (check back here for updates!)
- Sterling Section: June 8th, June 29th
- Upper Valley Ottauqhechee Section: April 27th, May 18th, May 26th
- Worcester Section: May 18th-19th
These are the currently scheduled trail work dates but you can check out GMC’s calendar any time for the most up-to-date outing information!
If one day of trail work just isn’t enough for you, consider joining the Volunteer Long Trail Patrol for a week this summer! Learn from an experienced crew leader as you work with people from all backgrounds on fun projects in the woods.
[…] not yet been cleared. Our trail adopters and section volunteers were delayed in getting out to clean up their trails this spring due to the late snow and mud. Some of them have said the blowdowns they’re […]