Vermont’s snowmobile season has begun. This year, Vermonters and visitors to our state will be able to enjoy newly opened sections of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT).

When complete, the LVRT will be a 93-mile long, multi-use, four-season recreational trail that traverses northern Vermont from Swanton to St. Johnsbury. The rail trail will be longest of its kind in New England. So far, about one-third of the project is complete, said Cindy Locke, the executive director the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST). 

The most recent trail sections completed are the 13-mile section from West Danville to St. Johnsbury and the 17-mile leg from Morrisville to Jeffersonville, Locke said.  The next section to be created will be from Sheldon to Swanton.

In addition to significantly expanding VAST’s roughly 500-mile trail network throughout Vermont, the LVRT is providing new opportunities for walkers, runners, bicyclists, horse-riders, dog mushers, snowshoers and cross-country skiers.

Sen. Bernie Sanders secured $5.2 million for the project in 2006.  Another $10 million to $12 million will be needed to finish the trail, Locke said, adding that the goal is to complete the project in the next six years.  VAST has launched a fundraising effort to help raise resources which could include additional state and federal funds.

Locke said it is hard to underestimate the value of the project for the region’s economy. “We have seen businesses growing -- businesses being born -- because of this trail,” she said. “This is like the best story in the world. It is going to do so much for the economy of northern Vermont.”  

Since the LVRT is a four-season trail, the economic benefit is not limited to winter.  Restaurants and biking tour companies, for example, have been given a major boost from the increased tourism along the sections of the trail that have been completed, Locke said.  

“I see this as playing a significant role in creating jobs in a part of the state where we really need those jobs,” Sanders said. “The other thing about the old rail trail is it’s going allow Vermonters to access areas of the state which people have not seen for a very long time in areas that are extraordinarily beautiful.”

The trail boasts “spectacular views into the heart of Vermont’s working landscape,” VAST states. The trail will take people "through farms and forests, right into the downtown districts of Vermont’s scenic communities.”

December’s snowfall bodes well for a good snowmobiling season, which will translate into an economic boost for the state.  Locke estimates that snowmobiling has an annual $500 million impact on Vermont’s economy, including equipment sales and money spent on lodging and food.  Each year, she notes, VAST spends $2 million on grooming trails.

“This is the first time in seven years when we have actually had trails open on opening day. We are optimistic and hopeful for a good season,” she said. Vermont’s snowmobiling season runs from Dec. 16 through April 15.

HISTORY CORNER

The history of the Lamoille Rail Trail railway corridor spans two centuries.

“Originally intended to be part of a rail corridor that would run from the Great Lakes to the Maine coast (the westerly section was never made), the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad was completed in 1877. Through the years it served Vermont as both a passenger and a freight line,” the group’s website states. “Freight traffic primarily consisted of dairy products for the Boston market as well as timber, limestone, talc and asbestos from the Northern Vermont forests and quarries. Passenger service ended in 1956. The State of Vermont purchased the line in 1973 and renamed it the Lamoille Valley Railroad with freight service continuing until the railroad’s closing in 1994.”

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