Green Mountain Trails - Pittsfield, Vermont

Jun 21, 2011 at 17:32

It's been a wet spring. Trail closures and washouts have been a common theme this year. To take a break from the steep rooty trails closer to home I decided to check out the Green Mountain Trails in Pittsford, Vermont. Here the well-built trails seemed to have escaped the water damage many other trails have had this season. Not only that, but these are some of the smoothest trails I've ever seen in Vermont. This does make the majority of the trails non-technical, but the long flowy descents do offer a nice change of pace from the teeth rattling I endure on a regular basis. I would have liked a few more opportunities to get my tires off the ground though.

This was a solo mission so no riding pictures, but I hope some of the photos help capture the character of the place. Also being a solo mission I missed the chance to shuttle and had to do all the climbing on my own, but still managed to get in a good tour of the network.

For trail maps and more information check out www.greenmountaintrails.com

Roadside signage. Right on VT Route 100, which is one of Vermont's major roadways despite looking like asphalt singletrack in the background.

Nice sign. I ve heard the wheel actually spins too.

Coolest trailhead sign ever?

The trails start right here and the majority of the network is on the hill in the background.

Pittsfield is like the Field of Dreams for mountain bikers amazing trails in the middle of nowhere that ve been built and you will come. - Vince Hempsall MTBVT

RTFS (Read The F'n Sign)

Some of the Vermont Americana around the Amee Farm.

I guess this is to keep the Vegans out. It still had some fur on the chin and near the horns. Fresh.

Typical bermage at the Green Mountain Trails. There are MANY of these on the network.

Bermage. This place has a ridiculous amount of berms.

S-Berms on The Stairs. Enter on right side left berm to right berm. Sort of hard to see in the photo.

S-berm. A little hard to see the line in the photo: enter on the right side of photo - quick left berm to quick right berm. Note the stone work on the berm to the left - this is a common sight here. There are also miles of bench cut trails. Ouch, lots of labor. Thanks builders.

Smoothness. Lots of smooth pedaling or coasting here. Unusual for Vermont, and a tribute to the builders.

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5 Comments

Score Time

matt7z (Jul 3, 2011 at 21:33)

No need to apologize. You capture the spirit of the place really well. I owe the durability of the trails to great soil, intelligent design by the original builders and a heck of a lot of hoeing out drainages! I'm stoked that you got that s-berm documented. I almost went mad trying to build that, so I'm glad someone appreciates it. And like I said, we're nowhere near done yet! I'm also glad you got a pic of Vince's quote. MTBVT is doing a great service for Vermont mountain biking in their web and guidebook projects. If you don't know this already, you soon will!

[Reply]

vincoop (Jun 30, 2011 at 13:13)

This is great! Pittsfield deserves all the attention it can get. We just did a write-up of the Green Mountain Trails at MTBVT calling them "The Best Kept Secret in Vermont." Check it out: http://www.mtbvt.com/archives/287. Thanks for helping put Vermont, and its amazing trails, on the map. (By the way, the wheel on that cool trailhead sign actually spins. Awesome.)

matt7z (Jun 29, 2011 at 21:28)

Nice writeup! I've been the main builder on this network for the last couple of years and I'm glad the work is paying off. If you want to see some more technical goodies on these trails, all I can tell you is wait. They're coming. There's some sick potential in them thar hills! Matt

woodsroller Plus (Jun 30, 2011 at 5:26)

Thanks again Matt, all of the hard work really shows. As I watch many of our local trails virtually wash away this spring the Pittsfield network seems bulletproof. It seems that you have a really good thing going on and I'm excited to see what else develops. I apologize about the technical comment as I did find some familiar VT rooty sniggle on Labyrinth and I did not see all of the network. The terrain on South Hill offers great riding and it looks like there are plenty of potential lines for the future.

vtdhdoc (Jun 22, 2011 at 18:21)

Sweet. Must be shuttled and railed soon.