2020 MRP Survey Now Open

The 2020 Mad River Path survey is now open! Your answers help shape the work of the Mad River Path. While we will make the overall results public, no one will know how you answered the survey questions. Two people who take this survey will be randomly selected to win a $50 gift card each to The Blue Stone (thanks to them for their donation!). Please add your name and email at the end to be entered into the drawing. This survey closes on February 12.

Click here to take the survey.

[SURVEY IS CLOSED]

2019 Annual Report

2019 was another productive year for the Mad River Path (MRP). A major focus on Heart of the Valley trail improvements and additions continued, while maintenance along all path and trail sections stayed strong. MRP is financially stable and stayed within our FY19 budget after spending just under $70,000. We are maintaining our operating reserve, which is important for long-term stability and can be used for unexpected expenses, opportunistic projects, capacity building, and to fill short-term unpredictable gaps. The charts at the end of this report illustrate MRP’s 2019 revenues and expenses. MRP transitioned from a part-time to a full time executive director this year, which will help the Path accelerate new path and trail sections. In addition to the executive director, MRP employees a seasonal trail manager for about 500 hours each year from about May through October. We would like to note that the work we accomplish cannot be done without the generous and enthusiastic Mad River Valley community. More than 250 individuals/households and 90 businesses supported MRP in 2019 with financial gifts. Plus, dozens of individuals contributed to our successes through volunteering, in-kind contributions, and donated construction materials.

Below is a list of projects and other accomplishments from 2019.

On-the-ground Projects:

• Completed the Carroll Road boardwalk and surrounding site work with partners

• Upgraded a bridge on the Sugarbush Snowmaking Pond Loop

• Worked with Crosspoint to paint new crosswalk next to Taste Place, creating a safer pedestrian crossing

• Successfully petitioned VTrans to paint new crosswalk from Carroll Road Boardwalk to the Route 100 sidewalk, thanks to collaborative work with MRV Planning District, the Town of Waitsfield, and public comments

• Constructed a new public trail from The Swanson Inn to the Mill Brook Trail

• Installed more than a dozen new trailhead kiosks in partnership with the MRV Trails Collaborative

• Removed enough invasive honey suckle from the Hosford Highway Boardwalk wetland to fill a small bus

• Completed the knotweed eradication pilot project on the Austin Parcel with the Town of Waitsfield, Friends of the Mad River, and Intervale Conservation Nursery

• Restored and improved the gazebo on the West Greenway

• Established an extension of Wait’s Way from the Route 100 sidewalk to behind the General Wait House parking lot

• Began winter maintenance program for the Heart of the Valley trail in Irasville

Planning & Assessments:

• Determined priority maintenance and path/trail resilience projects for 2020

• Mapped new trails behind the Big Pic and began partnership with private landowner; applied for state and local funds to construct these trails with downtown access. Note: this is phase 1 to connect downtown with existing trail networks

• Created public survey to gain a better understanding of the community’s wants and needs related to the Path and trails; survey results will be available in early 2020

• Continued discussions with landowners to complete important gaps in the Warren to Moretown Path

• Met with partners to strengthen collaborations on trail building and maintenance in the MRV

Heart of the Valley Trail this Winter

We want you to keep walking in downtown Waitsfield and Irasville all winter long! New this year, we're trying to keep the downtown section of the Path clear of snow and ice until the tulips come up. Stay attentive, though, as there will be times after storms that it'll be slick. Over the winter, a layer of compressed snow and ice may build up, so please keep an eye out for sections of that, too.

A HUGE thanks to Lawson's Finest Liquids for doing a lot of work to keep the boardwalks cleared! They're committed to keeping downtown walkable year-round. To the south, we hired a contractor to shovel, snowblow, and sand between the Skatium and Taste Place.

Enjoy!

New Route 100 crosswalk coming soon!

Good news! VTrans approved our request to paint a crosswalk from the Carroll Road boardwalk to the Route 100 sidewalk. Crosswalk signs are coming soon while the paint will come in the spring. Projects like these are important to improve the safety of people walking and rolling in our downtowns. The crosswalk comes soon after the new Carroll Road boardwalk was constructed this past summer. A concrete “warning pad” was installed on the Carroll Road side of Route 100 to match the existing warning pad on the other side. These are required for a crosswalk to be painted.

Many thanks to our partners for making this a successful team effort, including the Town of Waitsfield, Mad River Valley Planning District, and everyone who sent in their comments.

Battling invasive plants on Waitsfield's Austin Parcel

If you spend any time near the Mad River, it’s more than likely you’ve noticed the thick stands of bamboo-looking plants that infest its banks. All that is knotweed, and it’s darn hard to keep at bay. Mixed in near the river are other invasive plants that offer little value to local wildlife and our native ecosystem, like honeysuckle and buckthorn. As invasives grow and expand, the native plants that make our local natural world function become choked out. As a way to test non-chemical methods to control these invasive plants on Waitsfield’s Austin Parcel, we partnered with the Town of Waitsfield, Friends of the Mad River, and Intervale Conservation Nursery.

For two years we hacked, cut, pulled, and composted knotweed, honeysuckle, and buckthorn—more than 1,200 plants! We then planted 19 different native species in their place, including box elder, silky dogwood, and silver maple, totaling more than 500 individual plants. The result so far is a successful project. We’re working with our partners to determine a long-term plan, but the idea is that new native plants will over-shadow and out-compete the invasive plants while we keep cutting and pulling the unwanted plants. The Austin Parcel is almost entirely free of invasive plants and is restored to a functional floodplain with thriving native plants. Take a walk on the Path to check it out!

Click here to read the full project report.

The Carroll Road boardwalk is complete!

After a summer of several hot days in the sun, staff, volunteers, and board members completed the Carroll boardwalk! This new section of Path provides the community with a safe walkway along Carroll Road that is separated from vehicle traffic. This new section connects the Route 100 sidewalk to the Hosford Highway Boardwalk that travels from Carroll Road to the Skatium through a very neat wetland. The new boardwalk allows for easy pedestrian and biker access to the Big Pic Theater and Lawson’s, or to travel between Irasville and Waitsfield Village. The boardwalk also serves as a great observation site for birds using the nearby pond.

This project was is the result of true community collaboration. With MRP coordinating the project, dozens of individuals and businesses donated to help build it. Lawson’s Finest Liquids dedicated thousands of dollars for the site work and more while their staff helped with construction throughout the summer. Kingsbury Construction did much of the site work, Allen Lumber supplied the materials (thanks for the discount!), and Mad River Metal Works fabricated and installed the custom railing inserts.

With another Path section in the books, we’re already working on more connections and new sections!

Good times and THANK YOU to Lawson's Finest Liquids!

We recently had some good times at Lawson's Finest Liquids to celebrate, honor, and thank those who are essential to our work and mission. That includes Charlie Hosford, Laura Brines, nearly 100 volunteers, our staff and volunteer Board, partner organizations, and dozens of businesses.

To top it all off, Lawson's Finest donated $16,250 to the Path through their charitable giving program!!!

We're carrying a lot of momentum into 2020 to make some awesome progress over the next year and beyond.

Recap: 24th Annual Mad Dash sponsored by Sugarbush

The sun was shining, the leaves were bright and the temperatures were perfect for the 24th annual Mad Dash. More than 500 people joined the autumn fun to run or walk the 5K or 10K course, including dozens of future racers in the Kids Fun Run. A benefit for the Mad River Path, the event was held once again on fields owned by Neill Farm off Meadow Road. The dirt road courses, farms, views, food and camaraderie bring people back to the Mad River Valley for this event year after year from around New England and as far as Minnesota, Wyoming, California and the Bahamas. 

“The Mad Dash is truly a community-supported event,” said Mad River Path executive director Ross Saxton. “More than 50 volunteers make the event possible and nearly 125 businesses help make our fundraising efforts successful between sponsorships and silent auction donations. It’s hard not to feel a lot of love coming from all over the Mad River Valley and beyond this time of year.”

The races started off with the sound of the siren as the 10K racers went out to enjoy the course first. Five minutes later, the 5K runners and walkers began their event. First in for the 10K folks was Colin Rodgers, Waitsfield, in a very speedy time of 33 minutes and 59 seconds, which is an average of a 5:28 minute mile. Coming in six seconds behind Rodgers was Topher Gaylord, Warren, and a few minutes later was Jon Floyd of Waterbury Center for third place. Cathleen Balantic, Burlington, won the 10K women’s field with a time of 43 minutes and 1 second, averaging a fast pace of 6:55 miles per minute. Christina Hall of Plymouth, MA, and Karissa McDonough of Waterbury Center claimed second and third in the women’s 10K.

The 5K overall winner was Seth Jackson of Montpelier crossing the finish line in a quick 17 minutes and 22 seconds, and Kate Currie of Holliston, MA, took first place for the women’s 5K in 20 minutes and 36 seconds. Carlton Cummiskey of Warren finished in second place and Luke Groom, also of Warren, took the 5K third place. The women’s 5K second- and third-place finishers were Paige Joyce of Plymouth, MA, and Kasandra Reid of Montpelier with times of 21 minutes and 26 seconds and 21 minutes and 57 seconds, respectively.

Registrations to participate in the Mad Dash account for much of the funds raised for the Mad River Path’s work to complete a continuous path between Warren and Moretown. The Mad River Path also builds trails into the hills and is planning to host nature-based education programming in the future.

Find 95 photos of the 2019 Mad Dash, captured by Phil Bobrow, here on our Facebook page.

Fall 2019 Newsletter!

Happy fall! We hope you have many opportunities to enjoy the Mad River Valley's outdoors this autumn. The colors are amazing and all pathways and trails are in beautiful shape just waiting for you to wonder around!

In this newsletter:

• Autumn Events

• 2019 Progress & Updates!

• What's Happening in 2020

• Meet Ross, the New Executive Director, and Hear His Vision

• Conservation Tip of the Season

Click here to see the full newsletter!

New leadership announced

Kyle on the left. Ross on the right.

The Mad River Path Association (the Path) is pleased to welcome new leadership in its active Board of Directors and at the staff level. The new full-time executive director is Ross Saxton of Waitsfield, and Kyle Neyer of Warren is the Path’s newest Board member.

Saxton has a long history of program and business development at local and national non-profits and in the outdoors industry. “I’m fortunate to have such a strong Board of Directors and supportive community behind our effort to connect Warren, Fayston, Waitsfield, and Moretown with one continuous pathway,” said Saxton. “While we continue this goal, I’m particularly eager to expand our work that creates and maintains path and trail networks throughout the Valley for everyone of all ages and physical abilities to connect to the outdoors and local businesses.”

Neyer is a local realtor in the Mad River Valley who was eager to join the Board as soon as he could. “My partner and I walk the Path with our dogs 365 days a year and it brings us joy every single time. It is very important to us to help continue the work of the Mad River Path to connect our communities through walking, biking, running or skiing - enjoying the great outdoor activities that we have here in the Mad River Valley.”

The Mad River Path Association is a community-supported, 501(C)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to build, maintain, and conserve a system of continuous public pathways from Warren to Moretown to foster a healthy community by connecting the people, businesses and special places of the Mad River Valley. The Path consists of 12 volunteer Board members, an executive director, and a trail manager. The Path depends on dozens of volunteers and hundreds of individual and business supporters each year. The Mad Dash running race is the Path’s major fundraising event, which is held in October annually.