Accessible trail system helps everyone get outside in the Upper Valley

NORWICH, Vt. (WCAX) - Outdoor activity plays a large role in Vermont’s culture and tourism economy, and getting more people outdoors is the goal of the Upper Valley Trail Alliance.

Accessible trails are perfect for people with mobility issues. The Upper Valley Trail Alliance constructed its most recent trail this past fall.

“To have access for wheelchairs, but also we have an aging population, too, with baby boomers. So, that means that more people, including elderly people who might need an easier trail in the Upper Valley, in the White Mountains, and the Greens. There are a lot of wonderful trails but a lot of them are not accessible to people who might need something a little bit easier,” said the alliances’ Randy Richardson.

There are now seven trails in their network. The most recent was added in Norwich and is about 1,100 feet long. The trail cost around $25,000 and was paid for with grants and other funding.

A trail is made accessible by paving it with hardpack material like dirt and gravel that can be compressed to a hard surface that mimics a road. More trails are in the works, so all Vermonters can enjoy what the Green Mountain state have to offer.

“The Ottaqueechee River Trail in Woodstock, Vermont -- and that’s already more accessible -- but the idea is to have the first section of it -- which would be the first third of a mile approximately -- would be fully wheelchair accessible. And so hopefully that’ll be constructed this year,” Richardson said.

Accessible trails are a conversation in the Statehouse, too. If passed, one bill in the House would make 10% of each newly constructed trail accessible.

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