Category Archives: Mountain Biking
We’re open for bikes, hikes and walks
Update July 1st: The park is open along with the Carriage Trail and the upper loop of the Redfield trails. Even though we have experienced a very wet year so far our trails are holding up well. Please consider leaving a donation in Tinman on your way from having a great ride or hike. Thanks!
Update: June 12th: The upper loop on the Redfield trails is now open. Please DO NOT ride the lower loop as it’s a soggy mess. If you are in a soft spot please get off and walk. Lichen Rock is now open also.
Update: June 10th: Redfield Trails remain closed. We checked them out Friday and they are still too soft for bike tires. Please respect private land by not riding at this time.
Carriage Trail is now open. There are a few soft spots please get off and walk.
Update: May 29th: Redfield Trails and Carriage Trail are still closed. We have had so much rain they have not even started to dry out. They were probably drier the end of April than they are now. Please NO BIKES of any kind out there. Hikers are welcome-walk through the puddles and not around them.
These pictures were taken May 27th on the Redfield trails. Please resist…………..
Update: April 24th: Trails are open for mountain bikes. We still have a few closed trails and those are clearly marked. Please do not ride the closed trails in the park, Carriage Trail or the Redfield trails as they are still drying out. Thank you.
Update April 22nd: Fat bikes only please. 4″ or wider tires. The banked turns are still very tender. The question we’re hearing is trails seem fine. The trail tread is fine but the banked corners are still sloughing off a little bit. If you hit those fragile corners with a bike tire you will do damage to the corner and means more work for the volunteers to repair. We have some warmer weather coming next week so hopefully the banked corners will finally set up. Thank you.
Update: April 17th: Fat bikes ONLY with 4″ or wider tires. Are bermed corners are still very tender. Please no regular mountain bikes at this time. It would be greatly appreciated by our volunteers.
Update: April 13th: Our trails are slowly drying out. They are in a pretty fragile state right now and we will keep them closed until the dirt firms up a little bit more. PLEASE do not be tempted to ride our trails as you might think they’re dry enough to ride but in reality they really are not. We have some freeze/thaw cycles coming up with some rain which will cause problems with the trail tread. Please respect our hard earned volunteer hours by staying off your bikes in the park. If you really need exercise we would be glad to give you a rake and clean out water drainage’s from last years leaves that have collected in them.
Thank you volunteers
We had a good work day Saturday May 13th. Moved some rocks and dirt onto the corner for Underdog. The corner is much bigger than in it’s previous life! Thanks to the volunteers who came today.
Wild Times at Pine Hill Park Winter 2016-17
Thank you to Tom Estill!
2017 Annual Dinner Monday, April 10, 6pm
Dear Pine Hill Partnership Enthusiasts,
We had great 2016 year on the trails. Please join us at our annual meeting to enjoy light dinner fare, a short recap of 2016 and an introduction for 2017.
The meeting will start at 6pm, Monday, April 10th, at the Godnick Center at 1 Deer St. Rutland, VT.
We will have some excellent food including vegetarian fare to be consumed before the presentation. The meeting will begin with a short, required, business meeting. There will be a quick review of the 2016 accomplishments in the park and surrounding trails. Afterwards, we plan to have an extended question and answer period and hope you will contribute ideas and suggestions that can be incorporated into the future Pine Hill Park trail projects, the Pine Hill Partnership organization itself, and surrounding trail networks.
As our organization grows, we are looking for a more diversified group to serve on a couple of committees. In particular, we have a fundraising project for 2017 and would like to make a concerted effort to increase our paid membership rolls. We are hoping some folks can join us on this project.
We are also looking for additional board members. The board generally meets six to eight times a year and we are looking for people with a range of interests. Some people might have a passion for trail work while others might have a focus on growing Pine Hill Partnership membership or on strategic planning. If you are interested in being a board member, please send us a letter or email, of no more than 200 words by March 20th, 2017. Please include your qualifications and reasons why you would like to become actively involved in the Partnership and the park so that we may share it with the membership before the annual meeting. If you shop online and use Amazon please consider using www.smile.amazon.com. Amazon will make quarterly contributions to Pine Hill Partnership if you enter us as the non-profit.
Hope to see you there and big thanks for your support this year in our continued efforts to make these area trails so special.
Sincerely,
Keith Wight, Andrew Shinn, Joel Blumenthal, Dave Jenne, Claus Bartenstein and Shelley Lutz
Board of Directors
Powerlines in the park
Green Mountain Power will be working on the powerlines in the park this winter. Please DO NOT park at the end of Evergreen Ave starting Tuesday, December 27th till the end of February. GMP will be moving in large machinery and stone and need room to move vehicles.
Mountain bikers be aware on Underdog as GMP will be putting a very large mat down across the trail to move machinery. This will protect the trail.
Thank you for your cooperation.
A few sections of trails are now closed for winter
We have closed Exit Strategy, Lichen Rock(Overlook Trail) and the steep hill on Droopy Muffin between Intersections 30 and 30A. These trails will be closed until spring when ground thaws out and dries out. Please be respectful on the trail closures.
Please NO Bikes until further notice
Update: April 13th: Our trails are slowly drying out. They are in a pretty fragile state right now and we will keep them closed until the dirt firms up a little bit more. PLEASE do not be tempted to ride our trails as you might think they’re dry enough to ride but in reality they really are not. We have some freeze/thaw cycles coming up with some rain which will cause problems with the trail tread. Please respect our hard earned volunteer hours by staying off your bikes in the park. If you really need exercise we would be glad to give you a rake and clean out water drainage’s from last years leaves that have collected in them.
Update: April 3rd: We are going into a major thaw cycle this week with rain. The trails are sloppy and we are asking folks with bikes(including fat bikes) to stay off them until further notice. Thanks for your cooperation.
Update March 3rd: Wish our trails still had snow on them like this photo. However, they do not. We are down to bare ground. Frozen for a day or two then above freezing temps again. Please stay off your bikes on the trails when we are in the thaw part of the cycles. It is greatly appreciated.
Update: February 27th: most of the snow and ice are gone from the trails. We are asking folks to use common sense if temps are above freezing by not riding and doing trail damage. Thank you.
Update February 24th:Trails are just sloppy. It has not been below freezing for 3 nights. No cold weather until late Sunday 2/27 to return the trails to a firm condition.
Trails will be frozen today 2/20 early on before they soften as temperatures rise. Tuesday they will be frozen like a rock with cold temps Monday night. The rest of the week temps are above freezing so trails will be wicked soft not so great for fat bikes.
Update February 16, 2017: Trails are in great shape with snow. Lot’s of ski, snowshoe and fat bike tire traffic. Winterfest is this weekend which will bring more people to the park.
Update January 31, 2017:Trails are covered with packed snow that is basically packed white ice.
Update January 27, 2017:Trails are snow covered with a fair amount of frost upheaval on some trails. Green Mtn Power folks are still replacing telephone poles please be aware of heavy machinery on the trails. For more up to date information on trails please join TrailHUB.org and mark Pine Hill Park as a favorite.
Update January 8, 2017: Studded tires are highly recommended as the trails are pretty icy under the snow.
Winter trail closures
We will be closing Exit Strategy, Lichen Rock and the steep hill on Droopy Muffin for winter the week of November 21st. They will reopen in spring after ground un-thaws and sets up. Please be respectful of these trail closures.
Deer Season is upon us!
Youth rifle season is the weekend November 5th and 6th.
Full on rifle season is Saturday, November 12th through Sunday, November 27th.
Muzzle loading and archery season runs from Saturday, December 3rd through Sunday December 11th.
There is NO HUNTING ALLOWED in Pine Hill Park.
The Carriage Trail and the Redfield trails are private property. Owners do allow hunting on their property.
Please be respectful of deer hunters and wear orange.