Category Archives: Trail Updates

Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Safety, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

OUR Trail Building Policy

Leave a comment

Pine Hill Park is unlike many other mountain bike trails systems in North America, and visitors from in- and out-of-state travel to the park to experience our unique trails. This unique character includes hand-made single-track, berms, drainages, and playful bridges through the Park’s hardwoods and quartzite boulders and ridges. Since trail-building began in 2003, trail builders have worked to maintain this unique user experience. As of 2019, Pine Hill Park’s 325 acres are almost at capacity for trails. But anyone with ideas to improve sections of trail is welcome to make a plan, then present the plan for approval to the land owner and steward.

To that end, please take a look at our Trail Building Policy page for more information on how you can help to improve the park.

Education, Fat Biking, Hikes, Meetings, Mountain Biking, Observations, PHP in the News, Programs, Trail Running, Trail Safety, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Uncategorized, Volunteering

Opportunities to volunteer

Leave a comment

Anyone is welcome to join us on these days. We will be working on the new trail that was started last year. Plus some maintenance work on other trails in the park.

YES Plan from Rutland High School will be in on these dates:

June 5th, meet at front entrance at 9:15

June 7th, meet at front entrance at 9:15

June 10th, meet at front entrance at 9:15

June 11th, meet at front entrance at 9:15

June 12th, meet at front entrance at 9:15

June 17th and 18th starts Youth Works. Meet at the front entrance at 9:15.

June 24th and 25th is Youth Works meet at front entrance at 9:15.

July 1st and 2nd is Youth Works meet at front entrance at 9:15

July 15th and 16th is Youth Works meet at the front entrance at 9:15

July 22 and 23rd is Youth Works meet at the front entrance at 9:15.


Education, Meetings, PHP in the News, Pine Hill Partnership, Programs, Trail Updates, Volunteering

economic impacts of pine hill reported

Leave a comment

We had great Annual meeting on Monday, March 25th. A group of 50+ members and general public heard first hand about our accomplishments this past year and about some of our plans for 2019.

We also revealed the initial results of the user surveys and trail counter data collected between April 2018 and March 2019. Our conservative estimates are that the visitors to the Park contribute over $1.3 million to the Rutland area economy!

A discussion session led to lots of great ideas. Hopefully we can move forward with some of the great suggestions and enthusiasm that were present in the room!

We want to thank the following business and organizations that donated items for our raffle: MTBVT, Alpine Bike Works, Basin Ski Shop, First Stop Ski Shop and Killington Bike Park.

For more detail about the meeting you can read the Meeting Minutes and watch the PowerPoint Presentation. Vermont Public Radio reported about the meeting which you can listen to and read here.

Here’s to a great season of playing in the Park!

Cross Country Skiing, Education, Fat Biking, Hikes, Mountain Biking, Observations, Pine Hill Partnership, Programs, Trail Running, Trail Safety, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Uncategorized, Volunteering

Community Work Day

2 Comments

UPDATE: April 26th, We are pushing start time back to 10AM in hopes the hard rain will have stopped. We still have projects that can be done in the damp. We need YOUR help. Thank you.

9AM at the front entrance of Pine Hill Park. We will be working to clean up the front entrance and do repair work to Exit Strategy. We have tools and gloves. Bring water and sunscreen.

Hikes, Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Programs, Trail Running, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

Community Work Days

Leave a comment

2024 Community Work Day: Saturday, April 27th-9AM-noon. We will do a little bit of work in the front entrance to help Master Gardner’s out. We also have some trail tread repair work on Overlook to improve drainage. Meet at Giorgetti parking lot. We have tools, bring water, bug dope, sunscreen and gloves. Thanks and hope to see you there.

Yes Plan dates are being set by Rutland High School teachers now. Yes plan runs from May 31st until June 14th. Please contact us if you have folks who would like to join us. pinehillpartnership@gmail.com

VYCC will be joining us the first two weeks in July. We could always use extra hands to work with local high school students in the park. Work day is Monday-Thursday from 8-4pm. For more information email: pinehillpartnership@gmail.com


Education, Meetings, Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Programs, Trail Updates, Volunteering

2019 Annual dinner Monday march 25, 6pm

1 Comment

Dear Pine Hill Partnership Enthusiasts,

2018 was a great year on the trails. Please join us at our annual meeting to enjoy light dinner fare, a short recap of our projects and an introduction to our plans for 2019.

The meeting will start at 6pm, Monday, March 25th, 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 2018 accomplishments in the park and surrounding trails. We have a few guest speakers from surrounding trail systems giving us an update on their 2019 plans. Pine Hill Partnership will have some cool raffle prizes to give raffle off. Tickets are $5 each sold at the door. 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 2019 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 fill in the form below and include your qualifications and reasons why you would like to become actively involved in the Partnership 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,

Andrew Shinn, Joel Blumenthal, Dave Jenne, Claus Bartenstein, Peggy Shinn and Shelley Lutz

Board of Directors

Bryan Sell

Executive Director

Fat Biking, Hikes, Mountain Biking, Trail Running, Trail Updates

Park is open for bikes

Leave a comment

Update: May 1st: Thank you for being patient. Park is open but quietly-basically people reading the webpage will know or word of mouth. TrailHUB and social media will hear it week of May 6th. Watkins Wood Rd is really wet up near Svelte Tiger intersection so please walk in the mud/water do not leave a tire rut.

Update: April 30th: Park is still closed to all bikes. We are working on two trails to get water off the trail to get rid of the mud we’re experiencing. Thank you.

Just a touch of water this year.

Update: April 23rd: Carriage Trail is closed to all users. Velco is putting up new power poles out near Muddy Pond and have asked us to stay away this week. Park is still wet so please NO bikes. Thank you.

Update: April 22: Please no bikes. We are patiently waiting for the rain stop for more than one day. Please come give us a hand Saturday, April 27th for our first community work day. Meet at the front entrance at 9AM. Tools and gloves will be provided.

April 13th: Please no bikes. We have a lot of rain coming Sunday/Monday that will keep trails particularly corners too damp to ride. Please be patient. Thank you.

Update April 11th: Please no bikes in the park. We are in the midst of our freeze/thaw cycles that raise havoc on the trails. Trails are drying out nicely but are still tender so please be kind and stay off with bikes. Thanks.

The tire ruts from bikes will let the water run down the rut, and that then washes away all our hard earned dirt. Dirt in the park is hard to come by. See this for more info! It’s all moved to the trail by volunteers using buckets and shovels.

Our first community work day is Saturday, April 27th, 9AM. Meet at the front entrance. We will provide gloves and tools.

There is no paid trail staff, there is no mini-excavator working to move dirt. Please do not ruin it for everyone else.

Hikes, Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

Thank you Community Bank

Leave a comment

Community Bank gave us a very nice contribution this spring. We used it to purchase materials to build two benches for the park. Thank you to Augie Levins who built the benches and to all the other volunteers that helped move them.

One is located on Underdog powerline and the other one is on Droopy Muffin powerline. We have several other locations we would like to install the same type bench in the future.

Education, Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Programs, Trail Updates, Uncategorized

Girls Mountain Bike Program

1 Comment

The spring of 2019,  the Rutland City Recreation Department is offering a new all-girls mountain biking program. Check it out!

Gritty Girls Mountain Bike Club: Grades 3-8; Sundays from 1-3pm, 4/28/2019 – 6/2/2019. Dates may change due to weather. Cost $35 for Rutland city residents; $46, non-residents. This all-girls club will be friendly and fun.  Confidence, knowledge, and basic skills will be gained in a supportive, team environment. Includes t-shirt. Equipment loan and/or bike discounts are available. Get ready to ride the trails!

Girls having fun on bikes

Cross Country Skiing, Fat Biking, Snowshoeing, Trail Running, Trail Updates

Winter is coming

Leave a comment

Pine Hill Partnership is seeking donations to purchase a Snowdog. Our plan is to groom a few trails for hikers, snowshoers and fat bikers. We need to raise $5000 to purchase one.

Pine Hill Partnership is the organization who builds and maintains all the trails in Pine Hill Park, Redfield trails and the Carriage Trail. We are a non-profit so all donations are tax deductible.

Ways to contribute send a check to Pine Hill Partnership and mail to: 3424 Quarterline Rd. Center Rutland, VT 05736. Or use our PayPal button on the home page.

Snowdog donation