Calais Trails Committee
The Calais Trails Committee was formed by the Selectboard in 2008 to establish and maintain a system of public trails for non-motorized recreation. Since that time, over 14 miles of trail have been developed. The system runs entirely through private land, supported by voluntary year-to-year agreements with 15 generous landowners, by financial contributions from private donors, and through volunteer labor.
The genesis of the Calais trails in Town began with the committee founder, Reed Cherington, who guided the committee through its first 10 years, overseeing two extensive network of trails in the western section of Town near the Worcester line: the Longmeadow Hill Network (Ellis-Bruce Trail and Bradley Loop) and the Robinson Ridge Trail Network (Robinson Ridge Trail, Fairy Woods Trail, Lower Falls Trail, Manure Cart Trail, and Upper Beaver Pond Trail). The Bradley Loop was brought about by Darby and Liisa Bradley, who donated a permanent trail easement through their land to the Vermont Land Trust. The Land Trust, in turn, appointed the Calais Trails Committee as “Trail Steward.” With Darby and Liisa’s considerable help, we established a trail on the north slope of Longmeadow Hill. The 1 ½-mile-long trail can be accessed off the Ellis-Bruce Trail (the trail to Worcester), near its eastern trailhead. Because of very steep terrain in a few places, the Loop trail is limited to pedestrian use only. Many of these trails would not have been possible without the Herculean efforts of master trail-builders Ram Verma and Randy Allen.
The Trails Committee also maintains the following trails in the western part of Town: Robinson Cemetery Trail; Calais Town Forest Trail; and Wheelock Monument Trail.
In 2020 two new trails opened up in the eastern part of Town: Broadview Farm Trail, which can be accessed from two trailheads, on Bliss Road and Blachly Road, respectively, and Carr Brook Trail, which is located on Batten Road near East Calais Village. Since its opening in the Fall of 2021, Broadview Farm Trail has expanded to include the Ravine Trail, the Bootheel Loop, the Skyline Trail, the Marshall Trail, and the Little Mud Pond Spur.
All of the Town-sponsored trails are marked with blue and white aluminum signs and wood trail-markers. Maps are available below. (If you do not have a printer, photocopied maps are available through the Town Office to Town residents and property owners.) We are pleased with the current level of trail use by walkers, runners, bikers, horseback riders, and winter sports enthusiasts.
See you on the trails!
