Saturday 09.09.23 – 9 am to Noon – Hardwick Trails
Trail Head, Hazen Union School, 126 Hazen Union Drive, Hardwick, VT
Website: HardwickTrails.com
Trail Map: Hardwicktrails.com/trail-map/
Facebook: 'Hardwick Trails'
Day of Events Activities Include:
• Double Hiking Track – Open to the public (All Day/Always) ~ 6 miles of wide, expertly maintained trails.
• Single Biking Track – Open to the public (All Day/Always) ~ 5 miles of biking trails, winding through mixed woodland habitats.
• Marlene Clark Fitness Course – Event hosted by Clark Family
No pre-registration is required; all fitness levels are encouraged. Prizes
9 am: Half-mile Fitness Loop walk with six exercise stations including instructions and demonstrations.
9:30 am: Fitness Loop Prediction Fun Run/Walk.
• Single Track Bike Events – Two (2) Group Rides, one beginner and one intermediate. Rides ~ 1 hour in length, helmets are required.
o 10 am
• Story Walk – Featuring: The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 in guided reading.
o 10 – 11 am
• Fairy House Building in Woods – Supplies will be gathered, and houses built on site.
o 11 am – Noon
• Guided Plant Walk with Naturalist, Erin Rosenthal with a focus on medicinal properties of plants and fungus.
o 10 am – 11 am
• Adaptive Sports Partners will be on-site to provide instructions, equipment and guides on grass and earthen trails based on attendees.
o 9 am – 11 am
• Poetry Walk - Open to the public (All Day/Always), Featuring Vermont Students and Published Poets
• Celebration Finale – Honoring Trail Advocates
o Noon
During Event – Sweet Treats, Ice Cream Truck will be available for purchase.
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About the Hardwick Trails –The Trails are a no-fee community trails system. Open 24-7 year-round with over ten miles of beautiful trails that you can access for free for non-motorized use.
Community volunteers and donors provide the muscle and means to care for this recreation jewel that is groomed for winter skiing and mowed for summer use. Community events occur throughout the year, including the very popular Pumpkin Walk in the fall.
The Hardwick Trails Committee began construction of the Trails (with the help of the Hazen Forestry students) in 2003 with grants from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.
The Trails wind through varying forest environments. Visitors have glimpsed deer, foxes, fisher, bears, and bobcats. The trails are home to more than a hundred varieties of flora and fauna, including over ninety-one identified bird species. Forestry students from the Green Mountain Technical & Career Center (GMTCC) maintain sugaring operations on this shared land.
The Trails are a system of 6 miles of hiking trails and 5 miles of single-track biking trails, winding through mixed woodland habitats. Some of our trails feature natural sugar maple forests, waterfalls, streams, we are a big part of the Hardwick community. There is a Free Library by the brook on the Green Trail. At the far northwest end of the Hardwick Trails is the Hardwick Lake, a great spot for picnicking and scenic views. You can reach it by following Shepard's Trail and/or Wild West trails to Wayne's Way (weather permitting). Wayne's Way is a somewhat strenuous walk, so be prepared and bring plenty of food and water. The view of the mountains from the edge of Hardwick Lake are incredible year-round. And it features a ruined foundation that just may be a spooky reminder of days past when villagers afflicted with smallpox, typhoid, or any number of contagious diseases were sent to a "Pest House" so as to avoid infecting the rest of the townsfolk.
Spring through Fall – Mowed trails for hiking, running and biking and sponsored Wildflower, Bird and Nature-sketching events.
Winter – Groomed Trails maintained for skiing and snowshoeing. Moonlight snowshoe and animal tracking events. After-school Cross Country ski programs, with free equipment use. Sugar-on-snow parties.
Hazen Union School, the Town of Hardwick, the Hardwick Electric Department and Nancy Shepard and Al Cockrell have all generously given permission for us to create this network on their lands. Future expansion of Trails and Access, to be provided by the Cockrell Shepard Trust.
The Hardwick Trails Committee regularly schedules free community events. They meet the first Monday of each month at 5:30, and all are welcome. Contact Dave Mitchell at dtxmitchell@gmail.com for the latest meeting information.