Sitting just outside the Village of Island Pond in the Town of Brighton, Bluff Mountain has afforded stunning views to generations of local hikers who have climbed to its lookout over the Village and Pond below. This summer, the popular Bluff Mountain Trail received substantial improvements thanks to a grant from the Vermont Recreation Trails Program, and a new public easement secures access to the area for generations of hikers to come.

“We were delighted” remarked Luke O’Brien, Trails Director at the NorthWoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston, who worked with the Brighton Selectboard to apply for the grant. “It was the highest ranked grant proposal in the State of Vermont this year—a real testament to the value of this project and the community support to get it done”.

“We have partnered with a lot of communities over the years to develop projects—many on Town Forest lands—and secure funds through the Rec Trails Program,” stated O’Brien who cited Westmore and Granby as two other examples.

The grant, administered by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, targets several priority improvements on the 1.7-mile hiking trail, including new ‘puncheon’ bog bridges near the summit, erosion control and stabilization, and the construction of a new trail segment that climbs to the summit more directly.

In addition, the Town of Brighton secured a perpetual public access easement for the portion of trail located on private lands. “This permanently protects the Bluff Mountain Trail as a public community resource and enhances Island Pond’s status as a recreation destination/gateway community” says Joel Cope, Brighton Administrative Assistant.

“Brighton’s recently updated Town Plan places strong emphasis on the value of a diverse recreation-based tourist economy and this project compliments that effort perfectly.”

When initially re-constructed following the 1998 Ice Storm, the Bluff Mountain Trail began, poetically, at the end of the sidewalk on Mountain Street. In 2001, the lower portion of the trail was moved to its current location in the Brighton Town Forest, and a connection was made to the original route on the Brighton Water Department lands. The Lookout Trail was re-established the following year and, with its iron rung ladders, created a challenging, fun hiking loop. A new trail segment completed this June creates an additional loop option and explores a variety of terrain, including rock outcrops, ledges, and wetlands.

As a condition of the Recreation Trails grant, which uses portions of federal and state dollars allocated through the Federal Highway Administration, the Town acquired a perpetual public access easement from the lone, private parcel separating the Town Forest and Water Department properties.

“We considered a 10-year easement, but it didn’t seem right” said Gus Lacroix who, with his wife Elaine, decided to grant a permanent easement to the Town of Brighton for two sections of trail crossing their land. “We support the trail and felt that if we were going to do anything that it should be in perpetuity”.

As a result of both the grant and easement agreements, the Town of Brighton holds the public access easement and NorthWoods Stewardship Center serves as the trail managing organization. “Bluff Mountain is our ‘hometown’ trail” says O’Brien. “It was one of the very earliest projects undertaken by the NorthWoods Conservation Corps and we have invested heavily in it in the years since.”

The Bluff Mountain Trail is also a critical component of a proposed long-distance hiking trail being developed by NorthWoods Stewardship Center and the Green Mountain Club (GMC) on the former Champion Lands—now the Kingdom Heritage Lands. GMC, the designated ‘corridor manager’ for hiking trails on the Kingdom Heritage Lands, received the nod to begin work in 2010, and a NorthWoods Conservation Corps crew constructed the first section of trail—on Middle Mountain in Avery’s Gore.

Currently, the route begins on the existing Gore Mountain Trail and accesses the western summit of Middle Mountain. Efforts to continue the trail south along the Bluff Mountain Ridge to the existing trail will continue over time, as funding permits. When complete, the route could connect as many as twenty miles of new and existing trail with the possibility of at least one overnight campsite.

“We would love to see the trail extend from Averill to Westmore someday—maybe beyond” says O’Brien who envisions a combination of community paths, backwoods roads and remote mountain trails. “It would make a fantastic hiking resource and really highlight not only the mountains but also the culture and history of northeastern Vermont.”

For now, the Town of Brighton and its visitors can enjoy a top-rated hiking experience out their back door. Although substantially complete, final detail work—including the placement of permanent signs and markers—will take place this fall and winter.

For more information on the Bluff Mountain project, contact Luke O’Brien at NorthWoods Stewardship Center 802-723-6551 x117.

For information on the Vermont Recreation Trails Program contact Sherry Winnie, RTP Administrator for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.