Three Vermont towns—Groton, Cabot, and Montpelier—recently received grants to improve access to the Cross Vermont Trail, which, when completed, will extend 90 miles between Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River. The CVT, in its current form, comprises a mix of recreational hiking trails, dirt roads, rail trails, and stretches of highway (not ideal).

The grants are part of the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative, a state program guided by a steering committee made up of Vermont businesses and non-profits.

The grant projects are as follows:

Town of Groton: The Groton “Gateway Project” involves upgrading the portion of the Cross Vermont Trail that connects the Village to Groton State Forest and the Pine Mountain wildlife area. The town will also secure new public greenspace along the Wells River, build a new parking lot near the Village, and improve signage town-wide along the trail. 

Town of Cabot: Cabot will build connections between the Village of Cabot, the Town’s four-season trail network, the Cross Vermont Trail, and the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.

City of Montpelier: Grant funds will be used to strengthen downtown connections to existing outdoor recreation assets through the construction of two connector trails, tying together with Cross Vermont Trail projects now underway in neighboring East Montpelier.