Kingdom Trails
Conservancy · East Burke, Vermont
More than a hundred miles of singletrack around East Burke in the Northeast Kingdom, stitched together across the land of over a hundred private owners who let a nonprofit run trails through their fields and woods. It is one of the most celebrated mountain-bike networks in the country and the comparison people reach for is Moab, which is generous but not absurd - the range runs from meadow-top cruising on Darling Hill to technical descents in the forest below, and the progression from beginner to expert is about as complete as it gets in the East. The whole thing exists on handshake and easement rather than public land, which is the interesting part and also the fragile one.
478 Vermont Route 114, East Burke, Vermont, 05832, United States
⚠ SEASONAL - the trail network is a summer and autumn operation, roughly late June to mid October. IT CLOSES FOR THE WINTER AND FOR SPRING MUD SEASON and reopens "when weather and trail conditions allow" rather than on a fixed date, so check the association's current trail status before driving into the Northeast Kingdom. ⚠ A DAY PASS OR MEMBERSHIP IS REQUIRED TO RIDE, bought at the Welcome Center in East Burke or online from the Kingdom Trails Association - the money pays landowner insurance and trail maintenance, which is what keeps over a hundred private permissions alive, and sections have been closed in the past when relations soured. Free parking at the designated trailhead lots; bike rental available in the village. ⚠ TRAIL AND SECTION CLOSURES CHANGE - an old map is not a permission. ⚠ DOG RESTRICTIONS APPLY and vary by section and season because of livestock; ask before bringing one. ⚠ BURKE MOUNTAIN'S LIFT-SERVED BIKE PARK NEXT DOOR IS A SEPARATE OPERATION WITH ITS OWN TICKET.