Being an avid hiker myself, I enjoyed reading and was pleased to be able to put into the Aug. 20 Banner the story about the disabled hiker who is tackling the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. It reminded me that long ago the Banner also ran an Associated Press article about trails in Vermont for people with disabilities.
However, there was some information about accessible trails in Vermont and elsewhere that ran with that article that we didn’t have space for at the time. That information is listed below:
Mark Rondeau
Local news editor
Accessible Hiking in Vermont:
• Camel’s Hump View Trail, Camel’s Hump State Park, Duxbury. Take Exit 10 from Interstate 89; turn south on Vermont Route 100 toward downtown Waterbury, and left where Route 100 joins U.S. Route 2. Go about .1 miles toward Waterbury village, take a right on Winooski Street. Cross a bridge over the Winooski River and turn right. Go 4 miles, with the Winooski River on your right much of the way. Go left on Camel’s Hump Road. About 3.4 miles (watch for the small Camel’s Hump sign where the road hooks left). At 3.4 miles, take left over single-lane bridge. Follow road to parking area at the trailhead. Both ends of the .8-mile looping trail end at this parking area. Admission is free.
• Baldwin Trail, Mount Independence Historic Site, Orwell. It’s located near the end of Mount Independence Road, six miles west of the intersection of Vermont Routes 73 and 22A in Orwell. Carefully follow the signs. Admission to this Revolutionary War historic site is $5 for adults and free for kids under 15.
• Thundering Falls Trail, Killington. This wheelchair-accessible section of the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail is expected to be open in the fall, when the Green Mountain Club completes construction of a boardwalk through the Ottauquechee River flood plain. The public is asked to wait for construction to be complete before visiting.
National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov. A Web site will be launched in September listing accessible trails, programs and other accessible sites throughout the national parks system. In the mean time, most national parks have some accessible facilities; check with individual parks for details.
Other Accessible Parks: Other Web sites that list accessible park facilities around the country include http://www.usatechguide.org/techguide.php?vmode1&catid421 and http://gorp.away.com/gorp/eclectic/disabled.htm.