A Day Trip to the North Kingdom of Vermont: Kingdom Trails
We’re jumping back in the time machine again for this one, all the way back to October of 2020. Our friends in Vermont, Katie and Jo, were celebrating their wedding anniversary by camping near East Burke and riding mountain bikes at the Kingdom Trails. We couldn’t make it to the for the camping, but were pleased to be able to make a day trip to enjoy the riding. October in New England means cooler weather, and beautiful fall colors in the trees.
Even though East Burke was a 90 minute drive from where we lived, nothing ever felt that far in Vermont. It seemed that every time we went for a drive we were on an adventure through the countryside. The morning started traveling through a thick fog that we are not accustomed to in the Mountain West. As we passed a lake about half way there, the fog began to rise leaving some to linger over the glassy water reflecting the fall colors on the trees.
We arrived at the parking lot at East Burke Sports mid morning to a cold fall day. It was one of those situations where you are putting layers on, taking them off, packing thicker gloves trying to decide what will be right for the ride. probably over bundled we locked the car and headed up the initial climb to access the bulk of the trail system. As we regrouped at the top we found ourselves next to a farm, with cows peacefully grazing among the foliage.
The Kingdom Trails lie on private land owned on over 100 seperate properties. The trails are managed by a non-profit organization that works with the land owners for liability insurance, and access for riders. Sadly, a few years ago, a run in one of the land owners had with a rude mountain biker resulted in loss of trail access to bikers. This means taking a detour on Darling Hill Road through the neighborhood around the now forbidden trails. While singletrack is always preferred, this was still a beautiful part of the ride.
Once we made our way around the detour the single track was plentiful. I had visited here once before with Jo back in 2015 and recalled having a blast on a trail named sidewinder. So I made sure we headed that direction to make sure it was still fun. It is short and sweet taking riders down a gully in a series of swoopy switchbacks up and down the steep slopes. It’s a challenging trail until the feeling of falling off the top of the switchbacks turns into momentum taking you into the next one. I think we lapped it a couple of times before moving on to other trails.
One of the things that makes Kingdom Trails so fun is the variety of trails you can ride there. There are trails like Sidewinder to challenge your courage, then there are trails with wooden features, jumps, or cross country trails. There is something for everyone. We made our way to another cool, challenging trail named Jaw. It has a series of wooden “skinnies” or bridges that start wide and become narrower as you progress down the trail. This is a super fun way to ride, and is not something you find at many trail systems. It is a testament to the variety of terrain you can find there.
After riding Jaw we pedaled further into the woods where we butted up against the mountain bike closure. We found some more wooden skinnies to ride and some cool rock rolls.
At this point we had been out for a few hours and decided to start heading back towards the car. Another cool thing about riding here is the infrastructure that has developed around the trails. On one end of the system there is East Burke Sports, a tiki bar, and places to eat. On the other end, where we were riding is another bike shop called Village Sport Shop Trailside that will also fulfill your bike maintenance and beer drinking needs. The shop is situated on top of a hill with a sweeping view of the North Kingdom with a picnic area and adirondack chairs. Just down the hill there was a small bike park with jumps, drops, and berms that were easily lapped. I didn’t take any photos of these trails, because I was just having to much fun.
After we enjoyed some beverages in comfy chairs we head back down Darling Road towards the cars. We had one more fun single track descent back to the car, where we sat down and enjoyed a couple more drinks at the tiki bar.
Kingdom Trails is one of the many highlights in Vermont. The Kingdom Trails Association that manages the area has built an incredible community for riders from across the country, and probably the world to ride. It is one of the most unique mountain bike riding destinations I have seen in that it has everything you need woven in around the trail system. Many places that we travel to ride are remote, and often backcountry environments. There is something to be said for amenities spread throughout the trails in East Burke. I’m not sure when we will visit East Burke again, but I look forward to the day. Until next time.
