River Highlands State Park

   

Date: 10/22/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: Not bad, but still some storm damage, and leaves.
Observations/Information: I took a quick ride at the Blow Hole Saturday afternoon. The DEEP has gone in and repaired hurricane damage. The gravel road has been reconstituted, and the bridge that was undermined has been repositioned. It now takes a straighter, easier, and slightly less fun path over the stream (see photo).

 I also saw evidence of recent chainsaw work on the green and red trails. Most trails are clear of blowdowns but there are still a lot of derailleur eating sticks down, and now leaves as well- the trails can be hard to follow. Still a little soft at the top of the yellow trail, everything else was dry.

The blue trail, a little used trail at the far northern end of the park, was hard hit by the storm and has not been cleaned up yet. There are several large trees blocking the trail. They are close together and were obviously taken down by wind because they all point in the same direction (see photo), as if showing the way to buried treasure or an alien landing site. The trail might have to be rerouted in this area.

The park has suffered since I stopped doing regular TA work about six months ago. People are riding but not maintaining the trails, and they're not as fun to ride as a result. It got me thinking about how much a dedicated TA can do for a riding area.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Trail Ambassador E-mail: glennvernes33athotmaildotcom
How did you use the trail? MT Biking
Trails Ridden: Green, yellow, white, red, blue
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 1.0
Approximate Distance (Miles): 7 miles
Images/Photos: Wads-Blow Hole 10-23-11 003.JPG
2nd image: Wads-Blow Hole 10-23-11 004.JPG
3rd Image: Wads-Blow Hole 10-23-11 002.JPG
4th Image: