Well, I haven’t written a ride report in quite some time. I thought I was about due for one so here it is…

My family and I went camping in the “Northern Kingdom” of Vermont over the past seven days. We went with another family who we often vacation with. Every other year the adults take a “no children allowed” vacation to some exotic place and in between we take the kids camping. We started this routine about six years ago.
Last year we did both, adults went to Jamaica and the two complete families went to Vermont camping. Last year I did not bring my KLX and we rented a couple of Pop-up campers from Brunswick Naval Air Station. BNAS closed this year so we didn’t have the rental option. My buddy got a camper from his father in law, and my wife and I decided to buy a small, used 21 footer for ourselves. He and I spent the past 3 months preparing our campers for the past week. (tires, bearings, electrical repairs, etc.) I wasn’t planning to bring my KLX because 1. My friend doesn’t ride, and 2. I didn’t know where to ride in Vermont. At the last minute, I called the camp ground and asked if it would be appropriate to bring my bike. The campground owners said that they have trails that connect to the campground the lead to a vast VASA trail network (VASA - Vermont All Terrain Vehicle Sportsman's Association). Very cool!
We loaded up last Saturday and took the scenic route to Concord, VT from Saco, ME. The route took us through the BEAUTIFUL white mountains of New Hampshire and through Crawford Notch.







We arrived at the campground on Saturday and proceeded to setup. My wife and I and our daughter in the camper and my son and his friend in a tent. My buddy and his family were in the site next door to us.



It took about two days but I finally found the time to sneak out and start my trek through the unknown. I know I shouldn’t ride alone but… the temptation was too great and I stuck to a lot of dirt roads. I ended up doing roughly 150 miles over the course of 3 rides.



Here are multiple pictures from the rides. They are somewhat combined. I will say that Vermont is a GREAT place to ride! I was a little unsure of how the bike would perform since it’s jetted for sea level but the elevation I was riding at was only between 1000-2000 feet ASL. My bike performed perfectly.
The first part of the trail leading out of the campground was meant for ATV’s and Side X Sides. It was extremely rocky and rough. After about 1.1 miles I popped out at a T crossing. There I found an advertisement leading back the way I had come. It was for the campground! I emailed this picture to the campground owner. Maybe I’ll see it on their website.





I chose to go left the first day. The trail was much better and it was really more of a fire road. Still very rough but much easier than the first part.



There were tons of streams, some I had to ford across, some had bridges. I didn’t get tons of pictures since I was having too much fun riding.







The second day I turned ride at the T crossing and went up into Victory Basin Wildlife Management Park. It was gorgeous with scenic vistas and lots of easy gravel roads.











I did get some rain the second ride. It cleared up about halfway through. We had great weather the whole trip.
Here is a horsepath I came across. I SOOOO wanted to go over this bridge but I didn’t. There were lots of ATV tracks in the mud, so I know that some people do.





Here is the view from the bridge. I walked to the middle.



to be continued...

 

Here is the rest of it...


A little further along I found this monument in the woods. Kind of cool. Not sure who the person is, other than a name.





The last day, I rode I found an old railroad bridge coming out of the woods and disappearing back into it. The bridge was a bit rickety but I chanced a few shots from it.







Makes me wonder what happened to it and why it’s no longer used.



Here’s a little abandoned school house. The grounds are still kept up but there is nothing in it.


Nothing to do with the ride but here are a few fun shots of different activities we did…

My son is up front



My daughter



Playing in the stream



Covered bridge



That’s it. I hope you like it!

 

Nice, thanks for sharing!

 

HAHA you were right in my old backyard.

I grew up and lived in Lunenburg and Gilman VT (which you drove through) for many years. Just moved out to MO from there last year.

Lots of great roads up there. Tried trout fishing off the moose river bridge there a couple of times but all i ever caught was those damned atlantic salmon (no bueno).

Seeing these familiar places again in your photos reminds me of how small a world it really is.

 

Looks like a great place for a family holiday. Great photos.

 

Nice photos, I'm heading out to the upper peninsula of michigan on monday. I hope I'm able to get as many miles as you did.

 

I hope you are enjoying your new home, but I bet you can't help but miss the Northern Kingdom ( I love the way that sounds ). I really like the area but probably not so much in the winter

 

Have fun and post some pictures!!

 

It really is nice seeing other parts of this beautiful country. Thanks for the pics & the write up.

 

The winters are really what drove me away from the area. I just couldn't handle Oct-April snows. Pluse its very expensive to live there and not alot of jobs around.

Still got alot of family in the area and hopefully starting next year i can make yearly trips back to the ol' Northeast Kingdom in the fall for some epic rides through the foliage.

It is gorgeous country when its not -30... lol.