OPINION: Outdoor recreation is an essential part of Waterbury’s economic vitality

February 27, 2025  |  By Waterbury Area Trail Alliance 

For the past decade, the Waterbury Area Trail Alliance has tirelessly championed our town, our incredible outdoor recreation resources and their positive impacts on the economy. 

Recently published articles inaccurately classified WATA as a “private” organization, and we wanted to take a moment to share what we do and the positive impact we have on our community.

Since 2015 WATA has managed the multi-use trails at Perry Hill. These trails are part of the free and public Vermont Trail System and can be found on all free publicly available maps. Perry Hill is also featured in Discover Waterbury's Marketing Materials. 

Our trails have been written up in national publications and we have received visitors from as far away as British Columbia. They are open to hikers, bikers, dog walkers, trail runners, birders and all manner of non-motorized outdoor enthusiasts. 

From Nov. 1 to Dec. 15t every year, the trails close for hunting season, and we have had hunters thank us for the work as the trails help them get to and from their stand deep in the forest. Outside of the regular hunting season, half of Perry Hill closes and serves as a deer wintering habitat. The other half is open and maintained for fat biking, snowshoeing, and Nordic skiing. 

WATA and our parent organization Vermont Mountain Bike Association have a cooperative agreement in place as the dedicated stewards of these trails on public lands. We also do not charge for access to these trails.  

Over the past 10 years of collecting data, Perry Hill has averaged 15,000 user visits annually. Many of our peak user years exceed 20,000 visits to our historic Main Street. This data has been collected by a trail counter maintained by the Vermont Department of Forest Parks and Recreation.  A 2023 user survey found that a majority of our visitors spend between $25-$99 dollars in Waterbury per visit. These dollars are spent at gas stations, bars, restaurants, cafes and small businesses that are the foundation of our community. These dollars are generating revenue not only for the business but also for the local option tax. 

This data is in line with other data we see across the state. The nearby Blueberry Lake trails were found to have a $1.8 million annual economic impact, and generate over $320,000 in federal state and local taxes (Source MRV Moves). More broadly across the state, a U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis study conducted in 2023 found that outdoor recreation contributes $2.1 billion to our economy and accounts for 4.6% of our GDP. Only Hawaii has a higher percentage GDP generated by outdoor recreation. 

Our trails attract businesses to our community: in 2023, French Bike Company, Mavic, selected Waterbury as the location of their North American Office and Service Center. In the Waterbury Roundabout interview, they specifically cited Perry Hill and our annual event the Gravel Grinder as a reason for choosing Waterbury. 

In 2018, Bicycle Express relocated just over the bridge in Moretown, but employs a number of Waterbury residents, citing the access to recreation and Perry Hill. This business opening was attended by Gov. Scott highlighting its importance to the region. Waterbury is also home to a robust number of outdoor recreation-focused businesses. We boast Darn Tough, Rome Snowboards, The Green Mountain Club, and Vermont Mountain Bike Association headquarters as well as two bike shops/sporting goods stores. As we have lost major employers like Keurig/Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, outdoor recreation has stepped up to fill that void. 

Our trails support youth programs and community well-being. Organizations that have utilized the trails include Wheels Around Waterbury, a youth-focused bike program, the Crossett Brook Middle School bike team, and the Bike Express junior bike race team for training. The trails also contribute to overall community health. An American Heart Association Study found that for every dollar invested in trails it saves $3 in health care costs. 

In July 2024 a storm fully washed out the permitted section of our Climb forcing the trail on an unsanctioned section of trail, which put access to the whole network in jeopardy. The Campfire Climb also had a bridge washout. 

We have spent the past eight months working with a team of state specialists, including experts on streams and waterways, foresters, and fish and wildlife ecologists on developing a permanent solution, that protects water quality, ensures long-term climate resilience, and expands user access by building to a beginner standard to match the trails it accesses. 

This represents a $30,000 investment that is a mix of funds we have raised, including a VMBA trail grant and $7,000 of town funding that came from the 2024 local option tax. We also are actively fundraising for phase 2 of this climate resilience work that should we meet our fundraising goal, will represent a $50,000 investment in 2026. 

For the Main and Campfire Cclimb project, we have hired Vermont-based trail builder LD Trailworks, who is a trusted contractor of WATA and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and a leader in building high-quality sustainable trails. These funds are directly supporting more Vermont-based jobs. 

Our town welcome sign proudly reads, “Vermont's Recreation Crossroads,” and WATA has been a tireless advocate for our recreation resources in Waterbury for the past decade. These efforts have largely been on the backs of thousands of volunteer hours and donations. This is the first time the organization has requested funds from the town, and we were thrilled to receive it. It felt like an incredible acknowledgment of all of the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into building and maintaining this incredible free public resource. 

Thank you to the countless volunteers, donors, leaders and taxpayers of Waterbury for all of the support of this cherished part of our town and community. We thank all candidates for stepping up to serve our community. We look forward to working with whomever our community chooses on projects that promote community vitality and economic development. 

This column was submitted by the WATA Board of Directors – Dan Potter, Logan Shuman, Nathan Dunbar, Elise Gloeckner, Zach Rochman – and WATA Trails Director Alex Showerman.

Anyone who would like to learn more about WATA, its climate-resilience and conservation efforts, and focus on economic vibrancy and well-being, is invited to attend the group’s Annual Meeting/Season Kick Off on March 20 at the Prohibition Pig Brewery.