Trails Committee Members
Tom Blachly, Chair (blachly@together.net)
Term ends June 30, 2028
Hasso Ewing
Term ends June 30, 2028
Toni Kaeding, Clerk
Term ends June 30, 2026
Steve Kiloran
Term ends June 30, 2027
Peter Livaditis
Term ends June 30, 2028
Tim Maker
Term ends June 30, 2027
Harris Roen
Term ends June 30, 2028
Christine Badalamenti-Smith
Term ends June 30, 2027
Jason Smith
Term ends June 30, 2027
Sam Sudhalter
Term ends June 30, 2026
Holly Weiss
Term ends June 30, 2027
Claudia Welch
Term ends June 30, 2028
Denise Wilder
Term ends June 30, 2026
Calais Trails Committee
The Calais Trails Committee was formed by the Selectboard in 2008 to establish and maintain a system of public trails for non-motorized recreation. Since that time, over 14 miles of trail have been developed. The system runs entirely through private land, supported by voluntary year-to-year agreements with 15 generous landowners, by financial contributions from private donors, and through volunteer labor.
The genesis of the Calais trails in Town began with the committee founder, Reed Cherington, who guided the committee through its first 10 years, overseeing two extensive network of trails in the western section of Town near the Worcester line: the Longmeadow Hill Network (Ellis-Bruce Trail and Bradley Loop) and the Robinson Ridge Trail Network (Robinson Ridge Trail, Fairy Woods Trail, Lower Falls Trail, Manure Cart Trail, and Upper Beaver Pond Trail). The Bradley Loop was brought about by Darby and Liisa Bradley, who donated a permanent trail easement through their land to the Vermont Land Trust. The Land Trust, in turn, appointed the Calais Trails Committee as “Trail Steward.” With Darby and Liisa’s considerable help, we established a trail on the north slope of Longmeadow Hill. The 1 ½-mile-long trail can be accessed off the Ellis-Bruce Trail (the trail to Worcester), near its eastern trailhead. Because of very steep terrain in a few places, the Loop trail is limited to pedestrian use only. Many of these trails would not have been possible without the Herculean efforts of master trail-builders Ram Verma and Randy Allen.
The Trails Committee also maintains the following trails in the western part of Town: Robinson Cemetery Trail; Calais Town Forest Trail; and Wheelock Monument Trail.
In 2020 two new trails opened up in the eastern part of Town: Broadview Farm Trail, which can be accessed from two trailheads, on Bliss Road and Blachly Road, respectively, and Carr Brook Trail, which is located on Batten Road near East Calais Village. Since its opening in the Fall of 2021, Broadview Farm Trail has expanded to include the Ravine Trail, the Bootheel Loop, the Skyline Trail, the Marshall Trail, and the Little Mud Pond Spur.
All of the Town-sponsored trails are marked with blue and white aluminum signs and wood trail-markers. Maps are available below. (If you do not have a printer, photocopied maps are available through the Town Office to Town residents and property owners.) We are pleased with the current level of trail use by walkers, runners, bikers, horseback riders, and winter sports enthusiasts.
See you on the trails!
Trails Committee Meeting Minutes – June 6, 2024
Approved Trails Minutes 6.5.22.docx
Approved Trails Minutes 6-1-23.pdf
Calais_Trails_Committee_Minutes_9-8-20.pdf
Calais Trails Committee Approved Minutes June 9 2020.pdf
Trails Comm Minutes 5-18-19 Approved
Trail Committee Minutes 1-7-2017
TrailsCommitteeMinutes Approved 5-21-2016
Trails Committee Interim Report 8-31-15
Calais Trails Committee Minutes. unapproved. 9-6-2014
Calais Trails Committee Opinion Re Bliss Road Discontinuance 9-6-2014
Calais Trails Committee Meeting Minutes June 5, 2013
MAP: Bliss Pond Town Forest Trail Map 9-29-21.pdf
MAP: Broadview Farm Trail 1-30-23.pdf
MAP: Butterfield Ridges Trail 1-30-23.pdf
MAP: Long Meadow Hill Trail Network: 11-26-25
MAP: Robinson Cemetery Trail 2025
MAP: Robinson Hill Trails Network.pdf
MAP: Wheelock Monument Trail 2-22-24.pdf
Trails Committee Early History
Development of recreational trails was begun by the Conservation Commission, almost a decade before the Town Trails Committee was authorized by the Selectboard in 2008. The Conservation Commission had – and still has – responsibility for trails in the Town Forests. This includes a network of maintained trails in the Bliss Pond Town Forest (land that includes most of the former Town Farm).
Please click the link “Trails Committee Early History” to continue reading the brief history.