Lake Level Damages Island Line Trail
Posted by Chapin on Apr 19 2011
Tags: Burlington, Colchester, Damage, Flood, Island Line Trail, South Hero, Trails, Vermont
Lake Champlain’s record high water has damaged many sections of Vermont’s most popular multi-use trail. Time will tell how bad the damage will be. Local Motion is working with trail managers to secure FEMA funding so repairs can be made. Stay tuned.
More pictures/tweets: sent in photos of the Causeway. David Jacobowitz sent in the photo from Windemere Way. Thanks all! More photos here. Submit your photos to todd@localmotion.org. Thanks to Annie Follett (Annie Bikes), Phelps Holloway, Cathy Frank and Diane Leyden, David Jacobowitz, Azur Moulaert, Rosemary Zamore and many others who have submitted photos.
Videos: Witness the damage in these two videos here and here from Diana Hanks and Rosemary Zamore.
5/30 UPDATE: After the lake level hit an all-time high of 103.2 feet, Vermont continues to get more rain. The lake is currently at 102.8 feet. 10 miles of the trail are still open and rideable, however certain sections are closed:
- The section between the Water Treatment Plant and Perkins Pier continues to be underwater and is not passable.
- A portion of Windemere Way near Delta Park and the Fish & Wildlife Boat Access is underwater. A short detour along Horizon View Road will reconnect you with Windemere Way and the trail.
- The Colchester side of the Causeway has been closed from the Law Island Bridge north to the end.
- Across the Cut on the South Hero side, the surface has been eroded severely and it is extremely dangerous to bike there.
All other portions of the trail are still open and passable. See photos and maps below.
Photos: Click here for a full photo album
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- Perkins Pier flooding by David Punia
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- Flooding just south of Perkins Pier
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- Debris and erosion just south of Perkins Pier
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- Debris washed up on path near Oakledge Park
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- Part of Windemere Way underwater. Bikepath is just to the right.
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- Another shot of flooding at Windemere Way, submitted by Valerie Delibac Ryan via Facebook
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- Windemere Way as of 5-10-11 as seen by the Silver Spokes
Maps: Closed portions of trail are highlighted in yellow
14 Comments »
14 Responses to “Lake Level Damages Island Line Trail”
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on 28 Apr 2011 at 6:22 pm 1.Phil said …
Are the entire trails flooded or only the areas mentioned above? Can we still bike on the trails?
on 29 Apr 2011 at 1:35 pm 2.localmotion said …
Just the places mentioned are closed at the moment, plus the Colchester side of the Causeway from the Law Island Bridge to the end. The rest of the path, including Oakledge Park to the Barge Canal and King Street to Airport Park, are still open and rideable. Enjoy!
on 30 Apr 2011 at 10:28 pm 3.Annie said …
I thought it interesting that today I was stopped by the fire department at North Ave. and the bike path. No cyclists or pedestrians were allowed to travel north on the path and no explanation was given.
on 01 May 2011 at 2:02 pm 4.Susan said …
The stretch of the bike path from North Ave north, leading to the Winooski Bridge, and over Delta Park, is closed (4/30/11). Yellow Police tape is in place. Please respect it. It is largely for the benefit of those who have had to leave their homes and face security issues.
on 05 May 2011 at 5:53 pm 5.mark said …
This stinks! Let us know how we can help when it comes to clean up time Chapin.
on 05 May 2011 at 5:58 pm 6.Annie too said …
Please let us know how we can help as repairs get underway this summer. I see an abundance of volunteer work days in the future. . .
on 05 May 2011 at 6:24 pm 7.Mary Harwood said …
Keep me posted and I’ll get all the news that fits in the South Hero column. Mary
on 05 May 2011 at 7:25 pm 8.Aaron said …
I know it's a bit early, but what's the likely fate of the Colchester Causeway? It looks like it's going to need pretty serious (and probably expensive) reconstructive work to be usable and safe again. I'm afraid this might mean the end of the causeway rides to the islands.
on 10 May 2011 at 6:31 pm 9.Alice said …
I am a one week annual visitor to this area of Vermont. Last year while training for the Maine Lung Association Trek Across Maine, my friend and I had the pleasure of riding the complete trail in Burlington. What a JOY! I brought my bike and my husband's this year so that I could show him how beautiful this trip is. I guess we won't be riding here this year. I wish everyone well on the clean-up. We're from coastal Maine.
on 12 May 2011 at 11:16 am 10.Azur Moulaert said …
Check out this panoramic view of the flooding at Oakledge Park: http://newspin360.com/tour/vt/news/floodmap2011/p…
on 14 May 2011 at 12:35 pm 11.Chapin Spencer said …
Neat 360 view Azur. Thanks! The trail-related erosion at Oakledge Park is fortunately limited to a 60' stretch of path that can be seen in this picture.
on 15 May 2011 at 8:10 pm 12.Charles Sides said …
While I know this is not equivalent to the disastrous floods in the Mississippi valley, it is sad to see perhaps the most beautiful bike trail in America virtually destroyed. For years we have taken day trips from Northern Massachusetts to Burlington just to ride it (and eat and shop, of course), as well as several vacations a year in the Stowe area that also included jaunts over to Burlington for the trail ride. If there are fund-raising efforts, I hope they will be posted.
on 15 Jun 2011 at 9:49 am 13.Brian said …
This morning (6/15) there was a sign posted at the North Ave trail crossing that the trail was closed between North Ave and Starr Farm Road.
on 25 Jun 2011 at 10:25 pm 14.Barbara said …
So sad the damage to the bike path…..look forward to biking all the way through, jumping on that wonderful bike ferry and continuing on through the islands…..always a great summer time activity….maybe fed money will help…one can only hope…..