Lamoille River Access

A decade ago, Vermont River Conservancy helped launch the Lamoille River Paddlers’ Trail — a corridor of canoe and kayak put-ins, portages, and campsites. Today, the trail hosts thousands of paddlers each year, giving people the chance to experience the river’s scenic beauty on day trips or overnight floats.

And we’re not done yet.

Now we’re working to add new swimming holes along the way, focusing on sites adjacent to the parallel Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. These new swimming holes will give people the chance to enjoy a cool dip after a day in the saddle.

In Wolcott, we’re in the midst of conversations to protect 500-feet river frontage on the Lamoille River, where the river features the kinds of exposed ledges, pools, and drops that make for destination swimming holes. There would be new public access for swimming, paddling, and walking – filling an “access desert” where there’s no formal river access within 2-3 miles upstream and downstream. Plus, it will create new opportunities for pedal-paddle or pedal-swimming hole recreation, augmenting the “destination” value of the site in support of Vermont’s growing outdoor recreation economy.