Alburgh Recreational Rail Trail

Hiking Trail Bicycle Trail Cross-Country Skiing Snowmobiling Horse Trail Handicapped Access

Directions from New York: Take I-87 to Exit 42 for Rouses Point. Follow NY Route 11 to Rouses Point Bridge and connect to VT Route 2 to Alburg Village. The trailhead is in the Alburg Industrial Park across from the Fire Station. Signs on Route 2 indicate the entrance to Industrial Park.

Directions from Vermont: Take I-89 to Exit 21 in Swanton, VT. Follow Route 78 west through Swanton Village and the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, and across the Missisquoi Bay Bridge. At its intersection with Route 2, turn north onto Route 2 to Alburg Village. The trailhead is in the Alburg Industrial Park across from the Fire Station. Signs on Route 2 indicate the entrance to Industrial Park.

Features: The trail's 3.5-mile path crosses slightly rolling terrain through agricultural farmland and patchy marshland from Alburg Village to 100 yards west of the railway trestle over Lake Champlain at East Alburg. The cinder and gravel surface allows for year-round activities.

Allowed Uses: For safety and maintenance considerations, only non-motorized uses are permitted, with the exception of motorized wheelchairs and snowmobiles.

Services and Accommodations: Restaurants and other services are available in Alburg Village. No services are available along the trail. Accommodations are available in adjacent towns. Stop by the Alburg Welcome Center on Route 2 or contact the Lake Champlain Islands Chamber of Commerce in North Hero, VT for more information.

Cautions: Extra care and caution should be used when crossing Route 78 at the Mud Creek State Wildlife Management Area. Route 78 is an intensely traveled truck route and a major traffic connector between I-87 in New York and I-89 in Vermont. Bicycle travel across the Missisquoi Bay Bridge is not advised due to the roadway's width, condition, and lack of shoulders; high speed of vehicular travel; and driver inattention while enjoying the view of Lake Champlain.

For More Information: Alburg Snow Springers, 802-796-3346 or Alburg Town Clerk, 802-796-3468.

Copied on October 24, 1997 using a flatbed scanner and OCR software by Kenyon F. Karl <[email protected]> from an undated information sheet provided by the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council.

A new sign at the beginning of the entrance road indicates that the trail is managed cooperatively by:

Road to Alburgh Trailhead. Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on June 22, 1998.

MapBlast Map!
Brought to you by MapBlast! (Click on map to navigate)

Topo map from TopoZone Web Site USGS Topo map of Alburgh

MapBlast Map!
Brought to you by MapBlast! (Click on map to navigate)

Topo map from TopoZone Web Site USGS Topo map of East Alburgh

Historic Railroad Mileage Chart

Miles Station Name
10.31 East Alburgh
13.87 Alburgh

Railroad Mileage from Fonda
Dark Face indicates Train Order & Telephone Office

From Central Vermont Railway Employee Timetable 13, effective September 24, 1939. 

Near Mud Creek Waterfowl Hunting Area (Route 78 Crossing). Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on January 24, 2000.

Another picture of the Rail-trail has been posted to the Auberge Alburg Web Site!

Books about the Trail:

A 3.5 mile section of the Trail from Lonsdale to Quinnville is described in section 22 of  the Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy New England Guidebook by Cynthia Mascott published in 2000 by Globe Pequot Press. This trail listing contains a photograph, historical description, trail head directions and parking, a trail map, trail details, a local trail manager contact, and much more. 

Parking Limited parking is available at the cul-de-sac adjacent to the beginning of the trail in Alburg. 

GroceriesFoodToiletsDrinking Water Limited groceries and limited food service is available at the General Store in Alburg, adjacent to the entrance road to the Rail-trail. Toilets and water are presumably available upon request.

FoodToiletsDrinking Water Kay's Restaurant is adjacent to the entrance road to the Rail-trail in Alburg. Because its primary customers are long distance truck drivers, it is open from 3 am to 8:30 pm on weekdays, but closed on weekends and holidays. Toilets and water are presumably available upon request when open.

FoodToiletsDrinking Water Auburgh Village Deli & Country Store just south of the entrance road to the Rail-trail in Alburg is apparently open only during the warm weather months. Toilets and water are presumably available upon request when the Deli is open for business.

Lodging Auberge Alburg is listed in the Vermont section of the Worldwide Hostel Guide. Bed and Breakfast rooms are usually available on a year-round basis. Hostel accommodations and a limited number of camp sites are available during warm weather months. The facility is located on the town's very narrow and busy main street about a half-mile south of the entrance road to the Rail-trail in Alburg. 

Trail ShelterToilets The Mud Creek Waterfowl Hunting Area adjacent to the Route 78 crossing near the mid-point of the trail offers shelter in its heavily vandalized cabin. An old fashioned outhouse is nearby. Parking may be available during waterfowl hunting season.

Lodging Thomas Mott Homestead B&B is located south of the Blue Rock Road crossing about two thirds of the way to the end of trail at East Alburgh. A sign for a separate recreational vehicle campground was also observed on that road.

No trail facilities or services were observed at or near East Alburgh except for trail access at two crossings! 

Yellow Pages Local Services

Each location map on this Web Site is a link to a map on the Mapblast Web Site which in turn contains a link to a Business Directory of the surrounding area.

  Public Transit Service

Northwest Vermont Public Transit Network expects to begin operation of a local transit service from St. Albans and Swanton to all of the Island communities in February of 2000. This bus should feature a bike rack and stop on signal on  Route 78 that parallels the rail-trail to East Alburg. The bus should also make a scheduled stop near the entrance road in Alburg. 

Bus Stop Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to St. Albans and Swanton from Montreal and Burlington on a daily basis. Detailed timetables for this service as well as connecting bus service in Vermont can be found at the Vermont Transit Web Site. Vermont Transit accepts bicycles in boxes on a space available basis. 

Amtrak Adirondak Service provides daily passenger service at Rouses Point NY to both New York City and Montreal. Numerous other Amtrak and commuter rail connections can be made at New York City. and VIA Rail connections can be made at Montreal. Note that the Adirondak features a baggage car equipped with bike racks for unboxed bikes. Although Amtrak will also handle bikes in boxes on this train as checked baggage from connecting Amtrak trains, traditional baggage service is not available at Rouses Point!

Books about the trail:

A 3.5 mile section of the Trail from Alburg to East Alburg is described in section 25 of  the Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy New England Guidebook by Cynthia Mascott published in 2000 by Globe Pequot Press. This trail listing contains a photograph, historical description, trail head directions and parking, a trail map, trail details, a local trail manager contact, and much more. 

This trail is described in Great Rail Trails of the Northeast by Craig Della Penna. The information includes a historical background of the trail as well as a detailed description keyed to bicycle odometer readings from the author's in person trip down the trail.

Connecting trails and bike routes

The Vermont Principle Route of the Lake Champlain Bikeway passes through Alburg on Route 2 near the Alburgh Trailhead of the Rail-trail. Supplementary information about the Bikeway is available on this Web Site.

The proposed Champlain Rail-Trail will provide a traffic-free route for the bikeway between the Canadian Border and Burlington. Note that this proposal may likewise include a westward extension of the existing Alburgh Rail-trail to a point near the bridge to Rouses Point NY.

Railroad abandonment data

Item From To Year RR Miles
249 East Alburgh Rouses Point, NY 1962 CV 7.3
Directory of rail abandonments 1848-1994 in the book Lost Railroads of New England, 2nd Ed. by Ronald Dale Karr, published by Branch Line Press in 1996.

1895 County Atlas - showing railroads [very slow loading]:


Sign images are from the Manual of Traffic Signs by Richard C. Moeur.

Updated on August 07, 2001 by Kenyon F. Karl <[email protected]>.
  Unintentional errors are likely!

Click for Alburg, Vermont Forecast

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