A Grateful Farewell to Chris
In early September, Chris Gosling finished up his 2026 trail season. If you had the privilege of working with Chris this summer, you know it as well as we do: he is a skilled, thoughtful trail builder with lots of experience doing the work, teaching the work, and keeping all of us safe during the work. He led more than a dozen trail days over four months, each one tackling important projects and strengthening stewards' connection to the trails. Cheers to a great season – we’ll see you around, but we’ll still miss you, Chris!

Changing Seasons, Steady Trail Work 
As the season washes from summer to fall and bugs are no longer a relentless, buzzing, biting scourge (praise be!), Dusty and Scott are still going strong as they begin their sixth month of trail work. The work they do is physically demanding, carefully executed, and dependent on a slew of factors from weather to logistics to coordination with partners and volunteers. They do it for a love of trails and commitment to our community of trail users and we say: Thank You, Merci Beaucoup, Gracias a thousand times over. 

Events, Funding, and Comms – Oh My!
Since our last newsletter, BETA’s Outreach Coordinator Megan has been busy working with board members to plan and host events like Pedal & Potluck, Hardy Kids MTB Race, a screening of the adaptive mountain biking film Best Day Ever, and BETA’s Community Bike Jam in downtown Lake Placid October 2. Between planning and tabling at events and keeping members informed about all things BETA, she’s enjoying the range of experiences offered by different trails. 

Deadline Approaching for Executive Director Applicants
As we continue an important search for a new executive director, we’d be grateful for your help in spreading the word. The deadline for applications is September 30.

BETA's mission is to unite and strengthen our Adirondack communities through a diverse and welcoming network of bike and ski trails that bring us outside, together. To achieve this, we seek a dynamic and skilled leader to continue BETA's commitment to and investment in the communities we serve. The full job description is available here.

Thank you, as always, for being part of the BETA community and for helping us find a new leader to guide the organization into its next chapter.

Volunteers, contractors, and the BETA trail crew have been checking trail projects off the list left and right. Here are some highlights:​

Jackrabbit Ski Trail | Paul Smiths, Lake Placid, Keene

• Replacement of the Bird Song Bridge in Lake Placid (below).
• Side cutting from Paul Smith’s VIC to Haul Road, Bird Song Lane to Craig Wood, Craig Wood to Route 86.
• Additional signage from Paul Smith’s VIC to Haul Road for easier wayfinding.
• New ramp and railing extensions at Bob’s Bridge near the Keene trailhead to make a safer entrance for skiers (below).
• Upcoming Jackrabbit Trail Work Projects
  • Railing replacement on Theresa's Bridge in Lake Placid.
  • Seasonal mowing with Tony Goodwin and Woods McCahill.
  • Volunteer day to clean drainage on McKenzie Pass from Whiteface Inn Lane, Lake Placid on October 25th.
• Upcoming Trail Work Projects on Other Ski Trails
  • Side cutting at the Hays Brook trail in Paul Smiths. 
  • Blowdown removal and clearing in the High Peaks Wilderness 

Volunteers provide essential insight and services that support the long term quality and sustainability of the trails in BETA’s networks. As the trail work season winds down, we’d like to thank all of the volunteers, especially the Local Trails Committees (LTCs) and their chairs, who do that important work. Briefly, we’d like to give a special shout out to Alec Betancourt and Chris Gosling of Saranac Lake, Nick Zachara and Stefano Fachin of Lake Placid, Tyler Kepes and Harry Caldwell of Elizabethtown, Patrick Carey of Keene, and Wes Lampman of Wilmington for your leadership, passion and dedication.

High Peaks Wilderness Vegetation Management Training
On September 8, members of BETA staff and the Ski Trails Committee spent a day on the trails with NYS DEC Forester Tate Connor to gain a mutual understanding of acceptable corridor width in the High Peaks Wilderness and how best to achieve that width. This is an important step to allow our staff and volunteers to do ski trails maintenance this season and beyond.

We look forward to the work ahead and appreciate Tate’s guidance.

Ski Stewardship Program 
In the meantime, we’re building a network of Trail Scouts and Rapid Responders to help find and address maintenance issues on ski trails within BETA’s purview. Trail Scouts are committed to visiting the same trails(s) on a regular basis, but especially right after storms, and report their findings to BETA. Rapid Responders are comfortable wielding a hand saw or chainsaw to take care of maintenance issues reported by Scouts.

If you’re interested in joining the volunteer team, more information will be shared soon on our website, socials, and through an upcoming email blast.  You can sign up for our email blasts here.

Ski trails need love, too!

Bridge work is complete on the Jackrabbit Ski Trail near Bird Song Lane in Lake Placid! See the pictures below for an inside look at how this bridge got its makeover.

Most of our ski trails don't need such extensive work, but they need regular upkeep (side-cutting, mowing, and blowdown clearing) to stay useable year after year. BETA staff and the Ski Trails Committee are gearing up for fall ski trails work. Stay tuned for updates on how you can pitch in and which projects we're tackling before the snow flies.

Trail 7 and Trail 8 at East Branch are ready for real names and we want your ideas!

Submit your suggestions here: www.bit.ly/trail78 by September 28th.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Submit your suggestions. Use the form above. You can suggest names for one trail or both. Feel free to submit more than once, just fill out the form separately for each new idea. Good trail names are easy to remember and pronounce, and respectful and appropriate - that gives them the best shot at becoming a finalist! Submissions close at 11:59pm on Monday, September 28th.
2. We pick finalists. Submissions will be reviewed to build a shortlist. We may also mix and match names from different entries.
3. Community vote. Voting on finalists opens in early October, with the link shared on our website, email list, Instagram, and Facebook. Voting closes about two weeks later, and we'll announce the winning names!

On Sunday, volunteers led by Chris, BETA's Trail Stewardship Leader, tackled finishing work on the Town Connector Trail reroute in Wilmington.

The crew made quick work of that section and then moved into the Adirondack Land Trust's Three Sisters Preserve. We cleared drainages and addressed brake bumps on berms on the majority of Flobus. We heard from passersby that the ride was already smoother thanks to that work.

​📸 First & second-to-last pictures by Megan, BETA's Outreach Coordinator; all other pictures by Connie, BETA Board Member.

​Check out the reroute 👀

BETA trail crew duo Dusty and Scott, with support from our Trail Stewardship Leader Chris, rerouted a section of Back Nine trail in Craig Wood, Lake Placid earlier this season. A lot of our reroutes are to create a more sustainable path (switchbacks instead of fall lines), to avoid sections that have turned out to have poor soil for riding (aka they don't dry out quickly), or to deal with changes to the land use (like the reroute we're building right now for the Town Connector Trail in Wilmington). This reroute is different -- it's the avoid a trail use conflict.

Previously, the 50/50 Drop landed squarely on Back Nine. With limited visibility and high speeds in multiple directions, this trail intersection needed an alternative.

Now, the reroute swings Back Nine wide to avoid the landing area for the 50/50 Drop. We can keep riding the same rad trail, the same gnarly drop, but now with a little more peace of mind.

Amazing work as always, fellas!

On August 29th, Barkeater Trails Alliance hosted two community events in Wilmington: the Hardy Kids MTB Race and Pedal & Potluck. Events like these bring our community together around a shared passion for mountain biking, the outdoors, and adventure. They offered a chance to catch up with familiar friends, meet new folks in the local riding community, get some miles in, and celebrate mountain biking's impact on our region.

Hardy Kids MTB Race
Nine years after Hardy Kids MTB Race began and as the founding kids head off to college, the families who started it all passed the torch to BETA.

We hosted the 2026 Hardy Kids MTB Race on August 29th and the kids, sponsors, and volunteers did an awesome job keeping this community event alive and thriving. Thank you to everyone who made it such a great day!

Special thank you to Bridgett and Loren Allen for volunteering so much time and energy to plan and host this fun ride/race. We're already looking forward to next year!

Pedal & Potluck
For our first time hosting this event, we wanted to offer a little bit of everything: a mountain-bike-themed scavenger hunt around Wilmington, intermediate and advanced group rides, and a potluck. Thanks to everyone who helped make this shindig happen — especially those who brought a dish to share. Great to see everyone there!

Pedal & Potluck pictures taken by Eric Adsit of Adsit Media Works.