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 

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!

Effective today, 08/20, Trail 7 at East Branch Community Trails is re-opened after a temporary closure due to nearby construction on Trail 8. During that phase of construction, heavy machinery could have rolled boulders and trees into Trail 7. Now that that phase of construction is finished, Trail 7 is open once again. 

Trail 8 is still under construction -- please help us keep construction on-track by staying off of Trail 8 until it is finished and officially open.

Since our last e-news blast in mid-July, we've hosted four volunteer trail work parties led by Chris, our Trail Stewardship Leader.  We still have at least one more scheduled for this season, so if you want to volunteer with us but haven't had the chance yet, there is still time.  Not to mention, ski trail work will be starting soon...

Without further ado, a rundown of the awesome work volunteers have done in just the last couple weeks:

08/10 | Craig Wood, Lake Placid
Great turn out for this work party sponsored by Capisce Coffee and Espresso Bar. We lopped branches, cleared blowdown, made tread improvements, and cleaned out drainages. Especially gnarly were the culverts nearly full to the top with sediment. It's a good thing we cleaned them out --  it started to rain right as we left!

WHAT'S IT ALL FOR?
Volunteer workdays like these can vary widely in what, exactly, we work on, but they are all important to keep the trails we love in good working condition or to keep new trail construction moving forward with speed.

Some people feel a duty to give back to the trails through volunteering, while others find it satisfying and rewarding in its own right. Some feel both -- that it is a responsibility and a joy to warm your muscles doing hands-on work for the good of the trails and the people who use them. Whatever your reason for donating your time and energy, we appreciate your help to no end. Thank you, volunteers!
​
SKI SEASON IS AROUND THE CORNER
While work continues on our bike trails, the BETA team is already thinking ahead and working with the new Ski Trail Committee to plan ski trail work that needs to happen before the snow flies. You'll hear more from us soon about how we're preparing for the 2026 ski season; we won't be able to do it without your help.

Thanks to a huge amount of work by Chris Gosling (Trail Stewardship Leader), David Hunter, David Radcliffe, Rachel Carey, and Patrick Carey (Co-Chair), we can unveil these epic new features at East Branch Community Trails. They essentially worked for an entire week on these. The result is pretty awesome.

​These three well-designed and progressive drops provide an opportunity to develop new skills that are useful on the trail.

​That is the intent behind the entire Skills Loop: allowing you to session technical features and develop your skills.

​Other features already built include skinnies and rock gardens. More features to come 🤙

BETA's trail crew, volunteers, and contractors have already tackled many trail projects this season and some of that is highlighted below.

Lake Placid

• Trail Crew has been working hard to build a climbing trail at Craig Wood to make lapping Green or Gold Jacket that much easier.  This is a trail that we've been planning on building for years and we hope to have it open this season.  Major kudos to Trail Crew for their excellent work here.
• Previously, the landing zone of the 50/50 drop at Craig Wood was squarely on a section of the Back Nine trail.  We have rerouted that section of Back Nine away from the landing zone to improve safety.
• Drainage cleared, additional drainage added, and vegetation cut back on Loop 2 at Lussi & Loggers. Drainage cleared/built in order to halt the soil erosion that has washed away so much of the tread, especially on climbing sections, and made the trail more challenging than it was ever intended.

Elizabethtown

• Joel's Trail in Blueberry Hill, Elizabethtown is a classic, beautiful mountain biking trail that honors Joel Harwood, an Elizabethtown local who put a lot of time and effort into building and maintaining trails at Blueberry Hill.  Over time, erosion has left its mark on some sections of Joel's trail -- this season, we worked there to undo the damage and restore Joel’s to its original experience.
• Deer Leg, a new trail completed in the 2025 season, has gotten some work done to strengthen and expand berms, improve drainage, and mitigate erosion.  One volunteer work party -- sponsored by Solace Cycles and spearheaded by their shop manager Tyler -- built up the berms on Deer Leg in order to accommodate faster descent traffic.  Another volunteer work party – sponsored by Deer’s Head Inn – removed the duff layer at the entrance to Deer Leg and improved soil erosion mitigation on Pine-winder.

Wilmington

• BETA’s Trail Crew is working at the Flume to restore trail bridges by replacing decking and, where needed, stringers and sills.  We’d like to thank the DEC for providing all building materials for the bridge restoration.  
• Meanwhile at the Flume, BETA hired an ADK trail crew to do tread work on Marble Mountain and other trails.
• Volunteers have filled and capped three severely eroded sections of trail on the Good Luck side of Hardy Road: one on Make Believe and two on Safe Bet; drainage cleared and added where needed on these trails. 
• Berms on Lost Farm at Hardy Road have been rebuilt.

Saranac Lake

• Problem wet spots at Dewey were excavated and capped with new stone and mineral soil to improve drainage, which helps to protect the trail in the long term.
• We've received multiple contractor bids for constructing the Connector Trail from Park Ave into Natski II at Pisgah, Saranac Lake and the RFQ is now closed.  We're lucky to have many qualified, highly skilled trail builders to turn to for work like this.

Keene

• Construction is underway on the latest trail at East Branch Community Trails.  This new trail, currently called Trail 8, is located farther up the mountain from Trail 7.  Psst -- soon we're going to ask for community input on what to name Trail 7 and Trail 8, so start thinking up some good ones and keep your eyes peeled for the call for submissions.
• Executive Director Glenn and Keene Town Supervisor Joe Pete have met to discuss restoration of the trailhead pavilion and expansion of the parking lot, projects we expect to break ground on in 2027.

THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS!
In addition to the baseline satisfaction of volunteer work days, this year we’ve had the special pleasure of welcoming a lot of new faces into the volunteer ranks.  We’ve seen a big increase in logged volunteer hours over previous years, too.  Thank you so much to each and every one of you for donating your time and energy to the trails; your hard work is much appreciated by us at BETA and surely by every rider, skier, hiker, or runner who enjoys the trails. 

​If you’ve supported BETA’s work by volunteering in any way this season, please log your hours here: bit.yl/LogHours4BETA.  Doing so helps us track volunteer efforts and apply for more grant funding for trails (DYK: volunteer labor is valued at $38+ per hour!)

THANK YOU, SPONSORS!
In addition to volunteers, we’d like to thank the businesses who sponsored work parties this season: Silver Birch Cycles, Bike ADK, The Reynolds Group, Placid Planet Bicycles, and Origin Coffee.  If you’re business is interested in sponsoring a work party next year, please contact [email protected]

THANK YOU, CHRIS!
Finally, we’d like to thank Chris Gosling for his service as our Volunteer Stewardship Coordinator over the summer.  Your efforts to connect volunteers with trail work opportunities and provide fun and rewarding experiences for everyone was greatly appreciated.  We’re sure to see you on the trail sometime soon!