There were delicious, dark, ledgy, and mossy rock cuts.

Going through a tunnel, a motion sensor illuminated the false night above a wooden boardwalk.

The swampy side of a kidney-shaped pond loaded with camps and cottages—not far from a small wooden covered footbridge—was part of the watery landscape.

Pieces of the promised land for rail trail fans now stretch across the farms, fields and forests of northern Vermont. With sun and shade, rural and residential front sides and backsides, glimpses of history and plenty of new bridges and infrastructure TLC, a nearly 17-mile stretch of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (lvrt.org) between St. Johnsbury and West Danville serves up a fine outing.

But this portion is just one new part of a plan that when finished will be a 93-mile multi-use trail between St. Johnsbury and Swanton, sandwiched in the northwestern corner of the state between the shores of Lake Champlain and Quebec to the north.

If all goes well, the whole pathway could be finished by 2020. First, all they need is some $7 million.

The railroad line dates back to the 1870s. The idea was to have tracks between the Great Lakes and Portland, Maine, but the western section never materialized. However the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad evolved to carry passengers and freight. With a region rich in farms and woods, the railroad ferried dairy products, timber, limestone and other goods. In 1956, passenger service was discontinued. The line was renamed the Lamoille Valley Railroad after it was bought by the state in 1973 and continued freight service until it was shuttered in the mid-1990s.

In 2002, Vermont Agency of Transportation engaged in a long-term lease with the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers to produce a year-round multi-use trail that serves pursuits like cycling, running, walking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

Railroad buffs may want to take notice of the old Danville depot along the trail, just south of town by Route 2. According to the Danville Historical Society, Caledonia National Bank president Bliss N. Davis was key in bringing the railroad to town. Station construction started in 1870 and on Sept. 29, 1871, a large crowd of townspeople cheered on  the first arriving train cars. One month later, the first telegraph message was successfully sent from Danville.

The eastern portion of the projected east-west odyssey has several access points, including three major ones with parking: a trailhead in St. Johnsbury near South Main Street reached from exit 20 off Interstate-91, Danville Village at Marty’s First Stop on Route 2 and West Danville’s intersection of Routes 2 and 15 by Joe’s Pond Beach and across from Hastings Store.

The area around both Marty’s and Hastings have rest room facilities and picnic tables. Both stores are fuel stops for humans too.

There’s about 1,000 feet in elevation between St. Johnsbury and Danville making for a raucous return for those opting for a day on the trail from the Northeast Kingdom town.

The early terrain from St. Johsbury has its pluses like many benches, a couple of tunnel pieces and passing by academy fields. Soon enough you’re riding over backroads and brooks. But country splendor beckons westward by apple orchards and vistas of swelling hills that dominate the region. Mileage markers every mile are comforting, particularly the bottom figure showing the mileage from Swanton.

A stunning mile is had in West Danville with stone walls, well-cut lawns, cemetery and amazing vistas while the last mile or two  by Joe’s Pond is rewarding as well but there are some busy Route 2 crossings.

Take some time to explore the small memorials and wooden covered footbridge by the dam in West Danville and then put it in neutral for a while at the Joe’s Pond beach.

For now, the trail ends by the marshy northern shores of the nearly 400-acre pond. There’s a snowmobile bridge there. You can mosey over and take a look at the trail because one day you’ll be able to ride it all the way to Lake Champlain and beyond.

Image by Marty Basch