Lincoln Woods update
Well as many of you already know (via the regional NEMBA board or the Busted Spoke board) there has been a closure of the trails to the West of Quinsnicket road. This is the road that runs out to 123 and dead ends at some boulders and a guardrail.
This closure came about due to liability concerns shared by DEM, Parks and Recreation and Sunset Stables. The stables are State owned and are a fee based recreational opportunity important to Parks and Recreation. The stables are operated by a private party - this party carries liability insurance as well. Due to a number of incidents involving horseback riders and bicycles the area West of Quinsnicket (aka the “Variety Trail”) is now officially off limits to all MTB use. The signage is in place, please respect the rules and do not, for the love of God, ride your bike in there.
Now I’m sure there are a few people reading this who are in danger of hearing their HR monitors alert them to a potential coronary….Relax…….. Breathe…… feel better? OK good. Keep reading.
Today (5/27) a small contingent of concerned MTBers, including myself, met with LW staff as well as DEM officials. We met for roughly 3 hours and had what I feel was a pretty productive first meeting with regard to MTB use and access. We came to the conclusion that we’re pretty lucky that the DEM, and Parks and Recreation officials, are not out to restrict all of our access or close any one activity out of the park. They are truly interested in working with us to provide the types of trails MTB riders are increasingly looking for - this includes natural features (i.e. rock face descents, drops, switchbacks, etc - sometimes called freeride, “extreme” mtb whatever you want to call it). Their decision to close this section of trail was not an easy one, but when presented with the facts and viewed objectively it’s extremely difficult to argue with the decision.
There was positive discussion about next steps in LW. Shortly we will begin scoping out some new areas in the East side of the park. We will be looking to not just build and maintain expert level trail. Ultimately we will be looking to create a system that can accommodate all levels of riders. Currently the trail system in LW is a hodge podge of different trail types bisected by older bridle trail and fire roads. One of the biggest complaints has always revolved around how difficult it is to find a cohesive loop to ride. A marked loop that incorporates signage for the expert trail, and keeps people rolling in the woods as opposed to the road is the idea.
Going forward we will be working with the park staff to improve the trail system and legitimize the existing expert level trails.Taking on an ownership stake in the park will help solidify our access to the rest of the park, and relieve the concerns that people have had with regard to expert level trails in LW.
As it so happens Jake is working on our Trail Ambassador program - this should work nicely with our plans for an open dialogue with the LW staff. They indicated that they would like to hear from us regularly regarding activities in the woods - and conversely they may ask us to look out for and attempt to educate problem users (mtbers only - none of the shady characters, that’s what the police are for). We were also encouraged to reach out to the other user groups - namely the boulderers/climbers. The formation of a small committee of user groups is something we will pursue as well. The idea that if we are all talking to each other we will be better off has a lot of merit.
Further down the road we will probably start looking into Snake Den State Park (Johnston, RI) as another place to pursue a MTB trail system that incorporates technical trail features. This could help alleviate some of the MTB traffic in LW as they are fairly close to one another and offer similar geological trail features.
First things first we’ll need some help planning trail layout, and of course help building trail. We’re in good shape as far as GPS capabilities (thanks Kris) but we would welcome input. The more folks that show up to help plan and work on the trails the better. If you’re interested feel free to contact me - mtbdee at hotmail dot com. Or PM bdee on the NEMBA and Busted Spoke message boards.
Regards,
Brendan