Operation Ride Your Bike; Help Us Make Our Trails Climate Resilient.

This spring we opened our upper trails a full month later than usual. One thing is clear: our trails weren’t built for the extreme weather we’re facing now. Vermont has seen 33% more rain this spring and more severe storms each year. Add in high ridership, and the trails are showing the strain — more puddles, more erosion, more closures.

That’s why we’re launching Operation Ride Your Bike — WATA’s Climate Resilience Campaign to rebuild and maintain trails that can handle the storms, so you can ride no matter the weather.

To kick things off, we’re proud to announce WATA has been awarded a $25,000 Recreational Trails Program grant to rehabilitate Red and Scotch Tape at Perry Hill in 2026.

Here’s the catch: we must match the funds to unlock the grant — and that’s where you come in.

Our goal is to not only match the RTP grant but also raise money to future-proof our trails — so we can ride more days, rain or shine!

We’ve already raised $57,500 of our $85,000 goal. Your donation today will help close the gap and unlock critical funding.

Your support will fund:

$32,000 invested to repair July 2024 storm damage and rebuild the main climb to a more sustainable, storm-ready standard.

A track dump and plate compactor ($3,600 total; $500 already pledged) to expand our trail crew’s capacity and ease the load at volunteer nights.

These upper trails are often closed due to flooding. A $25,000 RTP grant is secured, but we must raise a $25,000 match to move forward.

Matching these funds will free up our budget to expand crew hours, improving both sustainability and the riding experience across our networks.

We’re making key budget decisions now to set the stage for 2026. The sooner we raise these funds, the sooner we can plan, hire, and start building trails that stay rideable in all conditions.

Help us reach our goal — chip in $20 today and keep the riding strong, rain or shine!

Thank you for being part of the WATA community and making this vision possible.

—The WATA Team