[T]his year’s Circumburke Trail Challenge has been canceled following the closure of a trail system used by the running and cycling event.
The Victory Hill Sector trail network shut down operations in May after an Act 250 ruling that month said the network needed to apply for a commercial development permit.
That’s one of the reasons why the Kingdom Trail Association and Victory Hill — the joint organizers of Circumburke — decided to cancel the annual 26-mile event, which has drawn runners and bikers to Burke Mountain each year for the last decade.
“The two trail networks, located in the Northeast Kingdom’s Caledonia and Essex counties, are dispirited by the decision to cancel after nine years of success; however, they believe it is necessary based on the current circumstances,” the groups said in a statement.
The Circumburke route depends on trails in the Victory Hill network to take participants around Burke Mountain, according to the statement. Rerouting the course would mean moving the route onto gravel roads, which would contradict the idea of the event as a trail challenge, and could steal attention from a gravel-road race nearby, the statement said.
The May 3 ruling on the trail system from the Natural Resources Board said that trail repairs at Victory Hill fall under the scope of Act 250 because the nonprofit behind the network collects fees and donations from bikers. Victory Hill representatives disagreed — and said the conservation policy was being used stymie outdoor recreation.
The joint statement listed other factors in the decision. The route passes through state land, and the event had already been moved from October to September because of state concerns about trail impact, organizers said.
Changing the date meant the event no longer served its original purpose of bringing visitors to the area during a slower time of year for local businesses, according to the statement. Organizers say the event attracted nearly 600 participants.
People who had registered for the event will receive a refund, the statement said.
