2017/18 Snow Traveler’s Guide to Vermont | 3 Welcome to snowmobiling in Vermont. What awaits you here is an incredible trail network of adventure! Vermont is the only state in the Northeast that has true statewide snowmobiling from north to south, east to west. This is because we are blessed to have a large mountain range called the Green Mountains that run right down the middle of our beautiful state. Our trail system has more than 4,700 miles of trails made up of challenging mountains, beautiful farmland and some wide roads only used for winter use by snowmobiles. No matter where you ride in Vermont you can find a gas station to gas up, a restaurant to eat lunch and a place to lay your head, all with trail access, with the exception of a couple of areas that are on federal lands. Riding on federal land is an adventure in itself because you pack it in and pack it out. This guide lists all the businesses by category and county that exist along our trail system. These businesses were not charged to be in this guide, unless they bought an a display ad in addition to the free listing. The best part is that you will see that each business also has a trail location associated with it. We wanted to make it easy for you to find your way around Vermont and come for a visit, or add us to your winter go-to destinations. Why is Vermont known as a great snowmobile destination? It’s our strict signing policy. We pride ourselves to have the best signed trails that coincide with our maps. We have waterproof paper maps and also a free map app with GPS tracking for your phone. Even if your GPS is not working, you can find your location because all of our junctions are numbered. Just go to your smartphone app store and type in “VAST MAP.” VAST has proven our commitment to providing a snowmobile experience that is second to none. We have a large number of volunteers at the member and club level, as well as a board of directors that dedicate a lot of time to the association and this sport. Let’s not forget about those that travel to Vermont to recreate, vacation or own second homes. And of course, we cannot forget about our landowners. We wouldn’t have a 4,700-mile trail system without the landowners and the clubs that maintain and groom our network. I often hear from folks who do not snowmobile, but use the VAST trail system to snowshoe or cross- country ski where allowed. Many have told me they join VAST every year just to support snowmobiling in Vermont because they enjoy and appreciate the trail system. Eighty percent of the VAST trail system is made up of private lands (more than 9,000 landowners) and the remaining 20 percent are state or federal lands. As a way of encouraging private landowners to allow VAST trails on their property, Vermont enacted two statutes in the 1970s that protect those landowners from any liability if they allow public or trail use at no charge. In addition to that protection, VAST spends over $125,000 on liability insurance annually to protect the trails and those that ride and volunteers that work on them. Nearly eighty percent of our income goes towards our trail system in the form of grooming, trail construction, trail maintenance, policing, etc. In fact, 44 percent is for grooming alone. If you ride in other states, and compare them to Vermont, you can tell that we spend a lot of time, effort and money making sure our trails are in excellent condition and incredibly well signed.  I hope you come to Vermont and have a wonderful and safe snowmobile adventure in the Green Mountain State! See you on the trails, Executive Director’s Message VAST Executive Director Cindy Locke (Mike Mutascio photo)