VMBA Ambassador, Haille Soderholm, brings us on a tour of her local area, Woodstock, part of the VMBA Chapter, Woodstock Area Mountain Bike Association (WAMBA), and her tips for tackling the Triple Crown!
Welcome to Woodstock! My favorite part about the trail system here is that you can make your day as long or short as you want. If you want to go for the triple crown and hit all three stops (Aqueduct, Mt. Peg, and Saskadena 6), or if you only have time for a hot lap before the sun sets, this is your place.
I’m going to lay out a big day but know that you can easily get back to the car and go for a beer and burger at Worthy Kitchen whenever you feel like it.
We’re going to start our day at Mt Peg. As you follow the initial descent from the parking lot and cross the bridge, immediately on your right, you’ll see a beautiful drop progression for anyone thinking about learning! They start small and get bigger, with perfect grassy open landings. Very beginner friendly. After you become a drop expert, you can continue along the river and make your way to the up trail ‘Red Line.’ After about a half mile of climbing, you can decide how big of a day you want. You can follow ‘Cloud Drop Connector’ for a quick climb (about 500 vert total) or continue on Red Line and reach ‘Charlies’ (about 1000 vert total). Both are super fun or if you’re feeling extra fit, do them both! From the top of Cloud Drop Connector, there are two options, the blue trail ‘Cloud Drop,’ which is fast and flowy, or the black trail ‘Hardstyle,’ which is a bit steeper. But don’t fret! There are go-arounds on every feature/jump on both trails, so follow your heart! Disclaimer: Hardstyle will also dump you out back at the car (more climbing back up), whereas Cloud Drop will dump you back on Red Line (less climbing back up). If you find yourself at the top of Charlie’s, I highly recommend James Jungle to Ridge Run—quick berms with some tech thrown in just for kicks.
At this point, you’ve returned to the car, and it’s time for a snack or maybe a beer. You absolutely must stop at Worthy Kitchen for some fantastic food and local beer selections. They also are very welcoming when you come in covered in dirt, plus you can sit on the deck and know your bike is safe—overall great vibes.
The last stop of the day is my favorite, Saskadena 6. There is only one up trail, and it’s steep, but it’s built well and short (about 600 vert). Power through, and you’ll be at the top in 20 minutes! When you’ve finished taking in the beautiful view the peak gives you, you have a few options for a decent. You can follow the blue trail ‘Avery’s Interstate’ down, gaining a lot of speed and hitting some of the best berms in Vermont. Or you can hit the black descent, ‘Ask your Father,’ into ‘Deadfall,’ which trades in some of the flow for tech. OR, my personal favorite is to hit the top half of the blue, and you can connect to the bottom half of the black. The best of both, in my opinion, not to mention it ends with a nice berm into a kicker at the bottom.
By this time, it’s sunset, and you’re exhausted and maybe full from too much Worthy Kitchen, so there’s nothing better than an S6 parking lot tailgate. I’ve spent hours there before chatting, snacking, and making new friends, so I hope to see you there someday soon!
Stay tuned as we hear from all of our VMBA Ambassadors and their recommendations on trails to ride, eat, stay, and more!