The Cricket Hill Story
In 2001 Lamoille North Supervisory Union purchased what was known as the Sweeney Farm in Hyde Park, Vermont. With the expansion of the campus facilities, the land was needed as part of a back-up septic plan. In May of 2002, a non-profit organization, The Friends of Cricket Hill Recreation Area was formed for the purpose of developing public recreation facilities. The focus of this organization was is the construction of a trail network that would encourage residents of the greater Lamoille Valley to engage in non-motorized activities such as running, walking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and biking.
John Morton a renowned trail designer from Thetford, Vermont was hired to lay out a trail system on the 116 acre Cricket Hill land parcel. Over the summer of 2002, Morton marked the 2.5k “Stream Loop” and 2.5k “Hill Loop”. He also made plans to connect these new trails with the 3k “School Loop”. A volunteer construction effort was launched during the fall of 2002 and after hundreds of hours of cutting, pruning, and excavator work, a trail system was constructed.
 Perfect..... |
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 A groomers view of the day |
 The Cricket Hill Building |
 Tandam Grooming |
 Dusk |
 Setting deep tracks |
 A nice morning |
 Can you tame the corkscrew? |
 Headlights and snow |
 Check out that V1 |
 Rolling before dawn |
 Hutch's Dog Team |
 Perfect |
 The view west |
 Snow |
 The mountain at dawn |
 Melt down |
 the field |
 the field |
 the mighty Lancer ski Team |
 The Transcript celebrates 10 years |
 Article in Cross-Country Skier mag |
 Finished trai |
 Lucas Schulz pulling stumps on the Hill Loop..JPG |
 Pine Alley in the summer |
 OK guys, we're doing strength for practice today..JPG |
 Lucas Schulz clearing the way..JPG |
 The Pisten Bully coming down through The Corkscrew..JPG |
 Who's ready to ski? |
 Oh, you mean THAT tree..JPG |
 Perfect tracks..JPG |
 High tech grooming equipment - sometimes an old bed spring w.JPG |
 The Causeway..jpg |
 The Green Mountain Technology and Career Center forestry cla.JPG |
 Volunteer crew..JPG |
 Laying the bridge foundation and steel beams..JPG |
 Racing winter..JPG |
 Eric Schulz at work on the Pisten Bully hydraulic system..JPG |
Headed by Lucas Schulz, a skier and student at Lamoille Union High School, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation awarded the Friends of Cricket Hill $26,300 to improve and develop the trail system in the spring of 2003. With this grant, a parking area, trailhead and bridges were constructed. The GMTCC forestry class was also enlisted to complete the most challenging section of trails- the “Hill Loop”.
With the sale of the Sweeney House in 2008, the LNSU board made plans to expand the current HS/MS campus facility to include the Cricket Hill Property. In 2009 a new utility building was planned and constructed using funds from the sale of the house. The structure was built by the GMTCC building trades and electrical classes. Later that year, a Vermont Community Climate Change Grant was also awarded to Lamoille Union. The grant allowed the installation of a 2.4 kW Photovoltaic System on the room of the building. The system provides electricity for the building and uses the net meter to generate kW credit for the Lamoille Union campus. The building was designed to house maintenance and grooming equipment as well as storage for a mountain bike club.
Over the course of the next few years the Friends of Cricket Hill raised funds for the purchase of ski grooming equipment including the purchase of a snowmobile and the lease of a Bombardier BR60+ from the GMTCC forestry department. Concept II of Morrisville donated a snowmobile to and grants from Vermont Education Health Initiative and the American Birkebeiner foundation helped keep the project progressing. The GMTCC Power Sports program, Lamoille Union athletic department, and the Lamoille Union Maintenance department have also played a crucial role in the development of the project.
The trails see use by the community for skiing, walking, and mountain biking. The Lamoille Nordic Ski team, which won numerous state championships from 2002-2010, as well as the Lamoille Cross-Country and Track teams utilizes the trails for training and hosting of events. The Middle-Level English Department hosts the annual Ikiderod event on the Cricket Hill trails. This event combines literature, research, with a dogsled-like competition. The trails are also used by the the Physical Education department for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and mountain biking.
The Cricket Hill trail system continues to grow. In 2012, a 5th grade class at Hyde Park Elementary completed a Service Learning project including the design and construction of a pump track on the site. In 2015, a community club known as Mello Velo applied for a grant from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. The grant would help fund the construction of several miles of beginner and intermediate mountain bike trails at Cricket Hill.