Grand Hike on a grand day in the Champlain Valley

Annual event highlights the best, newest offerings from Champlain Area Trails

By Alan Wechsler

Something big was happening on the morning of Saturday, May 11, in the normally quiet town of Westport.

This Lake Champlain community, known for its Amtrak stop and small theater, was abuzz with activity. It was the start of the Grand Hike, an annual (at least before COVID-19) 14-mile organized walk sponsored by Champlain Area Trails (CATs) to promote some of the best—and newest—hiking paths in the region. 

Since 2008, CATs has been building what is now a network of 98 miles of trails, many on private land. “Our mission is to save land and make trails and connect people with nature,” said Christopher Maron, CATs executive director. 

The biggest challenge is the limited state forest. Much of the area is farms and private parcels. It’s not even an original part of the Adirondack Park: Most of the valley was added in 1931, when the park doubled in size, with some other areas added in 1972, according to the Adirondack Council. 

CATs was inspired by the thousands of miles of walking trails in Great Britain, where one can walk from town to town through farmland and field on a well-signed network. The difference is the U.K.’s right-of-way laws guarantee access to these ancient paths. In the Champlain Valley, CATs has signed revocable agreements with about two dozen local landowners to gain access. Landowners can cancel any time. 

In this way, the work is more like some of the mountain bike networks that have been developed in the Northeast, most famously at Kingdom Trails in Vermont. There, the influx of two-wheeled visitors has helped bring millions of tourist dollars to a formerly overlooked section of the Green Mountain State. 

CATs envisions a series of town-to-town hikes, where visitors can park in one community and hike to another, staying in local inns and eating at local restaurants. 

Today, CATs has one full-time staffer dedicated to trail maintenance, and more than 2,000 volunteers.

The group’s two glossy maps illustrate all the far-flung trails—some for mountain-biking—used by about 20,000 people a year, based on sign-ins. In addition, CATs has protected around 1,000 acres through purchase and conservation easements. 

As for the Grand Hike, it began in 2014. The event showcases the best of the network during a one-way hike. Shuttle buses at various stops allow participants to shorten the challenge. Snack stops offer water, food and encouragement along the way. 

This year saw its largest participation yet. Nearly 350 people paid $30 each to take part. 

The route followed not just one CATs trail but a series, connected via some road-walking.

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When I arrived in Westport with friend Jim Close, hundreds of people were milling around and waiting to check in. Some wore full-sized daypacks, others just hydration bags or running vests. One rather pessimistic young man had already donned a bug net, although we barely saw any insects all day (one of the advantages of the Champlain Valley, one volunteer told us, is they don’t get many black flies). 

Soon after we registered, a fleet of school buses pulled up and we boarded for the short drive to Essex and the start of the route. 

We sat next to Frank Bushey of Plattsburgh, who recently completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain, the acclaimed pilgrimage route featured in the Martin Sheen movie “The Way.” 

By the time we started off, it was already getting hot. With many sections through open fields, this is not a hike for a July afternoon. But as we darted into the woods, the shade embraced us.

From Essex, the route headed west for 3.5 miles, through pleasant woods and fields. We passed through a gate past a sign warning “Electric Fence,” and onto the property of the 475-acre Essex Farm. The trail crosses a large section of the farm, past working fields.

“I love seeing people walk through the farm,” co-owner Mark Kimball told me later. “It also helps me remember that land ownership is a relatively modern phenomenon. The more people who enjoy the farm, the more it feels like a community place.”

From there, we passed a stately home with an airplane parked in the backyard. Then we crossed the Boquet River on the road (prompting a conversation with locals about how French pronunciations have been lost in the North Country) and reached our first rest stop—the first of four “oases” on the route. Long lines formed at the port-a-potties.

After a break, we headed south on the most rewarding stretch we’d see. The route connected three trails, climbing through rocky woods to a scenic view to the east. Here the CATs folks have curated trails to peaks and overlooks near Whallonsburg and Wadhams, and one could easily lose a good part of a day exploring. 

While the Champlain Valley does not have the rugged topography of much of the Adirondacks, it is far from flat. Some of the climbs had us sweating freely among rock formations and rolling creeks. 

Eventually, we found ourselves on a gravel road paralleling the Boquet. The second half of the Grand Hike was mainly on roads, with short sections of trail interspersed. I’m not sure what one is supposed to do with a nondescript trail that’s only a half-mile long, located in the middle of nowhere, but it’s there for those who want it. 

Perhaps to make up for the lack of trails, the last two oases contained excellent goods from local bakeries. At one, a volunteer instructed us to take just one chocolate chip cookie. By this time, we were both looking for fuel. “She gave me a real dirty look when I took the third one,” Jim confided. “If I could have, I would have taken four.”

The best part of the road was the view of Amish farms, horse-drawn wagons and a sky without power lines. At a farm stand, we stopped for 50-cent cupcakes and a short conversation with the German-accented young woman minding the store.

We were welcomed back to Westport with chalk sidewalk messages, and an after-party at a country club. Most of the hikers had left, but we lingered for a drink. 

CATs leader Maron was there, too. A co-founder of CATs, last year he announced he would retire at the end of 2024. Now, though, he basked in the success of the event. 

“People are really attracted to the High Peaks,” he said. “We’d like to play up that we’re the Low Peaks, and they have really great views. And the trails are not crowded.”

Except on the Grand Hike, of course.