We bought snowboard boots there about a month ago, and that experience was great. But what really…read moreset them apart was the service a month later to see if the boots could be refitted after some discomfort with their use. Randy took the time to really evaluate the needs of my daughter, the rider. He explained various reasons why her foot shape may cause pain and worked to expand the boots in certain spots. He took a lot of time to make sure the fit was just right. In this day and age of home delivery and service through bots, it was so nice to experience a company that stands behind their product, even after the sale. Highly recommend!

Once again, they batted it out of the ballpark…read more We came in with the family in tow to look at ski boots. Everything I said in my previous report is still valid. Except this time we had three members of the family bought boots. Every aspect of our experience was top notch. Max, the boot fitter, is an expert. As well as a personable individual. As well as a good salesman. The store is an emporium of anything related to skiing, boarding and cycling. They carry a huge selection of clothing and accessories too. Impressive place. Minutes away from the Skyeship Gondola. And hands down, about the best I've seen.

Mountain Bikers out there, you're so gonna love these babies!!…read more First, full disclosure, we're not mountain bikers, we're more the hiking type. However, after walking some of these trails today, we're pretty sure Mountain bikers in particular will love them! Currently there are 7 trails to choose from with 3 levels of difficulty. The trails are a multi-purpose landmark for the New York State DEC and are open to mountain biking, hiking, trail running, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and pretty much whatever else you can do without the use of a motor vehicle. The trail we hiked had many cool twists and turns that flowed through a beautiful open forest habitat. Very different from any of the other areas we've hiked in the last week, so if you're in the area give Beaver Brook trails a try. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Special Note: The tract network was built, and is maintained, almost entirely by volunteers. So, please be respectful of their work and other users as you enjoy these trails. List of the current trails and level of effort: Trail 1 - Double Time is 0.6 mile long and is Ranked Easy Trail 2 - Make Believe is 0.8 mile long and is Ranked Easy Trail 3 - Twisted Pine is 0.3 mile long and is Ranked Hard Trail 4 - Safe Bet is 0.4 mile long and is Ranked Moderate Trail 5 - Good Luck is 0.9 mile long and is Ranked Hard Trail 6 - Coniferous is 0.6 mile long and is Ranked Easy Trail 7 - All-In is 3.0 miles long and ranked Hard

The Ascutney Trails Association (ATA) in collaboration with Powder Horn Trail Co. of Belmont, NH,…read moreAscutney Outdoors and the Town of West Windsor, is excited to announce breaking ground on the Ascutney Flow Trail & Skills Park Project. The project is an e-bike friendly, enduro-style zone comprising three brand new downhill-only mountain bike flow trails and a skills development area. The downhill flow trails will be located within the active-use portion of the Ascutney Outdoors ski area, in the vicinity of and above the 42nd Street, Fifth Ave and Broadway mountain bike trails. This project expands the existing MTB trail network to a significantly higher point on the mountain. The Skills Park will be on the lower mountain directly above the Ascutney Outdoors Center.

The first time there I brought my 5 year old and it was way too much for him. Even the green trails…read morecaused him trouble so we had to split. The second time I went on my own and loved every second. Got almost all the trails, and The Dude Abides was challenging but so good! NOT for young riders, but for those with at least some skill this is a great spot with lots of variety.

Fresh new trails. Great on the bike. Things for beginners and advanced riders. Lots of fun. Big…read morethanks to all the volunteers who put in the effort to build these great trails. Great views from some of the open areas.

Okemo got rid of the summit bike trails and turned them into hiking trails. The lift that does…read moreoperate in the summer for bike haul (A quad) runs slower than it does in the winter. So, you can only do extremely short trails and the lift runs extra slow. This bike park is no longer worth visiting.

Very mediocre compared to other bike parks in the area. The staff were nice enough and helpful…read more The trails just don't seem to be well designed, or fun for that matter. There are no real gravity trails that I observed. I think it is probably very nice for family riding, so if that is what you are looking for I would give it a try. No comparison to Killington where they have invested in real jump trails and skills parks.

So yeah I read a few of the other reviews... and yeah Phil may be a little bit on the spectrum, but…read morethat's what makes him so dedicated. Aspies like me understand that no eye contact thing and the talking out loud to yourself. That doesn't mean he's being rude to you. That means you are projecting and being insensitive to a good guy. He worked like mad for me each time I was in. He kept trying to bring me in under budget and explained and even apologized for every minor cost. The world is a wide place and there are lots of different people in it. Get used to it. That's what makes the world more interesting. Local businesses need your support. I will continue to give my support here.

This is mainly a response to some of the other reviews of Green Mountain Cyclery. I'll start by…read moresaying I have never seen Phil outside the shop; ours is only a professional relationship. About 15 years ago, due to a running injury, my Primary Care Physician suggested that I start biking. So I bought a 10 year-old high-end bike on EBAY and when it came, I brought it to the nearest bike shop I could find, Phil Beauchamp's Green Mountain Cyclery. Frankly, I purchased this particular bike it because the manufacturer's name on the bike is the same as my own. And at about 10 years old, it was fairly inexpensive for a bike with Shimano 105/Ultegra components.. I was quick to admit to Phil that I didn't know much, that I had never like biking and my plan was to do this only until my knee had recovered enough so that I could begin running again. He told me that in his experience a lot of runners turned to cycling and that after a while, some even come to like their bikes. This bike (at 53) was a little small for me (at 5'9") and it came partially disassembled in need of some work. I told Phil that I was not a mechanic and that I committed to this bike (besides, I thought, I wouldn't be riding it for very long anyway. Spoiler alert: after another knee injury I turned to cycling full time and averaged about 100 miles/week for the summer). Phil assembled it for a very reasonable price and then watched for a few minutes while I rode it around the parking lot. Then he asked me to come back after closing so he could have the time without interruption to make some adjustments that would make the bike a better fit. It took about an hour with me pedaling on the trainer and Phil making adjustments and explaining what he was doing and why he was doing it. I learned more from Phil during that time than I had in all the reading I had done. And it was free. Since that time, I have purchased two similar bikes for my kids as well as two hard tail mountain bikes, all on Ebay. And in each case, I have asked Phil to assemble and make the proper fit. Each bike remains currently in use and Phil has done all of the routine maintenance (okay, my daughter has had one of the hard tails in Utah for the past year, so I don't know what she's done... Phil boxed it and mailed it to her, again, at a very reasonable price). And sure, I often thought I should buy a Schwinn from Phil, but my name isn't Schwinn. In my experience, Phil is passionate about bikes and he talks rapidly about bikes, sports, news, almost anything. Phil's a reader and very astute. He may not always make warm and comfortable eye contact in conversation and it may be hard to match his intensity, but has never said or done anything in my presence that I would consider to be rude. Sometimes, when he with with a customer, I've had to wait 15 or 20 minutes to get his attention to my issue of the day. But it's always been worth the wait. I have been amazed by Phil's breadth of knowledge as well as his willingness to share it. I learn something every time I go into the store, even some good routes. On the other hand, I have seen people in his shop who understandably want their bikes repaired as quickly as possible behave toward Phil in a way that made me glad I was in a different line of work. About a year ago, I moved about 60 miles away. He did the routine maintenance on my bikes in the spring. Yesterday, I drove to his bike shop, just to show him the bike and ask a few questions. So. If you are patient, if you want to tap into the knowledge base of a gifted bike mechanic for reasonable prices, I would highly recommend Green Mountain Cyclery.

Firstly, I love nature, so any well-intentioned effort to preserve nature gets extra love from me…read more Lisha Kill Natural Area is one of the best and most beautiful of the many beautiful parks and reserves in the area. And it also more than lives up to the "natural" in its name because there's vast unspoiled natural elements for many to enjoy and appreciate, including streams, unpaved trails, and hills. Speaking of unpaved, this park is largely not wheelchair accessible, and there's no public restroom that I'm aware of, either in the parking lot or within the park. Regardless of which trail you eventually pick, the first about 0.5 mile has steep hills before you cross a bridge over a small creek to climb up to a decision point. The trails are clearly marked with colours on tree trunks, so staying on marked trails has so far been easy. The parking lot has never been full, so parking has never been an issue. Enjoy!

Right down the street from us, the only old growth forest remaining in the CRUST (Capital Region of…read moreUpSTate New York), Lisha Kill is a semi-public park owned and maintained by the Nature Conservancy and open to the public ten months a year. (It's generally closed in February and March to avoid trail damage). It's a great day hike that can last just an hour or a whole afternoon, dog- and relatively kid-friendly. I avoided reviewing it, I have to confess, to keep it obscure, but now some other Yelper has listed it, I'll have to chime in. NO MOUNTAIN BIKING, no horses, OK? Snowshoeing is OK in winter months when it's open, x-country skiing not a good idea. There are few stands of old growth forest in New York outside of the Adirondacks. This area was originally slated for a connector highway in the 1950's, which would have crossed the Mohawk at Vischer Ferry, but early local conservationists rallied and prevented the project (of dubious usefulness) from coming to fruition. Some of the Eastern white pines and hemlocks in the preserve are over 200 years old; as the name 'old growth' implies, the area of the preserve has never been developed, despite being enveloped by intensive farm, and later suburban, development. The parking is behind the former Niskayuna Grange, previously the Niskayuna/Rosendale school until the early 20th century. This building is owned by the town of Niskayuna, and would be a great little visitor center for the preserve, only there's no money to do it. We're working on it. The building has some interest though as a surviving early school structure. Also note, as you pull in, the garage to your left (privately owned); this is the original Fire House for Fire District Number 3! There are two main loops and one small one, all well-marked. There's a steep downhill at the beginning (which, you got it, is an uphill at the end) that can be treacherous during wet weather. The first left you take is a gradual trail on a plateau, which you can use to dart down to the Lisha Kill (creek) at the end, or make a full loop back on the creek-level trail. Go to Nature.org and look for Lisha Kill to find a trail map. There is also an audio interactive feature available for your smart phone via QR codes at little mini kiosks through the trails, for a self-guided tour of the natural history of the park. The creek runs nicely most of the year, and is at the wading level, although it's pretty rocky for most of its run. Dogs will love this park (please be responsible, etc.), particularly your water-loving hounds. If you care to hike further afield, by crossing Rosendale Rd. at the far end of the Lisha Kill trail system, you can connect up to the "Mohawk State Park" (Niskayuna Town Trails) trail system that leads along the Mohawk river and Lock 7. Or, you can cross over and walk up to Iroquois Middle School, and walk through woods on the other side of the playfields to River Rd. Park, and connect up to the Mohawk State Park trails system on the other side of River Rd. Altogether the parks here form a sort of secret greenspace of over 1000 acres, interrupted only by the houses along Rosendale Rd. If you smoke, or leave litter, in this park I will personally come and find you and rip your soul from your sorry meatbag corpse. Is that clear?

Beautiful place full of activities, from ski to tubbing and riding the gondola just to enjoy the…read moreview in case you don't ski . They have lots of gift shops . Tubbing is great , except for the line that pulls you back up the hill . That is simply terrible , difficult to get out of and it's just a matter of time before someone gets injured trying to come out of it . I almost fell on the other side of the line and the staff just stood there and made no attempt to help , with that I injured my hand trying to hold on to the line . They certainly need better staff and a better system .

I am really enjoying Killington more and more. Every spring I now look forward to just to still ski…read moreuntil as late as possible. Skiing opening day this year too set the tone for the season. This past visit I was absolutely thrilled with the lift crew on Bear Mountain. I think they enjoyed my company as much as I did theirs. The fresh snow made it easy to ski all day. Minimal stoppage as I wanted to ski a marathon and then some, successfully accomplished. Looking forward to my next upcoming visits.

Helpful, fine folks at High Peaks. Twice have used them for hikes and they are great. Nice staff…read more Great guides. Recent Pre-Christmas trek to top of Mt Jo with Brendan was a 6-person success, ages 12-59. Previous visit to Avalanche lake with another guide was spectacular. Recommend highly.

Very helpful staff. They have a variety of bike types to rent. Close to the rail trail terminus…read more A god price for an all day rental.

GMB is my go to LBS because Doon, Dillon, and the guys are friendly and offer honest advice and…read morefair prices for labor. They always take my bike for service and get it back in short order even when busy. They are involved in and support the community, lead local rides, and run the biker- and skier-friendly Stable Inn next door, so it's nice to give back to them with my business when possible.

Amazing shop with friendly helpful staff. I go to Rochester (from Boston) a few times a year and…read morealways bring my bikes with me. I can always count on Doon and his crew to get the bikes tuned up and running perfectly. They are honest, professional, and hands down the best in the business. I'm surrounded by bike shops in Boston, but will only go to Green Mountain. The prices are really reasonable and will work with you to match your budget. If your in that area of VT than definitely stop by. It's a very cool shop in a beautiful part of Vermont.