Out & About: Fairlee takes on responsibility for Lake Morey skating trail
Published: 01-17-2025 4:01 PM
Modified: 01-20-2025 1:50 PM |
FAIRLEE — When Lake Morey’s ice skating trail officially opened Wednesday, it was the same as it was every winter: a miles-long glossy loop plowed and smoothed into Fairlee’s main winter tourist attraction.
Well, almost the same: Instead of lacing up their skates at Lake Morey Resort, ice skaters did so a few hundred feet away at the Fairlee Town Beach at 226 Clubhouse Road. That’s because the town of Fairlee has taken over the management of the roughly 4-mile ice skating trail from Lake Morey Resort, which had overseen it each winter for nearly 15 years.
“Our insurance company is not willing to accept the increased liability risk of lake ice,” Mark Avery, who serves as general manager of the business his family has owned since the 1970s, wrote in an email.
The change is “secondarily” related to climate change and the way the insurance industry has changed, Avery said.
“Insurance companies are dealing with so many human-induced natural disasters and (it) is making their business model unsustainable,” Avery wrote in an email. “Whether it be hurricanes, the current wildfires in California, or the flooding in our region; there are so many claims that the industry must take a cautious approach to minimize risk.”
After learning about the insurance company’s decision in November, Avery began searching for solutions to keep it going. He reached out to Fairlee Town Administrator Ryan Lockwood to see if the town — and its insurance provider — would be willing to take over responsibility for the trail.
“The trail is far greater than a Resort activity as people from the entire Northeast and beyond use the trail,” wrote Avery, who learned to skate on Lake Morey as a child. “It is more of a community asset and as such, should be managed by our municipality.”
Lockwood agreed, adding that hundreds of people of all ages use the trail each year.
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“We don’t want to lose that trail,” Lockwood said in a phone interview. “It’s a huge recreational opportunity for everyone, it brings in a lot of tourism.”
He contacted the town’s insurance provider, Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund, which is offered through the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and met with a representative Tuesday.
“The loss control people don’t recommend we do this, but aren’t prohibiting us from doing this,” Lockwood said in a phone interview. Municipal insurance providers regularly insure ice skating rinks, Lockwood said, which makes it a better fit.
Just like every other year, ice samples will regularly be taken to insure that the ice is thick enough — generally around 6 inches — to be skated on safely.
Town officials have also made sure there are multiple signs posted at the Fairlee Town Beach that list about a dozen rules, including an eight-part “Code of Skater Responsibility.”
“It’s basically skate at your own risk but much much longer,” Lockwood said.
The first rule on the list requires that a skater who uses the trail — or their guardians, if they’re minors — “understands, acknowledges and agrees that ice skating is an inherently dangerous and physically demanding activity.”
The next rule is even more blunt: “Participating skater assumes full responsibility for any risk of injury, property damage, or death while participating in activities. Unmarked obstacles and other natural hazards exist throughout.”
The trail opened Wednesday and will open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting, through Sunday, Feb. 23. Avery is volunteering his time to run the Resort’s skate trail plowing equipment — now being leased to the town — to keep the trail groomed.
“I don’t foresee any costs” to taxpayers, Lockwood said.
Town officials are working on creating a page on the town website — Fairleevt.gov — where ice conditions will be posted. Lake Morey Resort will continue to offer ice skate rentals and more information can be found at lakemoreyresort.com/activities/the-lake/. Parking will continue to be available at a lot off Lake Morey Road, across the street from the resort.
Lockwood doesn’t expect people to be dissuaded by the change in management and has already observed people out on the ice.
“Conditions are perfect right now,” he said.
Taryn Adamczyk, owner of Sunnyside Coffee Company in downtown Fairlee, agreed. She regularly does a loop on the trail as the sun is rising before opening her coffee shop in the morning.
“I can’t imagine a better way to start the day,” Adamczyk said in a phone interview. “I try to get out there as many days as possible when it’s open. It’s my favorite thing to do in the Upper Valley.”
She started using the trail five years ago when she moved to the area. At the time, she’d push her then-newborn in a stroller on the ice while pulling her then-2-year-old in a sled behind her. Both children have since learned to skate on Lake Morey and often use a stack of milk crates to make their way along the trail.
“I’m like: ‘You guys don’t know how good you have it,’ ” Adamczyk said. “It’s a pretty spectacular place to learn.”
The trail’s continuation is also welcome news to Sam Adams, owner of Wings Market & Deli on nearby Route 5. People on their way to the trail — or hungry after skating on it — regularly pick up snacks at the store.
“I think we would have missed some people stopping by,” Adams said in a phone interview. “It’s an important draw in the wintertime.”
Plans for the Enfield ice skating trail operated by the Mascoma Lake Skating Association are up in the air.
The group’s plow person has other business commitments that make it difficult to respond to storms and the group hasn’t been able to find someone else to do it, Mary Graham, co-chair of the nonprofit organization, wrote in an email.
“We are hoping to plow opportunistically when circumstances allow,” Graham wrote.
Updates will be posted to the group’s Facebook page facebook.com/MascomaLakeSkating.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.