IMPORTANT: This trail is ONE-WAY in the climbing direction from
River Run up to Bemis. It is most often used to complete laps down its neighboring trails, the "Three T's":
Troll Stroll,
Tap 'n Die, and
Tody's Tour. Due to the popularity of these nearby trails and varying degrees of experience, age, and fitness on the climb, you're likely to encounter as many riders on this trail as anywhere else in Kingdom. Please remember to be courteous of others and to use appropriate trail etiquette. Now more about the trail.
Unfortunately, maps don't lie. In this case, that means a lot of climbing. And then a lot more climbing. Burrington carves sumptuous switchbacks from down by the Passumpsic River's
West Branch up most of the hill; then, it slogs its way up the remainder of the hill in a more direct path.
On my first day at Kingdom, someone from Kingdom Trail Association told our group that the first ride up Burrington hurts, the second ride up Burrington you're in the zone and it's not that bad, and any further ride up Burrington just doesn't feel fair.
However, I like riding this trail. I would go so far as to call it fun.
You can attribute the fun factor to knowing that all the hard work to run laps up this trail pays dividends when you're screaming down one of the uber-classic Three T's shortly after. Or, you can give credit where credit's due and confess that this is simply a good trail. Let go of being bound by a destination or a reason you're riding up Burrington. If you can do that, it's easy to find the switchbacks at once both meditative and enjoyable. When you find that state, you almost want to just keep climbing. You won't, of course. Instead, you'll reach an idyllic pasture with easy access to rip-roaring downhill fun.
Let it speak to the quality of Kingdom as a whole that a climb like Burrington Bench can be so darn fun.
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