Champlain Area Trails Connects Community Members to the Outdoors

CATS Westport Map — CATS Westport Trail Map

Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is on a mission to connect people with nature and promote economic vitality in the Champlain Valley. As an accredited land trust, CATS has worked tirelessly since 2009 to build and maintain a network of trails, protect land, and host outdoor education events and volunteer workdays.

Recently, CATS mailed over 3,000 customized trail maps to all the property owners in Westport, Willsboro, Essex, Lewis, and Elizabethtown. These maps show the trails in and near each of these towns and are on one letter-sized page instead of the larger maps CATS publishes that feature the 78 miles of trails CATS has developed, plus additional trails in NY’s Champlain Valley. The organization hopes to inspire people to get outside and explore the trails in their own backyard.

CATS maintains its 78 miles of trails, adds more trails yearly, has protected 983 acres of land, and has hosted hundreds of hikes, outdoor education events, and volunteer workdays. The organization has attracted thousands of visitors to experience the natural beauty of the Champlain Valley.

“Everyone should have access to nature and the outdoors,” said Chris Maron, Executive Director of CATS. “Our large trail maps and now the town-focused maps make it easy for people to find places for walking, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. We want to inspire friends, families, and individuals to get outside and explore the trails in their own backyard.”

The trail maps provide information on the level of difficulty, type of activity available, and points of interest for the trails maintained by CATS, as well as additional trails in each town. Currently, CATS is working on creating customized trail maps for more towns in the Champlain Valley. If you want a trail map for the five towns with maps, you can request one by emailing info@champlainareatrails.com.

CATS welcomes donations to support their work protecting land and creating public access to the outdoors in the Champlain Valley. You can learn more about CATS’ mission to connect people with nature and promote economic vitality in the Champlain Valley by visiting champlainareatrails.com.

About Champlain Area Trails (CATS)

Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is a non-profit organization, begun in 2009, which creates and maintains hiking and cross-country ski trails in the Champlain Valley that link communities, connect people with nature, and promote economic vitality. In its short history, CATS has developed 35 miles of trails that when added to existing trails, gets it half-way toward the long-envisioned goal of a 30-mile trail loop between Westport and Essex. CATS will extend its trails to neighboring towns and eventually connect them to trails in the Adirondack Mountains, Vermont, and Quebec. Learn more on the CATS website.