STUFF TO DO HERE

Mountain Biking is our favorite NEK activity - the Kingdom Trails of East Burke were recently rated the "Best Mountain Bike Trail Network in North America" by Bike Magazine and the "Best Mountain Biking in the US" by Dirt Rag. Our house is literally ON the trail system, and we ride the trails all the time. The trails - over 100 miles of singletrack - are maintained by a local organization and many of our friends are employed by the Kingdom Trails Association.  They publish a trails map annually and it's extremely comprehensive - even the most out of town visitor should be able to find their way on a great ride!

Rentals: Bikes can be rented at East Burke Sports or at the base area of Burke Mountain. Kids bikes can be rented for as little as $15/half day, and adult bikes start at $20/half day. Definitely get out on the trails!

One of our favorite quick loops is to ride Parr's Yard to the Toll Road, cut across on Camptown, ride up the access road past the Mid-Burke Lodge up to the Sherburne Chair and down Jester, Enchanted Forest or Knight Slayer. Then we can ride back up to our house on Mountain Road - the whole loop takes about 30-45 minutes and covers a bit of everything the Kingdom Trails have to offer! This photo was taken at the bottom of Jester on one of our after-work rides this summer.

Tory with Reggie the mini donkey.

Another great stop is at Sanderson's Wood Bowls, just a few miles North of town on the right.  There's a big sign, it's right after Granby Rd. goes off to the right.  The bowl shop doubles as a MINI DONKEY RANCH.  Just to make sure you've read that right, they are MINIATURE DONKEYS at a regular size farm, not regular size donkeys at a miniature farm.  The owners, Sam and Weeza Sanderson, are great people and were some of our first friends when we moved here.  They live in the house that Sam was born in, and he has an unending lineup of stories about living here and growing up here.  Sam makes incredible wooden bowls by hand right there in his shop, as well as a few other products like pens, Christmas ornaments, and so on.  Sam is well known for his skill as a wood turner, and their shop is filled with incredible work.

The mini donkeys are very cuddly and cute, and very people-friendly.  There are almost always some baby donkeys around, and if you're lucky you might get to name one.  Tory named a donkey "Reggie," just a few days after he was born.  Reggie now lives with a judge over the mountain in Guildhall, VT.

There are also rabbits at the Sanderson farm, although be careful to not get too attached.  A few of them are bred to be pets, but most of them are bred for their meat, which you can get at the farm, or at Willy's Restaurant in town.

Sam gets a donkey hug from Ladybug, a rare red mini donkey.

There's also a lumberjack contest on Sunday morning. 11 AM. Should be pretty entertaining, and there's nothing like the sound of a turbo'ed chainsaw to help clear the cobwebs from the night before. Check out the informational page here for more information.