News Release

Trek to Taste on the Trails of Woodstock 2019

News Release Date: May 10, 2019

“Trek to Taste on the Trails of Woodstock” celebrates 11th anniversary with farm fresh food, fitness and fun

What do farm fresh food, hiking, arts and crafts, fiddle music, ice cream, and wood-fired pizza all have in common? They are all part of the 11th annual Trek to Taste to be held on National Trails Day, Saturday, June 1, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and town parks in Woodstock, Vermont.

Trek to Taste celebrates local trails and healthy food in Vermont’s only National Park and Woodstock’s Billings and Faulkner Parks. The free festivities are open to the public. The fun begins at the National Park Forest Center and continues along the trails to specialty stations, or hubs, scattered throughout the parks.

At the Forest Center Upper Valley Farm to School students will display their projects and offer free food samples made with local ingredients. Organizations from throughout the Upper Valley will be on hand with family-friendly activities: check out the interactive stream table, learn about Leave No Trace skills, participate in a chipmunk quest, and so much more.  Then lace up your boots and grab a map for a self-guided trek or join a guided hike at 10:30am or 12pm to any of three destinations, each offering special activities and samples of local food.

A gentle half mile walk leads to the park’s Pony Pasture where ArtisTree, the Billings Farm & Museum and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) will have fun family-friendly activities.

A two-mile loop hike will take participants to the Nordic Hut where youth from Woodstock Union Middle and High School offer tastings of wood fired pizza.

A heartier hike will follow the carriage roads for a 4.5 mile round trip to the South Peak overlook where Sustainable Woodstock will serve gourmet samplings from local food producers.  

The event will feature live music by the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra and area musicians. At 1pm, the Annette C. Compton Fiertz Trail Stewardship award will be presented to an individual, organization, or group who have shown dedication to the trails of Woodstock. The awards ceremony will be followed by a free ice cream social courtesy of the Billings Park Commission.

“We are excited to celebrate National Trails Day with Trek to Taste for the 11th season,” says Lead Ranger Kelly Sczomak. “Trek to Taste is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the spirit of the Upper Valley community rich with locally grown food, scenic trails, nature and art.”

The day will also include the launch of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller parkrun – the first Vermont location of a global network of weekly, timed 5k races that occur on Saturday morning all over the world! Led by Geraldine Fowler with support from the Woodstock Economic Development Commission, parkrun promotes community building and wellness and welcomes participants of all abilities – from walkers to marathoners. Each parkrun will begin at the Carriage Barn Visitor Center every Saturday morning at 9am, all summer long. For more information on parkrun, visit www.parkrun.us/marshbillingsrockefeller.

Trek to Taste is a free event, thanks to the work of many partners dedicated to a healthy community, local trails, and farm-fresh foods.  Parking for the event is at the Billings Farm & Museum Overflow Lot. For more information on the event, partner organizations, schedule for the day visit www.nps.gov/mabi and select Trek to Taste or call [phone] ext. 222.