The Newport Rural Tourism Academy was started in December at the invitation of the Northern Forest Center. The idea is simple and elegant: bring together local leaders, businesses, and community folks to work together to assure that the four-season, outdoor recreation economy we are working to build is sustainable over the long term. In other words, when we invite locals and visitors to come play in our community, how do we make sure all of us are committed to doing so in a way that protects the lakes and mountains and trails that we love so much!
Our first steps have been all about creating awareness about and access to the Newport Waterfront Recreation Path. The Path starts at the Gateway Center/City Docks downtown and follows the lakefront through Pomerleau Park, across the old railroad bridge, in front of the Waterfront Plaza to Prouty Beach, across the new connector bridge onto Bluffside Farm, and eventually connects to the Beebe Spur Rail Trail that hugs the eastern lakeshore of Memphremagog five miles to the Canadian Border.
There are new maps of the trail available at downtown businesses and the Information Center at the entrance to Gardner Park, and you can also print a map here on the website!
The next project the Newport RTA will take on is to design a comprehensive wayfinding strategy that plays up points of interest and connects all the various land managers the entire seven-mile length of the Path. We have secured a USDA Rural Business Development Grant to coordinate all the players as we work to make the Path a gem that will attract visitors from all over Quebec and New England.
Stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come!
