Mount Ascutney

A group of locals united behind a wild idea to save their mountain: they’d buy it. Mount Ascutney rises 3,000 feet above the town of West Windsor, Vermont. For generations, the ski resort at its base was the community’s center of gravity—until warming winters and a vanishing snowpack drove the resort out of business in 2010. Without a steady stream of visitors, West Windsor residents feared their town’s identity as a hub for outdoor recreation could fade away. Watch the film to find out how The Trust for Public Land helped the people of West Windsor bring their ambitious plan to life.

Mount Ascutney is now a 30-mile network of non-motorized, recreational trails that scale the peak and hug the western base of the mountain, built and managed by Sport Trails of Ascutney Basin (STAB). The network has become a destination for mountain bikers, backcountry skiers, and hikers locally and from across New England. Ascutney Outdoors has created a nonprofit community ski area on a portion of the property, providing inexpensive skiing opportunities for all families. This is a story about how a little town partnered with The Trust for Public Land and took matters, and their mountain, into their own hands.