Lawson’s chose Mad River Park (MRP) as their SIP (Social Impact Program) recipient Jan. 1 -15, 2023! We are thrilled to be able to finish our irrigation system and make future enhancements to the park because of their generosity. Many thanks to Lawson’s for donating $13,860 to Mad River Park!

Click this link for the 2022 Slide Presentation to Towns.

This year, the Mad River Valley Recreation DIstrict (MRVRD) received 14 grant applications seeking a total of $75,112 in funding.

In addition to operating the grant program, MRVRD continues to manage Mad River Park. With careful consideration for the best use of its limited funds the MRVRD will spend a total of $38,300 on grants to 12 organizations including $3,200 to Mad River Park for projects that will promote community vitality, physical fitness, appreciation for the outdoors and a high quality of life in the Mad River Valley.

The Board of the MRVRD (a Union Municipal District formed in 1994) meets with leaders from organizations that are applying, reviews applications and awards grants to advance new initiatives, support essential maintenance, and continue programs vital to community recreation.

The $410,700 grant proposal was submitted by the Mad River Valley Recreation District (MRVRD) on behalf of a diverse group of local partners who envision the creation of a new Recreation Hub in Irasville, the commercial center of the Mad River Valley. Partners in the proposal include MRV Planning District, MRV Chamber of Commerce, Mad River Riders, the Friends of the Mad River, The Mad River Path, the town of Waitsfield and multiple local property owners.

The Recreation Hub will be sited at the Local Folk Smokehouse, which will provide space for a new recreationally focused visitors center operated by the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce. The grounds behind the building will offer parking, restrooms and a trailhead accessing a new pedestrian/bike bridge across the Millbrook. The bridge will connect to the Mad River Riders' existing network of trails on private and public land.

Help us to shape the future of recreation and trails in the Mad River Valley by completing our Community Survey. Thank you!

The MRVRD provides annual funding to non-profit organizations and entities which provide recreation opportunities to local residents and visitors to the Valley. Grants have provided essential funding for diverse recreation endeavors, including trail construction and maintenance on multi-use and snowmobile trails in villages and across the Valley, equipment for youth sports leagues, courts for Bocce and a softball field at Couples Field, fitness classes for seniors, expansion of the Warren Skatepark. For more information visit our grant page.

In conjunction with The University of Vermont Medical Center's Protect your Head at All Times Program (PHAT), the MRVRD offered $10 bike helmets to the community at the May 15th and June 5th Farmers Markets. We hope to be able to continue this program in the summer of 2022.

Co-sponsored by the Mad River Recreation District, Downstream Enterprises, and Frontiers Education, the courses was held during the first two weeks of May. More than 25 members of our community received training in a range of wilderness medicine classes from Desert Mountain Medicine. The courses provided hands-on training for managing wilderness medical situations. Two courses - a Wilderness First Responder Recertification course and a Wilderness First Aid course - provided local community members with the opportunity to learn critical first aid and CPR skills that will help them feel more confident when handling scenarios that come up in the outdoors. Look for future offerings in the spring of 2022.

Thanks to a great idea from a local resident and funding from the Mad River Valley Recreation District (MRVRD), many more Valley residents can walk, run or bike on town roads with increased safety. In late November, Kathleen Cosentino, Waitsfield, approached MRVRD to identify a problem and propose a solution. Kathleen had noticed that people walking on the Cross Road, Common Road, Joslin Hill Road and many other places at dawn and dusk were barely visible to traffic. To address this, Kathleen suggested teaming up with the MRVRD to distribute reflective vests, for free, to anyone who would like one within our community. She volunteered to research, order, advertise and distribute the vests to increase pedestrian safety and encourage outdoor recreation.