By MATT LINDSEY

St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators have approved a new trail connector that will see ten miles of trail added to the St. Lawrence County multi-use trail system.

The new portion of the trail, called the Brasher Community Connector, includes the towns of Brasher, Helena, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Parishville and Stockholm.

The trail is 102 miles now and will be 112 miles once the Brasher Connector is complete near the beginning of summer. The trail will be nearly 200 miles once complete in a few years, stretching from the Franklin County border near Lake Ozonia Road, to the Lewis County border near Pitcairn.

“We are so excited,” said Deb Christy, St. Lawrence County Trails coordinator, about the upcoming work and anticipated opening this spring.

The 102 miles of existing trail is tentatively scheduled to open May 15 and the Brasher Forest section is expected to be open by July 4, she said. A grand opening event will be held when the trail is ready to open.

Christy noted that the Town of Brasher passed a local law last month to allow ATVs to be driven on parts of certain roads to help connect the trails.

“We haven’t opened those roads up yet, we are waiting for everything to fall into place,” she said.

Roads opening up to ATVs is aimed at helping businesses as well, Christy said. So far, nearly 20 businesses are “impacted” by the trail.

Meanwhile, the Town of Pierrepont will also soon consider opening up some roads to ATVs as part of the trail, she said. Christy was not able to provide more details.

Work on the trails ended last fall and began again recently.

Christy said that work is done by volunteers and a group of about six people regularly work on the trails and around 10 to 12 volunteers chip in on weekends.

She expected the Brasher Forest trail work to last about six to seven weeks, depending on the weather.

Christy said there have been minor changes to the trail route. A small reroute was made to accommodate a landowner who wished to use his property again.

Maps, which were hard to come by last year, will again be available this spring at various locations with more than 10,000 copies being printed.

Maps released early this spring will not include the Brasher Connector portion. Once open, new maps will be distributed to include the new trail section.

Last year a four-wheeler sign was erected near Hounds Haven in Hannawa Falls. Christy said the fire department agreed to letting ATV users use the land as a parking area and there is also an entry point for the trail.

Once trail work in Brasher is complete, work will begin later this year and next year to extend the trail from Colton to near Harrisville, Christy said.

Christy said those she spoke to “enjoyed” the trail last year and “so far there were no complaints” from riders, land owners or law enforcement.

“It’s a good trail to ride on – we appreciate people respecting it – that will help us keep it,” she said.

The trail can also be used by snowmobilers, hikers, skiers, and horse riders.

Christy noted that not all trails are for snowmobiles and that not all snowmobile trails are for ATVs. She encouraged riders to look at maps to be sure they are using the correct trials.