Raptor Lane Trails

 Oct 2, 2026

This morning, I made the drive to Dorset to ride the Raptor Lane Trails, a network that caught my eye while browsing Trailforks. Beyond the great riding, I discovered an incredible piece of history hidden right next to the trails: the Gettysburg Quarry. This mountainside site once supplied the marble used for prominent buildings in Philadelphia, as well as the solemn tombstones for soldiers who died at the Battle of Gettysburg.

I drove my new truck down to Dorset with my hardtail on Ann's Thule Rack. 

Sign at the trailhead.

The trail system was created by NATS, Northshire Area Trail System, A Chapter of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, who builds and maintains mountain biking and multipurpose trails in the Manchester, VT region.

As I was heading into the trails I met up with John and his dog, East. John provided some great background on the trail system and directions and advice on how to ride the trails. 

He also told me about the Gettysburg Quarry located just off the trail system and how to find it. 

He was skijoring with the dog and riding an eMountain bike, which is something I want to try with XC Skis this winter with Kai.

It's Orange Season, aka Hunting Season, in Vermont and I wasn't taking any chances. After this old cabin, John and I parted company and I headed down the trail to the Quarry.

Old cables from the quarry along the trail

along with some discarded marble blocks.

There were a few bridges on the trail. This was the easier one of the two.

I pushed my bike up these stairs to get into the quarry.

The Gettysburg Quarry, c. 1875 

Daniel L. Kent opened this quarry in 1866, and soon after sold it to the S. F. Prince Company of Philadelphia. The quarry remained in operation until 1897. 

Most of the marble quarried here went to Philadelphia for buildings, and to government contracts for cemetery tombstones. 

Approximately 200 feet straight ahead is what looks like a quarry. It is a quarry, but the quarry actually began where this sign is. Everything from here to the rock face was excavated. 

To the left is a short trail to the quarry dump, which affords wonderful views. This scenic lookout is the top of a marble dump. Approximately 80 percent of the rock cut from this quarry was not good enough for the retail market, so it was piled up on the dump. Quarry dumps, because they contain very little soil, make great viewing points, because not much can grow on them. The view from this dump is of Mount Equinox, Mother Myrick, and Mount Antone. 

To the right is a trail that can lead to Owls Head or loop back to the trailhead. The beautiful marble that was produced at this quarry was created over 500 million years ago, in a lagoon-like environment filled with coral and invertebrate creatures that used calcium from the seawater to make their shells. The ocean environment where they were formed was very close to the equator! As the creatures died and their shells and structures dissolved, the calcium carbonate was laid down as sedimentary material that eventually became limestone. Over the intervening millions of years, plate tectonics shifted the location of the sedimentary layers and they became part of the Taconic Mountains and were folded and pressed under enormous geological forces. These forces produced the metamorphosed version of limestone that we know as marble. 

There is a connection between the marble and the forest. Marble and limestone bedrock are calcium-rich rocks. As they weather and become part of the soil, they produce an incredibly alkaline and productive soil that supports a high diversity of plant and tree species. This type of forest is known as a Rich Northern Hardwood Forest. The beautiful Taconic Mountains, which you see across the valley and are standing on here at the Owls Head Town Forest, are covered with these amazingly diverse and productive forests. As you walk on the trail, look for maidenhair ferns, which are of a species indicating calcium-rich soil. These leras have unusually shaped fronds that are short and almost circular or semicircular in shape.

It intrigued me to see those railroad tracks and after some research found that they used Funiculars to move the blocks down the mountain.

Heading in the opposite direction from the quarry was an overlook created by quarry's discards.

The view from Art's Bench is outstanding.

The fall foliage here is much more pronounced

and there is great view of Mt Equinox.

Mt Equinox is in the background.

An old smoke stack from the quarry.

After the quarry I continued heading down Gettysberm, a downhill trail.

The berms were sick and I railed them like a pro.

I rode the portion of Maple Creemee that I missed on the way up.

There was this awesome roller that kind of reminds me of Larry David from this angle.

I did a loop on Lunch

Then I went up this trail to Little Ripper

and it sucks the fun out of you.

It's basically a fall line climb with some real steepness.

My last downhill run was on Little Ripper.