There are a lot of things that make Vermont a popular destination for people looking to get away. During the winter, it is a hotbed for skiing on the rolling mountains that are plentiful in the Green Mountain State.

But, anyone that may be in the area during other seasons needs to check out a hidden gem in Graniteville featured in an Instagram reel by Rebecca on the Vermont For Real account. There you can hike a network of trails totaling more than 70 miles through abandoned quarries.

The Millstone Trails will take you through more than 1,500 acres of abandoned and active quarries with plenty of lush forests as well.

Aptly named as the granite capital of the world, quarries began popping up in the region near Barre in around 1825. Just 75 years later, thousands of stonecutters came over from European countries, such as Scotland and Italy, to start their new lives.

There were more than 75 active quarries and 4,000 people working them, with more than 3,500 people working at local factories. Eventually, the multiple quarries went away as one conglomerate eventually emerged.

Rock of Ages is now the deepest active granite quarry in the world, leading North America when it comes to making cemetery memorials. Guided tours of the facility are available and last about 50 minutes.

Because of the quarry activities, there wasn’t any vegetation in sight by the early 1900s. That slowly began to change as nature naturally took over once the areas were abandoned by the people working them.

Greenery slowly began taking over with water also filling up the pits. Years later, in 2005, the Millstone Trails Association was created to help conserve this beautiful area so that people could enjoy activities such as biking and hiking.

“Millstone Trails Association is a non-profit organization that maintains the Millstone Trails, a network of non-motorized recreational trails in Central Vermont. Our trails traverse 1,500 acres of diverse and dramatic terrain, among historic quarries, New England villages, and regenerating forests,” says their website.

If you want to walk, the trails are free to explore on foot. A bike pass can be purchased by anyone preferring to cycle around.

The day passes for mountain biking along with donations all go toward helping keep the trails as nice as possible.

Four Connecticut residents, including a teenager taking flying lessons, were killed in a plane crash in Vermont over the weekend, authorities said.

The four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft departed from Windham Airport in Connecticut at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday for a short flight to Ferrisburgh where those onboard stopped for a brunch reservation at Basin Hill, according to Vermont State Police.

The party of four left the restaurant shortly after noon to fly back to Connecticut, leaving the Basin Harbor Airport around 12:15 p.m.

While no reports were received about an aircraft in distress or plane crash, the plane failed to return back to Windham and relatives of the occupants reported the situation to the Connecticut State Police and the Middletown, Connecticut Police Department, police said.

Working with the Federal Aviation Administration, authorities used cellphone data to track down the plane’s location near the airstrip in Vermont.

Using a drone, Vermont state police and local agencies located the wreckage in a wooded area east of the Basin Airport around 12:20 a.m. on Monday.

First responders arrived at the scene and pronounced all four on board dead.

They were identified on Monday as Paul Pelletier, 55, of Columbia; Frank Rodriguez, 88, of Lebanon; Susan Van Ness, 51; and her daughter Delilah Van Ness, 15, both of Middletown.

Delilah Van Ness, a sophomore at Middletown High School, was taking flight lessons with Pelletier, the school’s aviation technology teacher.

It’s not clear who was piloting the aircraft when it crashed.

“This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community,” Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos, Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools, said in a statement. 

“Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city,” he added.

The high school was closed on Tuesday to let the school community grieve. School officials said counseling will be available to students and faculty when they return.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the FAA and National Transit Safety Board.

The bodies of the victims were brought to the medical examiner’s office in Burlington, where autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Authorities identified the four people killed in a Vermont plane crash on Sunday, including a 15–year-old girl and her mother. 

Vermont State Police identified the victims as Paul Pelletier, 55 of Columbia, Conn., Frank Rodriquez, 88, of Lebanon, Conn., Susan Van Ness 51, and Delilah Van Ness, 15, both of Middletown, Conn. 

Pelletier was the aerospace and manufacturing teacher at Middletown High School, where Delilah was a student, Middletown Public Schools said. 

We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of 3 cherished members of our community in a plane crash: Paul Pelletier, Delilah Van Ness, & Susan Van Ness. MHS will be closed on Tues, Sept. 10, 2024 with crisis teams available. More here: https://t.co/fvZU3gAC0m

— Middletown Public Schools (@MiddletownPS) September 9, 2024

“This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community,” Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos said. “Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city.” 

Middletown High School was closed and all athletic events were postponed on Tuesday, a letter from Matos to parents said. Matos said he hopes the break will “provide our school community time to grieve.” Administrators stationed crisis teams at Middletown High School to support the community, the letter said. 

The victims were on a small four-person plane flying back to Connecticut after brunch at Basin Harbor resort south of Burlington, State Police said. State Police said they did not receive any reports of an aircraft in distress or a plane crash. Relatives of the victims alerted Connecticut authorities after their loved ones had not come home, the statement said. Connecticut law enforcement worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the plane’s last known location.

Using a drone, investigators found the wreckage just east of the Basin Harbor Airport early Monday morning, the statement said. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation into the crash, according to State Police. 

“In the days and weeks ahead, let us come together as a unified Middletown school community to honor the memory of Paul, Delilah, and Susan,” Matos said in the letter. “May their legacies of compassion, dedication, and kindness will inspire us to support one another and make a positive difference in the world.”