Norwich — As the Gile Mountain Trail gains popularity among residents and out-of-towners, breaches of etiquette are on the rise, too, neighbors and town leaders have said.

An increase in trail use over the past few years has led to complaints from abutting residents, who have encountered loud hiking groups, out-of-control dogs, congestion near the trailhead on a narrow dirt portion of Turnpike Road and, in one case, firearm use near their homes.

Dave Ormiston, the interim town manager, attributed the spike in visitors in large part to town officials’ work at maintaining the trail, which in recent years has included the addition of large stone “steps” to make hiking easier.

Gile Mountain, which lies about 5 miles from the center of town, has a fire tower that affords a 360-degree views.

“The Trails Committee over the years has done an excellent job maintaining the trails,” Ormiston said in an interview Friday, “They have become increasingly popular.”

But with the increase in visitors, many of whom flood in during holiday weekends or when the fall foliage reaches peak, etiquette is slipping, he said — perhaps because new hikers aren’t aware of how they’re expected to behave.

“Yes, our success has created some usage issues,” he said. “Per usual, there are the people out there that don’t know any better.”

The trend came to a head on a Thursday afternoon last month when Bill Scavone, who lives directly to the south of the Turnpike Road entrance, heard gunshots coming from the trail as he was outside doing yard work.

In a March 31 letter to the Selectboard, Scavone said he, his wife and a neighbor all heard a rapid series of shots no more than 400 feet away.

“Stop shooting,” he called out. “There are houses and people.”

Scavone said he called the police, who stopped the hikers on their way back. Later, when he visited the spot, he said he saw targets set up by the trail and guessed from their orientation that the visitors were shooting downhill in the general direction of his house.

Miriam Scavone said her husband had been running a chainsaw outside shortly before the shots, which should have made it clear that people and homes were nearby.

“At this point, I’ll be happy if they post the trail so that people can’t shoot in the direction of our house and have it be legal,” she said.

Police brought civil charges against the target shooters, two men and a teenage woman, all from New Hampshire, after finding a small amount of marijuana in the car, according to Police Chief Doug Robinson.

But Robinson said he returned the hikers’ gun to them afterward because they had not broken any laws by using it.

“It’s town-owned property,” he said. “It’s your responsibility to make sure you (use firearms) properly. … Right now, there’s no law saying you can’t shoot from the trail.”

Robinson added that his investigation of the impromptu shooting range did not provide clarity on which direction the bullets went, and did not lead him to believe the hikers had been endangering anyone with the firearm.

Ormiston did not consider the use of a gun a concern, either, given that in his conversations with town officials none remembered a similar incident occurring before.

“I expect that this is one of these situations that is very few and far between,” he said. “I’m not going to take the tack of overreacting or shutting down or taking other steps to limit the pleasure of other people who use the trail because of an incident that happened for the very first time.”

Town officials are responding, however, to other concerns from the Scavones and their neighbors, some of which they listed in their letter to the Selectboard: “large groups making noise at all hours, trespassing (including urination in the roadway and children climbing on property owners’ woodpiles, blocking driveways), uncontrolled dogs harassing and killing livestock, speeding, and parked cars blocking the roadway to residents and emergency vehicles.”

Ormiston said town leaders had made a concerted effort this year, with signs on the roadway and numerous online postings, to remind potential Gile Mountain visitors that the trail is closed during mud season, when traffic on the dirt portion of Turnpike Road can make conditions difficult for residents.

The interim town manager, together with the Trails Committee, police chief and public works director, also have ordered signs that say dogs must be leashed on the mountain trail. The Scavones, among others, have complained of out-of-control dogs attacking their free-range chickens.

Robinson said he also plans to post officers with radar along Turnpike Road during weekends that attract greater traffic.

Selectboard Chairwoman Mary Layton said the panel had not yet discussed the Scavones’ letter, which is in the packet for its April 12 meeting. As the town’s legislative body, the Selectboard has the power to make ordinances affecting the trail.

Despite the complaints, town officials emphasized that the trail was an asset to the town and said that misbehavior came from a small number of hikers.

Bill Scavone, for his part, agreed.

“This is going to be new to a lot of people in the town who see it as a wonderful town resource — which it is,” said Scavone, adding that he wanted to improve the trail. “We don’t want to raise a big ruckus.”

“Perhaps a good way to tackle this is a concerted effort to educate the users that are coming up there,” Ormiston said in a separate interview. “To put up some signage to try to tackle this from a more constructive angle, rather than something that is going to be cold and unwelcoming.”

He added later, “If each hiker can be aware and be courteous of surrounding property owners, that’s greatly appreciated.”

Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.