Trails

The 40 miles of marked MTB trail only represent a small percentage of the actual riding that is available in Burlington. With a sense of adventure and a little help from the locals you can ride for days on end without duplication. The Burlington trail network when combined with the nearby trail networks in Harwinton spans a handful of towns and two counties, one of the largest continuous MTB trail networks in Southern New England. The riding in Burlington is best described as varied. Trails exist for all riding abilities from first timers to the most skilled. There is a great balance between technicality and flow. Rocks, roots, rollers, berms etc., it’s one stop shopping for all your MTB needs. For Connecticut standards, there is also a good amount of elevation to be gained and lost. Technical climbs and flowy descents are strewn throughout the network, some over a mile in length so be prepared to pedal up and whoop it down.

Carolina Hills in Marshfield is a little known area with a lot of trails. The trails are hilly, sandy in a few places, and lots of fun. Park on Eames Way, just beyond the school, there the paved road turns to dirt. You’ll see a trail going into the woods on your right. Take it and explore. There are quite a few singletracks on both sides of Eames Way and the power line. Some of the trails extend across Route 139.

Case Mountain is a popular trail network just southeast of Main Street in Manchester that was created by the Case Family “in the spirit of the romantic landscape ideal of the late Victoria era”. Highlights include the waterfall just north of the Spring St parking lot and the Lookout Mtn. overlook along the white trail, which is about a 20 minute walk from either of the main parking areas.

Clyde Pond is just phenomenal. Fast, flowy, some technical bits, but mostly just really fun. Very easy to get into a groove here, and just keep pedaling. Most of the trail networks are packed dirt with some cool features built in on the sides, and there are almost always ways to get around obstacles if you are not yet ready for them. I figure you can do about 90% of the riding here in about 10 miles, with very little repeated sections. GPS is super helpful, as there are tons of intersections. There are not really any climbs, or descents, and over that 10 miles, we only climbed about 800'. Just go here - you will love it.

This 1000 acre park is a gem Great for all levels of riding, with a 10 mile system of carriage roads laced with miles of single track, utility lines, and technical double tracks. Save your breath for a few tough climbs and check your brakes before bombing down hills. The park has a variety of scenery too, lakes, glacial features, forest and field habitats, old foundations, and mica mines. The artist Anna Huntington deeded her estate to Connecticut for the park, and two of her statues, one of bears and one of wolves guard the main parking lot. Huntington is a favorite of everyone from families to riders who enjoy highly technical trails.

Cowles Park in East Grandy offers well over 15 miles of easy to difficult trails. Many of these trails were created for and by mountain bikers but the park also attracts hikers, trail runners and dog walkers. The singletracks are amazing. They wind through the woods seemingly never going in a straight line for more than a few feet until you have to make a course adjustment. Mostly smooth, they do offer some technical challenges and a few short hills. Expect to return, you won't be able to explore all these trails in one ride. The only rule is - Don't Ride When The Trails Are Muddy.

Welcome to Drummer Hill, Keene’s most extensive singletrack destination You’ll find many hours of intermediate- through expert-level riding, consisting of mostly unsanitized, gnarly roots and rocks (and reggae!) in a base of sweet, tacky soil that knobbies will dig. In summertime the pristine waters of Goose Pond are a great place to stop and swim. On a fatbike in winter when the snow settles into a solid base, the singletrack becomes superfluous and you’ll discover the true meaning of “cross country” as the entire woods become a paved playground. The published maps of Keene show a roughly 4 square mile area called “Goose Pond Forest” which includes Goose Pond and the slopes and ridge that rise above to the east, Minister’s Lot, Drummer Hill, and adjacent regions of mixed private and public lands. With more than 18 miles of singletrack and 13 miles of unimproved doubletrack trails, it’s a local wilderness seeker’s dream. The trails are used year-round for mountain biking, hiking, running, fat biking, snowshoeing, and skiing, and some of the doubletrack includes the New England Interstate Snowmobile Corridor routes. The Drummer Hill area also connects to another, unmapped, singletrack system in the adjacent townships of Gilsum and Surry which can be accessed without riding on any paved roads.

The Duxbury Trail Network is one of the most undervalued trail networks in Eastern Massachusetts and hopefully this new map will help the riders from the immediate surrounding communities and further afield to enjoy these awesome trails. The Duxbury Trail Network has a wide variety of trails including a lot of fire road and single track, a lot of typical coastal forest tech, many punchy climbs and equally fun down hills, and very important, several fairly long, fast and flowy singletrack trails.

Earl's Trails in Hadley, Mass is well known for its large network of fast, flowy and buff trails. It is very close to Mount Holyoke Range Trail Network, which is just to the South of Earl's. Together these two ride areas can make for an epic day of riding.

WMNEMBA developed this trail network over 15 years ago. There are varying levels of hand built cross country trails with parking on the north end at Thompson Road and at the south end at Hemlock Drive. There's something for everyone--from old quarries to an abandoned settlement, to old stone milling machine, a polished pillar and some nice granite features--all with ride arounds.

The Presumpscot Regional Land Trust has 20 public access preserves and 3,000 acres of conserved lands with miles of public access trails and water access. We also coordinate the Sebago to the Sea Trail, a 28-mile trail from Standish to Portland.

Essex Woods is a small city park in Bangor that hosts a series of downhill mountain bike trails.  You won't find a lot of milage here, but the trails are some local favorites to get some elevation change and it is a great place to learn. Plans are in the works to rework these trails - look for updates! Essex Woods is also a local birding hotspot and has the city off leash dog park. 

Fox Park has several long, hand built looping switch backing trails. There are quite a few hills to climb. But then you get some truly awesome flowy downhills, as your reward. There are plenty of tight tight technical sections and lots of hand made berms on the tighter corners. 

Across the region north of Franconia Notch there exists a series of small, localized trail systems. Franconia’s Fox Hill Park, Easton's Cooley Jericho Community Forest, and Littleton’s Parker Mountain represent only a handful of the numerous trails spread throughout the valley. 

The Franklin Falls Dam federal flood control lands are located on both sides of the Pemigewasset River between Bristol and Franklin, NH. The property consists of more than 2,500 wooded acres and spans five towns. It is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The mountain bike trail system is centered near the Franklin Falls Dam administrative offices on highway 127, three miles south of I-93 off exit 22. The system currently consists of approximately 10 miles of multi-use trail, built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers. Much of the terrain is very “un-New England like” with very few rocks. As a result Franklin Falls is known for its flowing, buff single track. It is great venue for group rides with mixed skill levels. Experts can enjoy high speed tree-slaloming, while novices can enjoy the trails at a more relaxed pace without getting in over their heads in difficulty level. The signature trail at Franklin Falls is Mighty Chicken. It is sure to put a smile on your face.  Mighty Chicken is a gravity trail, built in a natural half-pipe created by the walls of Chicken Ravine. The trail surfs up and down the ravine walls then finishes out over a series of drops and berms. It continues to be tuned to increase the yeehaw! Index. The trail system is open year round, and is a great choice for early spring riding when other trail systems are closed for mud season. Sandy sub-soil keeps the area extremely well drained so mud is virtually non-existent.