Trails

Located in the heart of Augusta and within riding distance of the University of Maine at Augusta, the Bond Brook Recreation Area offers a well established network of singletrack and doubletrack/nordic trails. Bond Brook Recreation Area is built on a very hilly parcel of land. Beginner riders will be challenged by some of the climbs and features, but all riders can find plenty of trails to enjoy. Most challenging features have ride around options, or you can skip entire sections by using the double track.

Located in the heart of Augusta and within riding distance of the University of Maine at Augusta, the Bond Brook Recreation Area offers a well established network of singletrack and doubletrack/nordic trails. Bond Brook Recreation Area is built on a very hilly parcel of land. Beginner riders will be challenged by some of the climbs and features, but all riders can find plenty of trails to enjoy. Most challenging features have ride around options, or you can skip entire sections by using the double track.

This rolling forest is made up of 3,500 acres in the towns of Brimfield, Monsoon, and Wales. Multi use recreational property has over 20 miles of cart roads and many miles of mountain bike trails. There are no parking fees and the hours of operations are from sunrise to sunset.

Broken Ground Trails Access to the trails: Directions to Curtisville Rd Trail-Head Parking From I-393, take exit 2, East Side Dr. Turn right, then take the 3rd right onto South Curtisville Rd. Continue straight to the trailhead parking on the left side, just beyond the beaver pond. From East Concord village, just past the gas station, go up East Side Dr. (Rt 132), take the 2nd left onto Portsmouth St., then at the stop sign, a left onto South Curtisville Rd. Continue to the trail-head parking.

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.