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Maps and Directions
Complete ListThe Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has an excellent site with all kinds of information here. Be sure to check out their trail map section here. Other sources of Info
ExeterExeter is in Henderson-Swasey Town Forest. This is a great ride with lots of technical climbing, descending, singletrack (even some brand new trails) and lots of jumps. A couple of the biggest non-BMX jumps I know of are here. A lot of the trails are out & backs, so if you are totally loop obsessed you may be slightly unhappy, but not totally. There is enough riding here for 3+ hours. Directions: Route 95 to Route 101 (exit 2) just before the toll booth in NH. After the small toll booth on the exit ramp take a right onto 101 west towards Exeter. Follow to Route 85. At the top of the exit ramp go left towards Exeter. Entrance to the park is .5 mi. on the right just before the train overpass. FoxboroDescriptionIt's 14 miles of really good riding, kind of like the woods in nam, with a little more hills, getting more and more technical as you get further around (and tired). The final stage is all on fireroad, all down hill and huge huge air off all the water bars. There's cool technical slickrock climbing and also singletrack littered with boulders. It's very cool. Expect hunters to be around in the Fall/Winter so wear something bright. Trails are multi use, so there may be dirtbikes and horses around. The Ranger StationTake 95 South to Exit 7a towards foxboro (if you pass 495 - exit 8, you missed it) I believe this is rt 140. After you get off the exit get ready, you will cut across traffic and take an immediate left on to Walnut Street. Follow Walnut, pass straight through a 4 way intersection and pass the foxboro country club on the left. You will come to a T intersection, take a left onto south street and then look for the signs for the park, in a few hundred feet take a right into the park, pass a few houses then pull into the dirt parking lot on the left across the street from the fire station. The Cell TowerThe main parking lot at the rangers station fills up pretty quick and this is an alternative spot to meet. From rte 95 south....get off on the rte 1 south exit, the same for the stadium....follow rte 1 for about 5 mile and there will be a State Police Barracks on your left, then New England Pottery supply on your left, its right after the Pottery place's parking lot on your left..... follow to the end.... From 495..... Rte 1 north, go through the set of lights for the and as you crest the hill High rock street is on your right....follow to the end. LinksGeorgetownFollow this link for the DEM trail map. Directions:
Great Brook State ParkGreat Brook State Park is in Carisle, North of the city, about 45 mins. or so. Directions:
You can also take Rt. 4 up towards Chelmsford, or take Rt. 3 north and then get off to meet Rt. 4. That's easy too. GrotonGroton is another great non technical riding area - teh trails make it very fast and a great place to train for cardio fitness. It's pretty small, but you can loop together some good loops in there. There are also Dirt Bikers in Groton so watch out for them zooming round a corner (like you wont HEAR them!). Another idea: after a hard ride in summer - drop by the canoe rental company and take a trip down the river for a nice post ride chill out. Directions: From I 495: take exit 31 and follow route 119 west for 7 miles to Groton Center. Turn left onto 225 west/Rt. 111 south. Drive for 0.6 miles to the point where the two roads split. Turn right onto 225 west. Continue for 1.9 miles to the town forest. Take a left onto Town Forest Road and travel one 1/2 mile into the woods. You have arrived. This is the point of departure. Drive Time: Depends on traffic! 50+ min. Horn PondDirections from Arlington/Cambridge: Take Mass. Ave to Arlington center. Take a R onto Rte 3A in Arlington center toward Burlington. Follow that 3 miles or so until you see "Mahoney's" garden center. Take the next right after that (I think it's Pond St.?) there is a gas station on the corner. Follow that street 1/2 mile until you see Horn Pond, then pull into parking lot on left. LeominsterLeominster State Forest is a great cardio training ground. They have well over 6 hours of trails to ride around and almost all of it is real nice smooth twsity singletrack through the woods. Real real nice single track. There's lots of hills if you like climbing. There's not much on the super technical rock front, but the riding is really good if you like blasting through the woods at speed and the occasional rocky descent. Directions: I can't remember the exit number, but the LSF exit is Rt 31. (It's before the Wa-Wa-Wachusett exit.) After driving west on Rt 2 for 45-50 minutes, the highway goes up this crazy hill on a right hand curve, w/ a big rock wall off the shoulder (dead man's curve). You'll know it when you see it. That's when you want to snap out of auto pilot, cause you're about 3 exits away. Go through the traffic light and continue on route 2. Go past Mt Elam road (a really dangerous exit that's not an exit, just a break in the guard rail where this country road intersects w/ the highway. Weird.) The next exit is route 31. go left off the exit, south on 31. Go past the dump on the left. Up a little ways you'll see the Ranger Station on the right. A little farther you'll see the main gate and swimming hole on the left. past that is a dirt parking area on the right. GO PAST ALL THAT STUFF... About 15 seconds later you'll see a dirt road intersect w/ 31. Rocky Pond Road, turn LEFT and park. If you come to the flashing light at rt 140, you went too far. Alternate directions: Take rte 2 west to exit 28. Take a left off the exit ramp and drive about 3 miles. You will pass a hotel, a power plant, the ranger station, and a swimming area. You will eventually come to Rocky Pond road, which is on the left hand side (one of those small wooden signs so keep a lookout) This road turns right into a parking lot. Links: Lincoln WoodsDescriptionThe Lincoln Conservation Land area has a "Bike Loop" which is really more like a path...meaning you just go back the way you came. It's not all that technical but it's really fast (plus it looks really nice)!! This trail is good for some cardio work and to develop some good bike handling skills. Many of the trails are closed in Lincoln but there is one "legal" trail marked with blue bike path signs. There is only one short stretch of pavement we need to ride on but the rest is fire road with maybe a little singletrack (if you want to call it that). It's too bad that the other trails were closed. DirectionsFrom the North: Take Route 128 South to Exit #28 - Trapelo Road Lincoln and bear right following the Lincoln signs. (see below "THEN" for the rest) From the South: Take Route 128 North to Exit #28B - Trapelo Road Lincoln THEN: Follow Trapelo Road for about 2.4 miles. Take a LEFT at the Stop sign onto Lincoln Road (see Old Library
on your right). Follow Lincoln Road for about 1.5 miles. Lynn WoodsRiding in Lynn woods is very technical - some say even better than the Fells, which is pretty crowded a lot of the time. This is one of the few places to ride near the city that is also used by equestrians (thats horse riders for us lay people). Some of them use the entrance that leads into the woods from Majestic Stables (the Walden Pond side?). The name of the street that leads to this entrance is called Walden Pond Ave. That is where most of the horses are although there are three other stables in the area. Keep your eyes peeled when you are in this area! Main Parking LotThis is also known as the Great Woods parking lot, it's near the golf club, right near the baseball fields. It's right at the bottom of the fireroad which leads upto the tower. From 128 (Route 95): Take exit 44B - it's the exit for 129 East, Take your 2nd exit from the rotary and carry on down 129 East. After a while you'll pass a hospital type building and a flashing light for a left turn, keep going down 129. When you come to a left bend in the road you want to take a right there (Just before St Marys Cemetry). There's a sign for Lynn Woods, but it's facing the other way. Anyway once you've taken that right you're there :-) The best place to park these days is in the big lot near Northeast Cycles. If you are heading south down route 1 from route 95, you'll have to go about 1 mile past Northeast Cycles and then take the next exit to turn around and come back to get into the parking lot - it's quite a long round trip From 128 (Rt 95) to Unos128/95 North. Take Exit 43 (the exit AFTER the Salem St/Montrose Exit). Take a right off the ramp and go straight through the lights (heading towards the Saugus Ironworks). Bear left at 2nd set of lights, Go over Route 1 and take the a right onto the ramp heading North. Proceed on Route 1 North until you hit Northeast Cycles on your right. Power-LinesHead up 95 north and take 129 East (exit 44B) it's the third exit you'll see for 129 (you'll see one very early on and then two close to each other (44 A&B). If you got the right exit then the exit ramp will dump you on a rotary. Once you are on the rotary you want the second exit just past a Quick Java hut (129 East)- follow that road to a set of lights at Regina St and turn right onto that. Just after you see the school on your left you want to take the left immediately after the school. Take this road for a few blocks until you reach the BIG POWERLINES which pass over the road. Park anywhere on the side of the street underneath the powerlines. This is where we meet. Riding from Swampscott T stopComing from Boston, Exit parking lot L + go L under train bridge. Road ends in a T, go L onto Essex. See convenience store at lighted intersection + go R onto Rte 129 for 1 mile. Fork in road, go L. (If you miss this, the road ends in a T, go L onto Rte 107.) At light go L onto Rte 107 for over 1/2 mile. At Rte 129 go R 'til Lynn Woods main entrance, over 1.5 miles. Main entrance is marked w/a flashing yellow light, after cemetery where they bury mountain bikers from the white trail. Hammer & this will take 15 min, 30 min if you get a flat. Links
Maudsley Estate (Newburyport)It an easy, particularly scenic ride. It is 95N to route 113 East - Newburyport. Proceed East past Friendly's, there will be a cemetery on your left. A road runs throught the middle of the cemetery. Take a left onto that road(across from Papa Gino's). About now you should see brown signs indicating where Mausdley is. At the end of that road take another left. The road will curve right with a fork to the left. Stay left. Go over Route 95 and keep going until you see the park on your right and the parking lot on your left. Midstate Trail (Central MA)For anyone that's not familiar with it - this is truly an awesome epic point to point ride. The shuffling of the cars was not a big deal at all and allowed bob to place well needed water halfway through the ride. The first 15 miles were awesome rocky single track - this is highly technical babyhead (and toddlerheads too) windy pick your line kind of riding perfect singletrack hardly ridden and superbly marked by little yellow triangles on almost every tree. the second 10 miles were pasture roads and snowmobile trails, slightly wider, but still rocky and run. mix that all together with some amazingly steep short hills and long descents and about 200 yards of road riding and it made for a sweet ride. in the last half there were plenty of places to cut the ride short if you wanted which was reassuring. The easiest way to get to the Spencer Big Y end where we left vehicles for the finish, is to take the MassPike west to the Sturbridge exit (exit 9) and head south (the only way you can go). As soon as you leave the tolls get over to your right - Rte 20 comes up very fast - and take the second Rte 20 ramp - the East bound ramp. Take Rte 20 about 3 miles to Rte 49 and then head North on Rte 49. Rte 49 ends at Rte 9. ot right on Rte 9 and then in a 1/4 mile you will see the Big Y on your left. Park in the Big Y lot near the Ernies car wash at the far end. Alternatively, if you wanted to make the ride a little shorter and cut out the snowmobile section, you could keep going on Rte 9 to the other side of Spencer and park that the Spencer Country Inn - that's where the Pub is and there is the driving range right next to it - the Inn will be on your right. Once you've left cars in spencer, you'll need to get to Rutland State Park. Go to the center of Spencer and take Rte 31 North. Going toward the center of Spencer from the Big Y means you will turn left at the first stoplight in town (not the McDick's light). You'll travel I guess about 8-10 miles north on Rte 31 before you'll see a restaurant on your right - the Black and White Rest. The first intersection past the Black an White is where I usually leave water. Continuing on Rte 31 from the water stop, take the next left - I don't remember the name of the road but it takes you past the Treasure Valley Scout Camp and the is a sign at Rte 31 directing you to that camp. If you miss that turn, keep going until you get to Paxton Center and turn left on Rte 122. Take Treasure Valley Road to Rte 122 and turn left. Follow 122 for a few miles. You will pass a body of water - on the left side of the road is a state boat launch - keep going - you'll eventually (mile or so) pass a road coming in from the right - keep goin about another 1/4 mile and you'll see a pull-off on the right. Park there. You'll know you are at the right spot if the road on the North side is gated, and if you can see the yellow MST markers. The trail head is on the South side of the road. Just follow the yellow triangles. As far as following the trails once you've reached the Spencer Country Inn, I think you'll have to wing it. Nashua MerrimackIf you can get over the other side of the river into Litchfield, NH there are some great trails off RT 3-A. Go 3A north, about 1/4 mile after the golf course you'll come to a country store. Soon after that take your first right then immediatly left then right (these are drivways getting progressivly smaller) onto dirt road and follow into gravel pit. Just start following the power lines to the south toward Hudson and the apple orchards in Londonderry. Or go up and out of gravel pit (North) and ride untill you run into the Manchester Airport. Usuallly some good (small) water crossings to cool off in. Needham WoodsThe terrain is a combination of fire roads and singletrack (not that difficult) Perfect for rookies and intermediates. All riding levels welcome. I'd like to start riding by 6:45 and ride until dark (approx. 8:15 - 8:30) Meet in the parking lot at the Central Ave. entrance. From 95 South, take the Highland Ave. Exit (Exit 19 I think, it's near Muzi Ford). You want to go south on Highland Ave. Follow Highland Ave into the center of Needham. In Needham Center, Highland Ave ends and you want to take a right onto Rte. 135. Follow Rte 135 through Needham Center and past the Mobil Station on your right. After the Mobil Station, if you keep going, you will come to a set of lights. (there is a church on the opposite left corner) You want to take a left onto Central Avenue. Follow Central Ave about a mile (maybe less) and the road will bend to the right and there will be a road coming in from the left. As you begin to bear right around the corner, there will be an entrance to Needham Woods on the left. Go in here and there is a small parking lot. From Newton, take Needham Street south so that International Bicycle is on your right and Muzi Ford is on your right. Needham Street turns into Highland Ave somewhere along there and follow Highland Ave into Needham Center. OtisThe riding at Otis is kind of between the Fells and Vietnam. It's a super fast trail, which drains well with lots of up and down. Almost all single track, Hardly any technical riding. DirectionsOtis is quite a drive from Boston, but we've always found it worth the drive. 93/95 South to Rt. 24 South, then 495 East towards Cape Cod. This will bring you directly to the Bourne Bridge. (You can also take Rt. 3 South to Sagamore Bridge and then follow signs to the Bourne Bridge). Once over the bridge, there will be a rotary, and just follow 28 South towards Falmouth. At the next rotary you hit you want to take a left, go almost all the way around to the Military Base Enterance (Connery Ave.). Take the first U-turn you can to go back towards the rotary and just beofre you hit the rotary pull into the shooting club entrance on your right. Park somewhere there. TrailsTo get to the trails, head back over both directions of Connery Ave and duck into the woods - just go cruising around on the singletrack and have a blast. If you get lost (and you will) listen out for traffic and head twoards it. It'll probably be rt 28 (most likely) and head north with it until you come to the rotary. Trail of TearsFast, singletrack riding - similar to Otis - very fun! Up and down small hills, with some short steep climbs that will get your heart pumping. Windy, narrow trails with tight turns. Not very technical, but there are some rocky spots. A great place for all levels of riding. The powerline road that will take you back to the parking lot is pretty sandy. You can get a map at the town offices or True Wheels cycle near the Otis trails may have a spare. DirectionsIt's a bit further than Otis. Maybe 1.5 hrs from Boston (without traffic). Take Rt. 3 South, and over the Sagamore Bridge. Follow on Rt. 6 towards Provincetown. Exit 5, take right off of ramp, take quick next right down acccess road. Parking will be just up the road on your left under the power lines TrailsThe area to ride is both up to the left and right of the lines. The whole area is bordered by Rt. 6, Another Route, but I forgot what is was, that leads from Rt. 6 South to the WEST of the woods, a firing range (YIKES!) to the east of the woods, and then at the south of the woods is an airport. And the powerlines that seperates the area in two. So, if you have a good sense of direction - it's easy to navigate around and to get back to the car (just find the powerlines!). LinksVietnamVietnam is similar to riding in Lynn Woods, it's a little faster and there's still some good technical stuff. DirectionsZoom down Route 90 west until you hit 495 south. Carry on down 495 south to exit 20 which is for route 85. at the end of the off ramp take a left and park in the first business building on your right. The whole trip takes about an hour from Boston and only 30 mins from the junction of Rt 90 and Rt 95. The land owner is starting to pay attention to bikers using his land. If they get sufficiently annoyed they may try and restrict access - No trespassing signs have already been put up. If you wish to try and limit the observed trail use then try a different trail head - here's a suggestion from Bob Scott
Trail ideasRide on up the fire road you saw as you drove down Rt 85, keep following the power lines as far as you can . eventually you'll come to the end of the lines (you can't go further), turn back and go into the woods as early as you can (you should find a largish flat area with smooth rocks either side and a sharp descent into the woods. ride around in the woods and you should end up coming out where you started. Another option is to ride along the power lines until you come to the pyramid rock and dash into the woods there - this seems to be a different loop which brought us out at the end of the power lines. If you don't fancy the long loose fireroad up at the start, carry on along rt 85 and duck into the woods there (on the right) you should find your way back to the power lines eventually NOTE: These routes all intertwine and so you could end up anywhere - even lost! If you do get lost - listen out for traffic and head to it - chances are you'll hit 495 (and the power lines) or 85. Post Ride IdeasIf you continue up 85 for about 1/4 mile, there's a whole bunch of rocks by the road, go up the dirt road there - bear right through a gate when you get the choice - you should end up at a quarry which is great for post ride relaxation. Be careful if you jump! There's a Wendy's not far further the other way down 85. LinksWestonThis ride is not nearly as technical as Lynn Woods' Bow Ridge but does have some nice singletrack trails. Weston trails are pretty, covered with Pine neddles, not any hill accept at Regis college area. No technical areas, there is some wetland and single track. There is a lot of trail area/mileage though, at least two hours to make it around the perimeter. Trails are accessable from the railroad track, parking at Westn Recreation area near a pond, or from the Campion Center, also at Regis College. A better small area is CatRock Park. It is na old ski slope, steep with tecnical trails, some very narrow and fast. Meet at the Duck Feeding/Canoe Rental Parking Lot across the Charles River from the Newton Marriott Hotel. Take Mass Pike exit 15 or Rt 128/95 exit 24. WompatuckSome technical spots, but nothing like the ridge. Slight hills, but with no really huge climbs. Quick and fun. It's a state park, it's about 1/2 hr. from Boston, South 93, to Rt. 3 South, following to Cape Cod. Take the Rt. 228 Exit, Left off of Ramp. Follow 228 straight from a few miles, into the town of HIngham... There will be state park signs. There will be a right, that's well marked, *maybe free street?*, follow down this street, the state park is like one mile down on right, follow into park. Usually meet in the first parking lot on the left next to the visitors center. Usually we meet at the first parking lot on the right. Links: Wrentham State ParkIt is very boney, and if you are not sure of where you are going, it is easy to go in small circles since there are many trails. Lots of great technical stuff. There are some rock formations like those at Vietnam, but not quite as cool. Also some challenging hills. 95 South to exit 6B, 495 North,
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