Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail?

[AngryScientist]

Anyone do the full route?

Looks pretty interesting

could be an easy overnighter out and back i would think?

worth the trip?

http://www.crossnewhampshire.org/

[charliedid]

Looks nice

Perfect distance for an overnight IMO

[R3awak3n]

looks awesome

[MattTuck]

I first learned about it while listening to our NHPR statewide call in show.

https://www.nhpr.org/post/exploring-nhs-rail-trails

If I recall, there are some sections of it that are specifically for non-motorized transport. However, there are many sections that allow motorized vehicles (ATVs, dirt bikes, etc). Normally this wouldn't be a huge concern, but that area of New Hampshire (referred to as "the north country") has built tourism industry around ATVs by building a pretty extensive trail network, and it can attract quite a crowd at certain times of the year. I'd imagine the weekends would be more busy than week days.

Take all this with a grain of salt, because I don't have direct experience -- just piecing together info I hear on the local news and the above linked radio program.

[Ruckusdog]

I rode this last month. Some of it is very nice. We stayed in Littleton and rode out and back to Gorham one day and west to Woodsville the next. The first half of the route from Littleton west is on busy paved roads with rolling hills and variable shoulders, but the remainder to Gorham is a mix of dirt and rail trail with beautiful views of the Presidential Range. There’s a bridge out after Gorham but a short trip on Route 2 gets you back onto nice roads into Maine.

The ride from Littleton west is a mix of railtrail and quiet country roads - mostly paved. The dirt is not challenging. Compass Steilacooms @ 35 psi just float along.

[merlinmurph]

I did a few sections of this last week with a buddy of mine. He's a writer, mostly in the outdoor arena, wanted to ride it to get a few stories, and asked me along. Sure!

On the first day, we rode a short leg from Woodville (VT border) to Littleton, about 22 easy miles. Marianne Borowski, the inspiration behind the XNHAT, joined us. Not-so-coincidentally, the start in Woodville is a logical continuation of the Cross VT ride, Marianne told us. The ride was almost all dirt, with just a couple of very quiet pavement miles in Lisbon, and almost totally flat.

The next day, we shuttled cars for a leg from Whitefield to Gorham, about 35 miles. This was the section Marianne highly recommended if one were to do just a part of the trail, and it was a gorgeous ride. Again, almost all of it was dirt and pretty flat. When we got into Gorham, we crossed the Ammonoosuc and got onto the Hogan Rd. section which was really nice. It's a rolly, unmaintained road that parallels the river for about 3 miles.

During the summer, my wife and I spent a month in Franconia NH and I was familiar with some of these roads. The rides I did around Franconia all had some good climbs in them, so I was surprised at how flat this ride was.

Having ridden on a weekday in October, we encountered only one ATV, but I imagine it can get more traffic in the summer.


Bath bridge
IMG_20191002_122646056_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

Going over a trestle
IMG_20191002_124930410_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

IMG_20191002_125814838_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

IMG_20191002_130949701_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

Marianne's bike is built by Tom Matchak
IMG_20191002_132817785_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr
IMG_20191002_132841354_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr
IMG_20191002_150317294_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr
IMG_20191002_150328592_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

[merlinmurph]

More pics

Pedestrian bridge in Littleton
IMG_20191002_145813666_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

Outside of Whitefield
IMG_20191003_124226957_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

IMG_20191003_125651942_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

IMG_20191003_134838828_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

Colors were starting
IMG_20191003_141742804_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

Bridge over the Ammonoosuc
IMG_20191003_151957855_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

Hogan Rd
IMG_20191003_154656657_HDR_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

IMG_20191003_160739209_x by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

[72gmc]

Merlinmurph, your wife has a really nice bike!

[AngryScientist]

great report and pics murph. this is on my list for sure.

[R3awak3n]

perfect time to do this ride too. Let me know when you do it Angry, I should really join.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

Merlinmurph, your wife has a really nice bike!

Uh, that's not my wife, but I agree, it is a gorgeous bike. That's Marianne, the woman who was the inspiration behind the Cross NH trail and came up with route. She lives in NH and knows all the nice bike routes. She is also a wonderful person and was great to ride with.

Speaking of good times to ride the trail, if you ride in mid-June, you can catch the lupine in bloom. The Valley Rd section can go wild with lupine and it's stunning.

Here's a shot
IMG_20190623_130819741-1 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

great report and pics murph. this is on my list for sure.

If you're in that area and want some other rides with some hefty climbs in them, I can point you. The area roughly between 116, 117, 112 and 302 has lots of nice roads, dirt, no cars, and hills. We're going to back there next summer for another month, let me know if you're around.

[fmradio516]

Soooo NE Paceline group meet/ride?

[stien]

Can anyone advise ideal tire width here? Lots of this looks like road tires will be fine, then I saw the stream crossing...

[daker13]

Thanks for the heads up and the pics--looking forward to checking this one out.