Explore the best rated trails in Athol, MA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Common Pathway and Appel Way Trail . With more than 73 trails covering 621 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Excellent experience on this fresh paved trail. The scenery of the ponds and mountains in the distance was worth the trip.
I traveled all the way from California with high expectations for this trail and I wasn't let down (except for the repairs being made on the damaged portion of the trail). It's all good. I made it work.
What an awesome trail for a mid October bike ride!
- The colors of the trees reflected upon the numerous ponds and lakes.
- The pleasant chirping and squawking of active birds.
- Leaves fluttering gently to the ground.
- A wide, smooth path carpeted in golden brown leaves.
- Historic buildings.
- Industrious squirrels.
- Old, historic stone walls.
- Deep, dark woods.
- Rolling, grass covered hills.
- Harvested pumpkins on a farm being sorted into bins.
- Goats, horses, and the friendliest trail users you could ever hope to cross paths with!
I took a leisurely four hours out and back and over 200 photos and video to capture my wonderful memories of this trail. Thank you Massachusetts and New Hampshire!
My brother and I had no problem riding this beautiful trail on e-bikes with 1 5/8 inch tires on a weekday in Sept. 2021 and again in August 2023. Both times we rode west from Newfield and noted that the trail has noticeably more rocks as we headed west of Raymond. We were glad we had front suspension forks. Dearborn Forest just past Onway Lake was our turnaround point at about 17 miles. At Route 125 (Main St.) in Epping, be sure to take the right trail at the fork to continue on the Portsmouth branch. The left trail is the Fremont Branch where you may find yourself riding with ATV's.
At Freetown Road (Route 102) in Raymond, McDonalds is just south of the trail. If you are looking for a tastier burger and have more time, go north one block on Route 102 to Route 27 (Hannaford on your right), then go left one block to Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery (featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" television series).
Cheshire Trail South. Rode north from State Line Circle toward Kenne. We are experienced road cyclists, now riding gravel bikes. We are looking for reasonably surfaced longer trails and hoped this would be one of them. Sadly, we found this trail to be rocky, rutted, with lots of roots, and uncleared blowdown. The vigilance required to remain upright made it difficult to enjoy the beauty all around. The suddenly occurring steep inclines to roads seemed borderline dangerous. If we lived closer it would be a great trail to walk with the dogs
I have ridden this trail many times, and always enjoy it. It is well maintained, well marked, plenty of great places to park for a variety of stop/starting points. Several lovely bridges over roads that would be difficult or impossible to cross. A bike shop along the route, even EV charging stations at the lot by the West Concord train station, where you can also visit the lovely shops and cafes nearby!
Be aware that the section from West Concord towards the Sudbury expansion is well used by the nearby Middle school for after school activities and can be heavily congested during that time. Road cycling can be a challenge weekday afternoons when school is in session.
First: be aware that a recent storm has washed out a section of the trail about 2 miles from the Ayer parking lot in Sept 2023. People are portaging past it, but some set-ups might not work in this situation. That said, this is a great trail. Plenty of parking at many points along the way, some even have EV chargers!
This is a wonderful trail. But I must add that I am very fond of many of the rail trails in New Hampshire. My wife and I are old and use E bikes with fat tires for our rail trail trips. However, on this trip we passed several riders using road bikes with skinny tires, and they were doing just fine.
From the start of the trip at Lake Massabesic to the end at Ash Swamp Road, this trail proved to be a most enjoyable trail with very few spots that required a little caution. Leaving Massabesic the trail is wide, hard packed and easy going. Mostly wooded areas with many brooks, swamps and for the most part, great scenery.
There were very few muddy or wet areas but all of them were easily navigated. But keep in mind, this trail crosses a few very busy highways. Luckily the first three busy roads you will encounter have tunnels, so you don’t have to cross the roads. Out of caution we got off our bikes and walked them through the tunnels, but a good rider might not have to do that.
As you make your way east there are some very interesting sites like the Emerson Mill site and a couple others that might spark later trips. The trail goes past several lakes and large rivers with very interesting spots to stop for a break or a snack. As you move east you will approach the Star Speedway, (a small racetrack) but is not open during the morning or early afternoon time periods. Further on you will have to cross a very busy route 125. Buy don’t worry, there is a traffic light on either side of the road and all you must do is press the button and wait for the light to stop all the cars, very fast and simple.
There is a rail museum and ice cream spot if you need a break or sugar fix right on the trail, so it makes a stop easy and quick. Continuing east you finally make it to the eastern end at Ash Swamp Road. There is an old rail station that is under restoration there with plenty of parking and easy access. All in all, this is a great trip that shouldn’t be missed.
I'd thought maybe this trail wouldn't be suitable for my road bike w/ slightly wider tires, but it worked out fine. Surface was mostly hard packed dirt/gravel, at least the 9 miles I rode starting at the southern end in Newfields. There were some muddy spots and a few rocks and roots to avoid, but never had to get off the bike and walk. Ponds, swamps, brooks and lots of woods. A few easy road crossings, no road noise on this part. Well worth a ride.
I would hate for people to avoid this lovely trail because of reports of the washouts. By using the trail map from this app or even Google maps you can easily find nearby roads that allow you to ride around the closed sections. We had a lovely 18.7 mi ride today and we’re able to keep cool because of lots of shade even though it got up to 90 degrees! They were repairing the bridge on the road to the Slate Covered Bridge, but they paused work to let us cross. It will be repaired very soon.
Truly a nice ride this weekend. Packed surface, mixed terrain but nothing our Surly Ogre's couldn't handle. This was not a crowded trail but there were a spattering of walkers, bikers, dog walkers. Made you feel happy to be alive! Whoever is maintaining this trail - thank you!
What will it take to get the Bennington to Deering Rail Trail suitable for bicycle??? It is a very difficult ride with even fat-tired riders because of the loose terrain. And then if you try to avoid it by riding the road, that is almost impossible also due to all the pitfalls and holes. This could be such an attraction.
I tried the Jaffrey to Rindge trail this weekend and there was NO COMPARISON! Fun, enjoyable ride while this one remains disappointing.
Please put this one on your list to help!!!
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