Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Swanzey, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Gorgeous walk. We made the mistake of bringing our bikes and missed the no bike sign. Woops. Lessons learned. Great walking path with kids and pups.
I'm used to riding on gravel and I have ridden sections of this trail many times so I know what to expect. This last winter and spring have been pretty hard on the trail. Obviously some knuckleheads on bikes and horses have been on the trail when its been wet and soft and in spots its chewed up. There is also a need for some more driveway pack in sections as the larger stones that underlay the wear surface are poking through. The culvert under Hooksett Road is washed out and very rough, some drainage work needs to be done at this location. Not sure who is actually responsible for maintenance.
The surface is paved, and in excellent condition.
The trail is ever so slightly down hill from north to south.
Mostly shaded, and while not amazing scenery, it is a lovely trail. In spring, when sunny, watch to LOTS of turtles on the far bank of a swampy section near the cheshire reservoir (on the west side of the trail)!
The Canalside rail trail is fully open and the paved trail is very well maintained. While it is only 7.2 miles round trip, it’s worth it! Plenty of parking at both ends and the town of Turners Falls has a nice selection of restaurants and shops.
We started at the marina restaurant at the south end of the trail and rode 3.5 miles on the rail trail section, with another 2 miles on Rice Farm & Quarries roads. Beautiful vistas of the river, rock formations, changing leaves. Esp impressive was the overhead highway bridge built with long tapering multicolored stone supports, representing tree branches. Under the arched stone supports is a picnic table & patio area. A few protruding stones/tree roots need to be managed but biking is very possible on this trail and should be included in the list of options for use.
Well, used multiple vehicle vehicles. Maintenance vehicle working on trail . Good views. Will ride again.
The trail is sandy for approximately the first one and a half miles on the Newport end. So what. If you fall off your bike, it will hurt less. The rest of the trail more than makes up for it. You get to ride across two railroad covered bridges - name another bike trail in New England that has that. There is also a microbrewery backed right up to the trail, and they are open early on Fridays so you can do 3/4 of the out and back ride and then grab a slice and a beer before finishing in Newport. Very scenic - saw several turkeys and a heron in back to back years.
Short trail that is very much an extension of Sugar River trail, but without much scenery, other than the last .5 mile. The first portion of the trail that runs along the road is safe and wide, but its surface is a little soft. If you ride the Sugar River Trail, you should ride this trail as it is short, it adds to the exercise and the road portion is unique. I applaud and support all trail extensions.
This is one of the prettiest trails in the state. It runs along the Sugar River almost the entire ride and there are numerous bridges, including two covered rail bridges. I rode and e-bike with 2.1" tires. I agree with the other reviews concerning bikes, sandy but rideable. I left from Newport, and the sand was only an issue during the first 1.5 miles and then sporadically thereafter. I found the best way to deal with the back tire sliding out in the sand was to use higher levels of assist than I would normally have used. This trail can easily be top rated if it had a firmer surface. I passed 2-ATVs and 2-motorcycles and all four were exceptionally courteous. I did the Bobby Woodman trail too as part of my ride as the two trails are seamless.
Rode 2.5 miles from Wilmington north on mountain tire bikes and it is doable but rough with roots and rocks. Nice bridges but missing signage in some areas, others well marked. No washout areas close to Wilmington.
We rode the trail in early September on a Thursday and Friday. Thursday we started at Webster Lake and headed south (east?). Friday we rode from Webster Lake to the covered bridge. This second part of the trail was better riding than the other direction, which had more sand and was sometimes a slight bit challenging on our hybrid bikes (but maybe a better work out). We saw riders and walkers, but it was not crowded at all. Mostly we had this beautiful place to ourselves. We'll return for sure. (We camped at Granite State Campground about 30 min from where we began our rides.)
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