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Easy Rides:
1. Hanover, NH-East Thetford, VT
2. Quechee, VT-Woodstock, VT
3. Northern Railtrail
4. Corinth and Topsham
Buy the book, Adventures in Paradise, for over 30 more
rides!
Northern Railtrail to Mascoma Lake
Lebanon, NH-Mascoma Lake and return, 8 miles. Lebanon-West Canaan and return, 18 miles. Rides begin in
downtown Lebanon, NH, off I-89 Exit 18, five miles east of
White River Junction. Alternate return via Crystal Lake is
both dirt and paved, and for the more adventurous. 20
miles.
Numbered cues below refer to MAP. Click here. (PDF)
The delightful 6.5 miles of abandoned corridor from Lebanon
to Enfield ranks right up with the best of the railtrail rides
in the Northeast. Almost entirely removed from traveled roads,
this section of the trail features seven bridge crossings,
continuously rushing waters, an extensive cinder surface, and
more than a mile of unspoiled frontage directly on Mascoma
Lake. Brought into bikeable condition entirely by volunteers
in the mid 1990s, the unheralded Northern continues to be a
fascinating discovery.
East of Enfield through Canaan the trail surface alternates
between cinders and stone dust, the latter laid down over
unbikeable stone ballast. A deep stone cut between Canaan and
Grafton marks the sixty-mile line’s high point of 968 feet. A
perceptible descent to Tewksbury and Kilton Ponds follows.
Antique Grafton, home of an isinglass mine, is the last town
in the Grafton Co. section of the trail.
Note: Looping Mascoma Lake via Crystal Lake involves a
mile of Class VI “road” in Enfield. Impassable in spring, an
insect Hades in summer, this section becomes reasonably
passable by hybrid bike (with dismounts for exposed culverts)
about Labor Day. But it’s flat, as is the remaining paved
mileage to Shaker Bridge.
An all-paved alternative route to Crystal Lake, via South and
Ibey Roads, offers fine early architecture and a variety of views.
It is not flat, however – not at all.
1. Trailheads at city rec. center/CCB. Ample parking. All
services nearby.
2. Mascoma Hanging Gorge. A mini Niagara near here drained
glacial Mascoma Lake, whose surface was once sixty-five feet
above present river level. Now a dry falls, with associated
potholes, the natural feature was a Victorian-era outing
favorite; may one day be open to the public again.
3. East Lebanon: “The City” until downtown Lebanon greatly
developed after the RR arrived. Sawmills, slate factory, distillery,
edged-tool works, bobbin mill, taverns, and boardinghouses. Note
“telltales” at Payne Rd. underpass, rare survivors of early steam
era. They warned roof-riding brakemen to watch their heads.
4. Ice House Rd. parking/trail access. Mascoma depot site with
extensive railroad sidings, ice houses, etc. All disappeared.
5. Train wreck near here, c. 1960, sent freight cars into the lake.
Note initials carved in stone when rock cutting was widened, c.
1900, to accommodate bigger freight cars.
6. Baltic Mill and dam. Made woolen blankets in summer and
broadcloth in winter, 1880s-1970s. Millpond geese bite the hand
that feeds them.
7. Bear right at emu ranch on dirt Mud Pond Rd. (See Crytal Lake
loop note.)
8. Route 4A, an old turnpike. Pres. James Monroe passed along it
en route to Hanover and Montpelier, July 1817. Light traffic, one
small hill.
9. Antique one-lane underpass to be removed c. 2009, with
associated loss of quaintness. Return to railtrail via Bridge.
St.
Copyright: Dick Mackay, 2007
Website Creator: Abraham Clayman
Website maintained by RLG.