A Sunny Forecast - Yeah!

Gale River Rail Trail and Forest Loop

Wow a sunny forecast! Let's take this opportunity to do some exploring outside the confines of the valley. I've discovered a little known rail trail that parallels Trudeau Road in the National Forest in Bethlehem. Even better, this trail intersects one of Marty Basch's rides, the Gale Forest Loop, see page 146 of his book "The White Mountain Ride Guide" 2nd edition.

So put them together and what do you get? A 10 mile route which goes through the forest, along a portion of the Gale River and by scenic beaver ponds with great mountain vistas. Not a bad combo eh? The surfaces vary from dirt to grass with some sections of gravel. This ride is on the "harder side of easy" mostly due to the uphill portion of the forest loop. Feel free to join me in a short bike walk as we ascend to the top of the loop. The uphill is worth it though, as the next couple of miles are really fun.

The forecast is for temps in the mid 80s. It should be cooler in the woods. We will start the ride at 9:30 am sharp. Our trail head is just off route 302.

Carpooling - Meet at 8:30 am in the Attitash parking lot across the street from the lifts.

Directions - Take route 302 to Twin Mountain. Continue 5.0 miles north of the intersection of routes 302 and 3. Just past The Wayside Inn (which is on the left) is Muchmore Road. Go left and follow Muchmore Road for 0.1 mi as it bends around to the south. When the road pavement ends hook a U turn to park on the opposite shoulder by the old and closed blue bridge over the Ammonoosuc River. Park just south of the yellow fire hydrant.