• Places to mountain bike in NH (from NEMBA)
• More local trails (from Corey's Cycling Mecca)
• The Bike Shop has a trail list worth checking out as well, even though their website looks like their kid made it as a 7th grade extra credit project!
• Eastern New Hampshire & SW Maine White Mountain National Forest trail descriptions.
• More about mountain biking in the White Mountains from Outside Online
• Heart of NH's Rides in the While Mountains and Lakes Region
• Trails near Massabesic Lake, near Manchester from the Friends of Massabesic Bicycling Association (FOMBA)
• A1: New Hampshire
• NH Outdoors has information on biking NH, clubs, and more. It mostly deals with touring and graded paths type stuff.
• Try Loon Mt. Biking in the summer. (Ski Resort)
• Attitash Bear Peak Biking (Ski Resort)

There is some stellar riding in Exeter, NH, which is less than an hour north of Boston. There's a Boston to Exeter train as well, though you'd have to plan it in advance to get a bike onto the train. Check out Fort Rock and Exeter Woods. There is some stuff closer to Boston, but it's not as good. IMO, Fort Rock is worth the <1 hour drive from Boston threefold. Maps of the trails can be found online, and there is a bigger, better copy available from Exeter town hall for something like $2.50. Scroll down farther for pics and a description of riding in the area.

Bear Brook state park in NH as well link1 link2 link3. Awesome riding, but probably farther (1.5hrs) and harder to get to than what you're looking for.

• Lynn Woods trail massachusetts Friends of Lynn Woods http://www.nemba.org/ridingzone/p_Lynn_Woods.html http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/Public_Documents/LynnMA_Resources/woods http://www.flw.org/pdf_files/lwmap.pdf http://www.dieselbikes.com/trails/lyw/lyw_maps.htm
• Exeter Woods/Fort Rock trail New Hampshire
• Dogtown trail massachusetts http://www.nemba.org/ridingzone/dogtown.html
• Beverly Woods trail New Hampshire
• Vietnam trail milford Massachusetts
• Foxboro trail Foxboro State Forest Massachusetts
• Mt. Aggy trail New Hampshire
• Salem Woods trail New Hampshire

New England General Links

• New England Mountain Biking Association (NEMBA) of course

http://www.nemba.org/ridingzone/atlas.html
maps!

• New England Mountain Bike and their Trailboard

Mountain Biking Fort Rock

Exeter, NH

AKA Oaklands Town Forest and Henderson.

Imagine doing a digger into this...

To get there: Take Route 101 West off of I-95 near the Hampton tolls. 101 East from I-93 or Manchester/Concord. In the vicinity of Exeter look for signs for Rt. 85. Get off at the rt. 85 Exit. Turn one way and a 1/4 mile t is the entrance to Oaklands. Turn the other way on 85 and around a half mile (just before an old RR bridge) is the entrance to Henderson. Either one works, so you just can't lose from either direction.

Folks, be prepared for some serious mountain biking challenges right here in the New England Seacoast. Though from the road it don't look like much - this ride is no joke, and can get pretty technically serious in places if you choose to be strong and stay on the bike. (I admit, I walked some - just had to). New Hampshire yet again handles herself as a premiere outdoor destination.

Entrance trail on the Oaklands side

For those of you who prefer the feel of the ground under your feet you too will be pleasantly surprised, all of this area can be enjoyed as a day hike - especially those of you with dogs (please leash them so us mountain bikers keep our ankles for riding). Miles of trails interconnect to give you tons of access to the woods.

Be warned: Nearly every trail is neatly marked with red, yellow or blue blazes so you never really know where the hell you are or where you're going. I've never seen so many yellow trails in my life! Trails tend to intersect every hundred feet or so (all Yellow of course) and you can get yourself seriously lost, seriously quick. Obtain a map at Exeter Town Hall for $2.50 (unlike me who is too cheap to do so) and use the highway noise form Rt. 101 as a baseline for returning to the car. (This noise the absolutely only downfall of the Fort Rock experience). Though without it I may still be in the trails roaming aimlessly.

open (flat) singletrack

The above photo describes the general landscape of the area, Granite rocks amidst hardwood forest. I'm not sure what this forest once was but there is evidence of fires and granite quarrying from the past. Though now I don't care, it's been protected and it provides awesome outdoor opportunities. Civilized outdoor opportunities.Except for the bugs that is.

The first time I hit these trails I did so on my circa 1980's GT Tequesta, entirely shockless, with worn brake pads. Like I said, I'm cheap. And tough. Real men don't need 'disc brakes.' I did employ the tactic known as 'poor man's shocks', that is, I let a significant amount of air out of the tires to absorb the rocky hits. This not only cushions the ride but prevents blowouts from occurring less frequently.

well-worn downhill chute

One thing you'll notice is that the terrain varies quite a bit, you can pretty much choose your own adventure here.
Take the endless open (flat) singletrack for example in the picture on the right, and compare it to the well-worn downhill chute in the picture on the left.

Finally, we see what looked to me like a Biker's playground, a flat plateau on the Henderson side overlooking some small valleys
that easily could become a draw for dirt jumpers and freeriders.

So enjoy, and please remember to treat the land well - it's all we've got!