Groton Town Forest Marked Loop

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

A great introduction to the Groton Town Forest, this loop rides well in both directions. This loop is a bunch of singletrack trails linked by the fire roads filled with some flowy sections, small hills, and sections of both climbing and descending a ridge line multiple times.

Remember: what comes down, must also go up, and vice versa. At some of the junctions, the marked loop is not the always the most obvious trail, so taking intersections slower while learning the forest is a good idea. There are large amounts of pools, marshes, and kettle holes throughout Groton Town Forest, so mosquito and tick repellent is a good idea.

Riding the loop counterclockwise starts you on the Singletrack bypass option until it ends at Ames Pond Rd. Take the left onto Ames Pond Rd for about 250 feet and then jump back onto A3-A13 Singletrack on the right. Take this trail around 2 marshy kettle holes and then head up a hill and end this section at Town Forest Road. The loop has a short jog to the right on Town Forest Road until you get to Sabine Ave. About halfway down Sabine Ave, take the right at the intersection onto Sabine Ave to Town Forest Rd Singletrack.

The trail here is fairly flat and curvy, then crosses over Lawrence Lane, goes through some flowy curves and then a fast and fun downhill section lead to Town Forest Road. The trail continues on the fire road passing Ames Pond Rd, then heads towards the abandoned railroad. Just before the railroad there is a turn to the left onto Ridge Rider, while the obvious trail goes all the way down to the abandoned railroad. If you make it down to the railroad, turn around, and the trail will be visible on the right.

The trail then loops around a marshy area following by a steep straight climb. At the top of the hill, the trail meets a fire road connector in a T intersection. Take the left turn down a the rocky hill around a wellhead. Near the bottom of the hill the trail branches a slight right away from the fire road to go up a steep climb.

After the climb, pass two short connectors on your right. shortly after the second connector, the trail then goes down the ridge with some fast and flowy turns with nice berms. As you descend, you'll pass AT&T cable fire road then a marsh on your right. The trail will then curve to the left while another trail goes off to the right. Follow the trail to the left, and after about a third of a mile, the trail ends at the intersection of Wharton Rd Extension Singletrack and Short But Sweet. This intersection is about 1/4 of the way down a really fast hill with a few different great lines, so be check for anyone blasting down the hill before you do the same.

The bottom on Short But Sweet comes to a T intersection with Wharton Road. Take the left and follow Wharton Road back around to a 5-way intersection with AT&T cable fire road. take the shallower left onto AT&T cable fire road and go up the hill for about 200 feet, then take the right onto the Open Pines. After winding through Open Pines, it ends at a T intersection with Lawrence Lane. Take the left onto Lawrence Lane for about 150 feet, then the trail breaks off to the right onto C5-C10 Connector. C5-C10 Connector ends towards the end of Eagle Pass Loop. Take the right and continue onto Eagle Pass - Wharton Road Connector. When the trail meets back up with Wharton Road at a T, take the left and then go about 500 feet then keep right at the intersection with Town Forest Road.

Follow Town Forest Road for about 1/4 of a mile, then the trail turns onto Riverside to the right. The trail slowly descends until it meets up Dead River, which it follows until Dead River's mouth at the Nashua River. The trail then follows along the Nashua River for about a mile, then the trail turns to the left and climbs up a root filled section for about half a mile, then ending back at the parking lot.