I had a great time checking out a bit of Woody Hill in Rhode Island today - there are some great trails here - I only scratched the surface.
It was cold and windy in the morning and I made the mistake (in retrospect) of wearing long jeans AND my road biking softshell jacket - by 11 AM I was broiling!
Here are the trails I took: XC up > Driving Miss Hazy > Hansel & Gretel > West Main Street > Lake Spur > Leaning Chimney > XC Down
Driving Miss Hazy
Hansel & Gretel
West Main Street
Lake Spur
I love seeing old ruins in the woods
What - no water in the lake and I needed a swim!
Leaning Chimney
There were some tough spots on this trail
Great (but exhausting) ride - I gotta come back and ride some more!
It was 8 years ago that I rode this park - my.. my... time has flown! I had fond memories of this place - lots of trails, abandoned structures and damsmhere and there and no serious climbs!
Its an enormous park (over 8,600 acres!) and I was psyched and thought I would enter in a new way - starting from the western lot and hitting the easy greens until I got down to the Tarbox Pond area.Well everywhere it was overgrown and buggy - as a matter fact long stretches of the trail were just flowing rivulets and huge puddles.
To make matters worse, I unexpectedly hit a rock and got scraped.
Overgrown and the wet branches slapped you in the face!
But there were spots of amazing beauty as well!
After bushwhacking thru a swampy trail not on TrailForks...
...I rode back to the access road and tried riding Logs. It looks nice here but further on, it was one continuous puddle.
I decided to head back here one more day and try to ride some of the other trails (there are so many!). I made it to Tarbox Pond and headed back out on the western trail. Much of this ride was easier with less climbing than the previous days but it was great ride nevertheless.
I GPS'd this is in three parts.
Photos
Old Fireplace
Moguls (been here before!)
Sweet Trail!
Marsh/Pond
Abandoned Building near the big marsh
At the Rocks by Tarbox Pond
Wounds of Riding :-)
Two more maps to indicate the myriad of trail choices and the elevation:
After my Big River super hot and humid ride on Sunday, I was anxious to return and explore more of the trails. I tried to follow the IMBA recommended ride (MTB Project Map and Info) but with the huge amount of trail choices and no signage and very minimal blazing, I ended up just "following my fancy". Needles to say, no matter which trail you choose, it is all awesome here!
This map is my ride layered on top of the Open Street Map. It really shows how many trails exist here - it's mind boggling!
Open Street Map (layered)
This topo version helps understand the elevation changes.
Topo
Elevation Charts (I GPS'd the ride in three Sections)
The slow ascent on the Red Trail has many short rocky sections. Tough to stay on the bike for a first timer here!
The Red trail has lots of short tricky rock gardens
It gets more and more scenic as you climb: big rocky cliffs and boulders all around.
As you climb higher, more and more "big granite"
Every which way you turn - there are trails and more trails. Without my cell phone GPS tracing and having the OpenStreet map as a reference, I would be completely lost. As it was, I only had vague idea where I was most of the time and I had to check my compass more than once for additional guidance. Yikes!
There are a myriad of trails everywhere
This section had a roller
Once I descended from the hilly area, the trails were super fun and fast to ride.
One of a million choices!
Marsh/Pond on the left
Mammoth glacial erratic
I kinda got my bearings again when I reached the New London Turnpike (which by the way is just a dirt road!) and headed north on a wonderful twisty trail primarily under conifer cover - it was magic!
This is paradise for mountain bikers of ALL skills levels.
I first went to Browning Mill Pond thinking I could start my trek on the Arcadia Trail but I didn't see a decent place to pick up the trail although I discovered a cute little foot bridge.
Browning Mill Pond and the Arcadia Trail
Where to Park?
Considering that setback, I then was set on starting from the trailhead right off Rt 165--which was the start of the JB Hudson Trail--but a huge tractor trailer was barreling down the hill behind me and I couldn't make the turn--BUMMER! So I turned right onto Frosty Hollow Road and parked at the lot by the small fishing pond.
Trailheads
Trailhead at the Frosty Hollow parking lot
The Small Fishing Pond
The Loop
I opted to ride the Yellow Loop counter clockwise but ended up riding on the dirt roads on the last section because I wasn't sure where to find single track- BUMMER!
Topo Version
Elevation
My Ride
I rode in on an uphill dirt road for a bit and got to the JB Hudson Trail only to discover it was a dirt road as well! I rode north on it for a while and finally I took a single track off to the left and my smile returned. It was uphill for a bit and then a fast and tight downhill to Breakout Pond.
Finally - Single Track!
Once out of the cover of trees, I felt the rain and was debating if I should forget the ride but decided to forge on. Good choice since the sprinkles subsided-- although it was overcast.
The ride along the pond was fairly flat and easy and for a stretch after that, the trail followed a stream and was kinda picturesque. Then it was a long uphill AND a never ending rock garden. I was on and off the bike for that stretch! :-(
At the top of the hill, the trail was blocked by a very recent fallen tree but I was able to carry the bike over it without an issue.
Then the downhill started--lots of rock obstacles but most of it was manageable (altho' a little scary!).
It was nasty humid and my GPS (cell phone) battery was getting low, so I decided to opt out of the park when I got to the intersection with the Shelter Trail (rather than continue to the Mt. Tom section). I made a left turn here and most of the Shelter trail was fun - you could bomb it pretty fast...
Shelter Trail (mostly flat and FAST!)
I came across an unexpected sight when I rode through an old abandoned lumber camp. There were about a dozen or so buildings rotting away...
Some makeshift paper plate signs guided me out of the section - there were some nice downhill bombs along the way. Once I got to the dirt road, I was looking for the single track short cut but wasn't sure where it was so I just rode out on the dirt road - boring yes but safe and sure.
