Groton Town Forest Mountain Biking Trails

The town of Groton got its name in 1655 a few years after John Tinker set up a trading post among the Nashaway Indians near the junction of the Squannacook and Nashua rivers.

The Groton Memorial Town Forest is one of Groton's largest trail systems with over 16 miles of trails. A favorite location for mounting biking, cross country skiing, horseback riding, and the annual Groton Town Forest Trail Race.

When I'm riding in the Groton Town Forest I like to think that the trails that I'm enjoying aren't very much different than the trails that these early settlers explored. And that possibly I'm on some of the same trails that these long departed settlers and Indians used for hunting, trapping, fishing and to get from one village to another. And at times, in these woods, gazing over a seemingly remote river from a high bank, you may imagine yourself back in those earlier times too. But, those early trail users didn't have the advantages that I do mounted as I am on a bright shiny trail bicycle.

The trails in the Gorton Town Forest are fast, mostly smooth, sometimes sandy and sometimes hilly. They flow in and out of the woods on a series of old woods roads and singletracks. You'll frequently find yourself cresting and then riding along the ridge of a drumlin that was left there by the last glacier. But then, a few minutes later, you're riding alongside a riverbed and ducking under low hanging branches.

To see which trails are the most popular, on the map above, hit the “Trail Style” tab to open the drop down list, then hit “Popularity. The trails colored red are ridden the most while the trails colored green is at the other end.

Too hot? Why not go for a swim in the Squannacook River?

There are 6.4 miles of marked trails in the forest. They form a loop and they can be ridden in both directions. The marked loop is probably the best introduction you can get to the area. It stays pretty close to the outer boundaries of the forest. On your second and subsequent loops, begin exploring some of the many side trails that branch off the main trail and, in time, you'll have ridden, and enjoyed, everything. Oh The side trails all connect back to the marked loop, and once you learn them, you'll be able to link together any number of good rides.