PRKR MTN Mountain Bike Trails

Need another reason to go riding? Well, the growing PRKR MTN Trails located in the vibrant North Country town of Littleton NH might be just what you’re looking for.

The PRKR MTN trail network is entirely located on or around the 2000-foot summit of Parker Mountain on several hundred acres of privately-owned land. To date, the total trail network is estimated to be 24 miles and includes singletracks as well as doubletrack logging roads. Trail work is ongoing for 2016, so the trail mileage will continue to grow. PRKR MT’s professional trail crew works hard to expand the current trail system while improving what’s already on-the-ground.

The trails stretch north from the top of School Street and behind the Town Pool. The system provides access to the summit of Parker Mountain -- the highest point in Littleton -- but the most impressive views are from “Linda’s Lookout,” a cliff with a view of the entire northern Presidential Range of the White Mountains. From there, the trails are designed to connect directly to town and downtown restaurants and inns.

Most people choose to ride uphill on one of the old logging trails or doubletracks. There are a variety of ways back down ranging from easy to advanced in difficulty.

The two downhill-only trails Wildcard and Beginner’s Luck drop off the back of the summit and are definitely not lucky for beginners. They’re serious downhill trails. They flow very nicely, but have berms, banks, bridges, and drops.

A more mellow route back to town is the I95 trail.

As a general rule, the farther you get from town the harder the trails become. Two exceptions to that are Rhyme & Reason and Tin Can Alley, which, while mostly flat offer a number of technical challenges.

The land has been owned since 1975 by the Caswell family. Dr. Caswell was a physician in town for almost 30 years and was an outdoor enthusiast and often trained local search and rescue teams and ski resort patrol members. Linda’s Lookout is named Mrs. Caswell, who often hiked to that spot. The family is actively involved in designing and promoting PRKR MTN and you are likely to see Taylor Caswell out riding the trails.

From Linda’s Lookout you can ride downhill singletracks all the way back to town starting with Gardner’s Trail.

When you do, a good first stop when you get back to town is the Schilling Beer Company, a riverside brewpub with the best local beer around as well as a great place for lunch or dinner. Other notable places to eat are Miller’s Café, Chang Thai, M-Zo Coffee and Tea, Bailiwick’s, or Gold House Pizza. And there are many more.

Lodging includes Thayer’s Inn, The Beal House Inn and Restaurant, Hampton Inn, and many more.

Littleton’s award-winning downtown makes it an excellent choice as basecamp for an epic weekend riding PRKR MTN and Kingdom Trails, located only 40 minutes northwest of Littleton.

I welcome you to explore what we feel is one of the best trail systems in the state. Our team includes Dave Harkless of Littleton Bike & Fitness, Justin Daigneault of Horizons Engineering and Blake Roberts, our head trail builder who manages a crew of trail workers. All are avid mountain bikers and enjoy nothing more than talking PRKR trails with newcomers.

On your way into town, be sure to stop in at Littleton Bike & Fitness for some local knowledge and a copy of the current trail map. Check the PRKR MTN Facebook page for more info, photos, a few videos, and upcoming events.