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SaveWhy would anyone want to ride in she Willowdale State Forest when right across the street is the much better known Bradley Palmer State Forest? Well, maybe it's because the forest's 2400 acres hold over 40 miles of trails. Or maybe it's because you normally have the entire place to yourself. Whatever the reason Willowdale State Forest should be high on everyone's list for exploration.
Willowdale State Forest is located mostly in the town of Ipswich. Many of the forest's trails are easy doubletracks, which makes Willowdale an excellent place for family friendly riding. And there are a three color coded marked loops to follow.
The forest's singletrack trails are some of the most enjoyable trails that I have ever ridden. The best of these lay in northern section of the Pine Swamp area. The forest is divided up into two main parecels. The aforementioned Pine Swamp area and the Hood Pond area. Most people park on Ipswich Road alongside the Ipswich River. You'll find numbered markers at all of the forest's main intersections. Bring a copy of the maps and you'll always know where you are. The Bay Circuit Trail runs through Willowdale and is marked by white blazes.
Plan to spend more than one day exploring Willowdale's many trails. Looking for more riding? Well, just across that bridge on the Ipswich River you'll find Bradley Palmer State Park and Georgetown-Rowley State Forest is also nearby. And for a truely epic ride you can link all three together.
For a good exploratory ride print out the Pine Swamp MAP. Then take a highlighter and outline the following route. Head north into the forest from the parking area and turn left at marker 31. Follow that trail to 35 and then to 33, 36, 45, 49, 30, 12, 11, 40, 43, 41, 39, 38, 37 27, 26, 25, 24 and then take the Bay Circuit Path down through 4, 5, 60, 30, 32, 22 & 42. At that point you'll have over 9 miles on your clock and will have sampled some of Willowdale's best trails. Oh And remember all those trails leading off from this ride? They are just more reasons to head out again.
Want something else to do while you're there? Check out the Willodale Estate in the contiguous Bradley Plamer State Forest. Or, rent a kayak or a canoe a half mile away at Foote Brothers.
Looking for even more trails? Check out the "Discover Hamilton" trail MAP.
The GPS File available for download is a nice 2.5 hour intermediate loop at Willowdale. Please note that it crosses a busy road from one section of Willowdale to the other side. It also comes out on Ipswich Road for a short bit before it comes back into the park.
Willowdale State Forest is located mostly in the town of Ipswich. Many of the forest's trails are easy doubletracks, which makes Willowdale an excellent place for family friendly riding. And there are a three color coded marked loops to follow.
The forest's singletrack trails are some of the most enjoyable trails that I have ever ridden. The best of these lay in northern section of the Pine Swamp area. The forest is divided up into two main parecels. The aforementioned Pine Swamp area and the Hood Pond area. Most people park on Ipswich Road alongside the Ipswich River. You'll find numbered markers at all of the forest's main intersections. Bring a copy of the maps and you'll always know where you are. The Bay Circuit Trail runs through Willowdale and is marked by white blazes.
Plan to spend more than one day exploring Willowdale's many trails. Looking for more riding? Well, just across that bridge on the Ipswich River you'll find Bradley Palmer State Park and Georgetown-Rowley State Forest is also nearby. And for a truely epic ride you can link all three together.
For a good exploratory ride print out the Pine Swamp MAP. Then take a highlighter and outline the following route. Head north into the forest from the parking area and turn left at marker 31. Follow that trail to 35 and then to 33, 36, 45, 49, 30, 12, 11, 40, 43, 41, 39, 38, 37 27, 26, 25, 24 and then take the Bay Circuit Path down through 4, 5, 60, 30, 32, 22 & 42. At that point you'll have over 9 miles on your clock and will have sampled some of Willowdale's best trails. Oh And remember all those trails leading off from this ride? They are just more reasons to head out again.
Want something else to do while you're there? Check out the Willodale Estate in the contiguous Bradley Plamer State Forest. Or, rent a kayak or a canoe a half mile away at Foote Brothers.
Looking for even more trails? Check out the "Discover Hamilton" trail MAP.
The GPS File available for download is a nice 2.5 hour intermediate loop at Willowdale. Please note that it crosses a busy road from one section of Willowdale to the other side. It also comes out on Ipswich Road for a short bit before it comes back into the park.
source: NEMBA
Primary Trail Type: Cross-Country
eBikes Allowed:
No
Land Status: State Forest

Access Info:
Note that there are two parking locations for Willowdale: one on 259 Linebrook Rd. in Ipswich and the other at 280 Ipswich Rd in Topsfield. The most common for mountain bikers is Linebrook.
Disclaimer:
No alcohol
No motorized vehicles
No hunting east of Route 1
Stay on designated trails and roads.
No motorized vehicles
No hunting east of Route 1
Stay on designated trails and roads.
Links
Activities Click to view
- Mountain Bike
107 trails
- Horse
8 trails
- Hike
107 trails
- Trail Running
106 trails
- Snowshoe
16 trails
- Nordic Ski
105 trails
Region Details
- 28
- 50
- 28
- 1
Region Status
Caution as of Jan 24, 2023Stats
- Avg Trail Rating
- Trails (view details)
- 107
- Trails Mountain Bike
- 107
- Trails Horse
- 8
- Trails Hike
- 107
- Trails Trail Running
- 106
- Trails Snowshoe
- 16
- Trails Backcountry Ski
- 1
- Trails Nordic Ski
- 105
- Total Distance
- 41 miles
- Total Descent
- 2,879 ft
- Total Vertical
- 154 ft
- Highest Trailhead
- 190 ft
- Reports
- 657
- Photos
- 177
- Ridden Counter
- 41,301
Popular Willowdale State Forest Mountain Biking Trails
Willowdale State Forest Mountain Bike Routes
title | rating | distance |
---|---|---|
The Whole Willow | 16 miles | |
A Focused Adventure | 7 miles | |
Round The Dale (Reverse) | 10 miles | |
BCT Bike Route- Georgetown to Boxford | 12 miles | |
Tour de North Shore | 41 miles | |
Chicken's Fast N' Easy Loop | 4 miles | |
NEHSCA Willowdale Race Course 2017 race | 4 miles | |
14 mile Willowdale State Forest Ride | popular ridelog | 14 miles |
14 mile Willowdale State Forest All-Mountain Ride | popular ridelog | 14 miles |
16 mile Willowdale State Forest Ride | popular ridelog | 16 miles |
Photos of Willowdale State Forest Mountain Bike
trail: Access Trail
26 |
Mar 22, 2022 @ 5:59am
Mar 22, 2022
trail: Tornado
54 |
Mar 22, 2022 @ 5:52am
Mar 22, 2022
trail: Thunder Road
41 |
Jan 10, 2022 @ 5:59pm
Jan 10, 2022
trail: Access Trail
25 |
Dec 6, 2021 @ 2:00pm
Dec 6, 2021
trail: Tornado
199 |
Jun 13, 2020 @ 3:51pm
Jun 13, 2020
trail: Tornado
287 |
Jun 13, 2020 @ 3:51pm
Jun 13, 2020
trail: Thunder Road
419 |
Aug 16, 2019 @ 5:18am
Aug 16, 2019
trail: Thunder Road
527 |
Jun 10, 2017 @ 7:02am
Jun 10, 2017Videos of Willowdale State Forest Mountain Bike

trail: Thunder Road
278 |
Jun 14, 2021

trail: Thunder Road
|
Jun 14, 2021

trail: Thunder Road
479 |
Mar 11, 2021

trail: Chevette
0:08 |
94 |
Sep 28, 2020

trail: A Line
2:51 |
43 |
Aug 12, 2016

trail: A Line
5:54 |
481 |
Oct 27, 2014

trail: A Line
3:15 |
637 |
Jul 30, 2013

trail: Courtesy
3:15 |
21948 |
Jul 24, 2012
Current Trail Warnings
status | trail | date | condition | user | info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nuke Dump Junction | Jan 24, 2023 @ 7:37am Jan 24, 2023 | Dry | leahbcrespi | Nordic Ski down tree | |
Willowdale West Road 1 | Jan 24, 2023 @ 7:37am Jan 24, 2023 | Dry | leahbcrespi | Nordic Ski down tree | |
Carpet Ride Connector | Jan 24, 2023 @ 7:11am Jan 24, 2023 | Snow Covered | leahbcrespi | Nordic Ski tree down |
Recent Trail Reports
status | trail | date | condition | info | user |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown Trail | Jan 24, 2023 @ 7:37am Jan 24, 2023 | Snow Covered | leahbcrespi | ||
Carpet Ride | Dec 10, 2022 @ 11:07am Dec 10, 2022 | Ideal | bobg13 | ||
Access Road | Dec 4, 2022 @ 11:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Ideal | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
Courtesy | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Snow Packed | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
Sue's Hill | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Snow Covered | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
Tornado | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Ideal | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
A Line | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Dry | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
Thunder Road | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Ideal | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
Access Road | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Ideal | rybolov NS NEMBA | ||
Silky Slide | Dec 4, 2022 @ 3:59am Dec 4, 2022 | Ideal | rybolov NS NEMBA |
Activity Feed
username | action | type | title | date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | leahbcrespi | add | report | Carpet Ride Connector and 3 more | Jan 24, 2023 @ 7:11am Jan 24, 2023 |
![]() | capecolin | update | region | Willowdale State Forest | Jan 8, 2023 @ 5:04am Jan 8, 2023 |
![]() | arepee56 | wishlist | route | NEHSCA Willowdale Race Course 2017 | Jan 3, 2023 @ 11:40am Jan 3, 2023 |
![]() | GeorgeSlPcT | wishlist | route | Round The Dale (Reverse) | Dec 27, 2022 @ 8:44am Dec 27, 2022 |
![]() | bobg13 | add | trail | Loop-Dee-Loo | Dec 20, 2022 @ 6:16am Dec 20, 2022 |
Recent Comments
username | type | title | comment | date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | trail | Rolling hills and one good uphill grind. Add... | Nov 27, 2022 @ 1:18pm Nov 27, 2022 | ||
![]() | trail | This trail twists around and doubles back on... | Nov 27, 2022 @ 1:14pm Nov 27, 2022 | ||
![]() | trail | Not expecting this quality of a trail in this... | Oct 27, 2022 @ 5:31am Oct 27, 2022 | ||
![]() | trail | I want to give this a 3.5 / 5 stars. Its a... | Oct 21, 2022 @ 10:50am Oct 21, 2022 | ||
![]() | trail | Definitely a green. Great trail. | Aug 7, 2022 @ 9:24am Aug 7, 2022 |
Nearby Areas
name | distance | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bradley Palmer State Park | 10 | 17 | 1.1 km | ||
Dow Brook Conservation Area | 1 | 2 km | |||
Appleton Farms Grass Rides | 16 | 1 | 3 km | ||
Cleaveland Farm State Forest | 12 | 2 | 2 | 3 km | |
Perkins Woods | 5 | 5 | 3.1 km |
Local Badges
-
Completionist0 awarded
Local Mountain Biking Directory
-
Ipswich CycleBike Shop
Local Products
Activity Type Stats
activitytype | trails | distance | descent | descent distance | total vertical | rating | global rank | state rank | photos | reports | routes | ridelogs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mountain Bike | 107 | 41 miles | 2,877 ft | 15 miles | 154 ft | #145 | #61 | 174 | 640 | 7 | 11,350 | |
Horse | 8 | 4 miles | 223 ft | 1 mile | 82 ft | #775 | #523 | 169 | 4 | |||
Hike | 107 | 41 miles | 2,877 ft | 15 miles | 154 ft | #94 | #48 | 640 | 245 | |||
Trail Running | 106 | 41 miles | 2,835 ft | 15 miles | 154 ft | #93 | #47 | 640 | 63 | |||
Snowshoe | 16 | 6 miles | 266 ft | 2 miles | 69 ft | #53 | #32 | 29 | 10 | |||
Backcountry Ski | 1 | 1,138 ft | 20 ft | 886 ft | 20 ft | 16 | ||||||
Nordic Ski | 105 | 41 miles | 2,822 ft | 15 miles | 154 ft | #2 | #2 | 3 | 55 | 4 |
- By alflorez1 & contributors
- Admins: SiamDelightRules
- #5395 - 19,674 views
- willowdale state forest activity log | embed map of Willowdale State Forest mountain bike trails | willowdale state forest mountain biking points of interest
Downloading of trail gps tracks in kml & gpx formats is enabled for Willowdale State Forest.
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