When it comes to mountain biking in Vermont, Kingdom Trails might get all the attention. But about an hour south of there, in the town of Barre, is an impressive network of trails that is gaining its own reputation for having some of the best mountain bike trails in the Northeast.
Millstone Trails is a network of multi-use trails in central Vermont boasting impressive scenery and miles of fun, technical terrain. The trails wind their way through northern hardwood and coniferous forests and along exposed granite spines.
Millstone’s dense system of trails features miles of trails that wind through public forest and privately-owned quarry land. The trails were recently the subject of a feature in Bike magazine, which praised the area’s challenging terrain. From the article:
It’s rolling terrain, with short, punchy ups and downs through a forest stacked with young beech trees. The once-active quarries are now placid granite canyons with water in their bellies and tufts of forest sprouting from their cliff tops. This is what Millstone has going for it: granite. It comes in the form of gorgeous, manmade canyons scattered throughout the woods, and by way of burly features, like slickrock skinnies and boulder drops. The locals who build and ride Millstone are proud of the technical aspect of their trails, and in a spin on Mad River Glen’s famous tagline, their mantra is “ride it if you can.” In other words, don’t bother looking for a flow trail.
The Boston Globe has ranked Millstone as the second-best mountain biking network in New England. It’s located smack dab in the center of the best mountain biking in Vermont, with Kingdom Trails just a short ride to the north, and Waterbury Trails and Fellowship Trails to the northeast.
Millstone is made up of three trail networks: Barre Town Forest, Gnome Man’s Land and the Canyonlands. Gnome Man’s Land features trails that were purpose-built for adventurous mountain biking, offering the area’s most challenging terrain. Barre Town Forest has the greatest diversity of trails, while the Canyonlands has quarries filled with water, spectacular scenery, and a quiet, contemplative vibe.
Read the article about Millstone Trails in Bike magazine.
Learn more about Millstone Trails at the Millstone Trails Association website.