Back On The Trails! Pedaling White Mountain National Forest Roads

PHOTO: Our Weirs Times Ski/Outdoor Columnist is out of the house and back on the trails (but keeping her distance!) this week taking a bike adventure in the White Mountains. Pictured here at the dead end of Forest Road 170 is a fabulous waterfall! It was big and very loud.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

Forest roads are good places to find some easy to moderate mountain biking. Many of them are in excellent shape especially if a logging project has been completed recently. Last fall Charlie and I discovered good riding on the forest roads off of Tunnel Brook Road in Benton and I suggested to Becca that we should meet up there to ride.
Tunnel Brook Road starts on the south side of Route 112 just a little east of the intersection of Route 116 north. Tunnel Brook Road is paved for a short distance and then becomes gravel when it enters the National Forest. This pretty road follows along the bank of its namesake brook and in about a mile and a half just after crossing a bridge over the brook Forest Road 700 used to be straight ahead.
In 2011 Tropical Storm Irene wrecked havoc and wiped out many roads in Benton and unfortunately much of Forest Road 700 fell victim to the severe flooding.
The road’s former entrance is blocked by boulders and there is a hiking trailhead sign for the Benton and the Tunnel Brook Trails. At 8:30 Saturday morning we were first cars to park here and this is where we started our bike ride.

The first mile is where the flood damage is and no attempt was made to restore the road but only to stabilize the washed-out sections. It took a few years for a decent footbed to be worn and now if you never saw what it looked like beforehand you would just think it is just another swell trail. But then it meets up with the Forest Road that has been repaired and connects to a new road that connects to FR 170 and then FR 171 that connects back to Tunnel Brook Road.
At this point all culverts have been repaired and the bridges are all in excellent condition and the road stays on the west bank of the brook.
The first part we were off and on our bikes and we had to carry them over some old logs and some small streams. But once we were off the trail section and on the logging road it was smooth sailing.
In a couple miles we passed the Benton Trailhead, and yes, before 2011 we were able to drive our cars to here. The road is hilly and climbs to where the Tunnel Brook Trail leaves the road and enters the forest at a sharp bend and I’d call this the beginning of the extension of FR 170.
This newer road is on the opposite side of the brook and heads north well out of sight of the brook. This section is hilly and climbs up and down. We crossed over the Benton Trail as we rode along. The forest was quiet and we saw no people.
Logging was done in this area the last couple of winters and the road was in great condition with few muddy spots and just two downed trees across the road that were easy to get under.
I didn’t keep track of distances or time when we reached FR 170 but we were excited to continue riding our bikes and we turned right to ride FR170. If we had turned left the short steep downhill would have popped us out at the gate at Tunnel Brook Road less than a quarter mile before our cars.
We enjoyed the long open downhill and grand views over the cut land to Moody Ledge and Cobble Hill and then to more good views of the Kinsmans. Above us to our right we could see pointy Mount Blue.
Riding the forest roads was fun but the best thing was discovering an impressive lovely waterfall right at the dead end of FR 170. This stream is a feeder into the Wild Ammonoosuc River and it was roaring as the water cascaded down the steep ledgy face. We hung out by the waterfall and enjoyed a nice break while eating our snacks.
Becca tracked it and our total ride for the morning was over 12 miles and we were back at our cars by noon.
Forest Roads and town class 6 roads are fun, isolated and not too difficult to ride.
Get outside and Have fun.

Amy Patenaude is an avid skier/outdoor enthusiast from Henniker, N.H. Readers are welcome to send comments or suggestions to her at: amy@weirs.com.