I've been riding
Douglas State Forest as long as any place in this area. I'd guess I first rode there around 1995, on a hard tail, unsuspended GT Timberline. Probably not the right bike for this expansive trail system, although at the time I thought it was all that and a bag of chips, too.
Since that first Douglas ride, I've probably ridden the DSF more times than any other venue. I'd conservatively guess I've been on these trails 175 - 200 times. The trail system has a little bit of everything. Smooth single track, uber-technical rock ridden trails, some decent climbs, a network of fire roads, everything. If you put it ALL together, you could definitely pull 40+ miles out. My personal best is an Oktoberfest ride in 2010 of 35 miles.
I went out yesterday with a John Hanssen and Dave Violette for yet another unseasonably warm February ride. It was supposed to have snowed 3 - 5" Saturday morning, but turned out to be a dusting which had melted off by noon. I was really looking forward to it because I've been putting in quite a bit of time leafblowing the trail system during my lunch break over the past week and was now ready to start enjoying the fruits of my labor.
We started on from the gate at the Wallum lot where they collect park entrance fees in the summer time. There are plenty of other areas in which to park without paying a fee. If you're riding summertime, try the trailhead on Rte 16 or the dirt lot on Wallis Street. The pay lot is really for beachgoers.
Anyhow, back to the ride. We started off, as one must, hitting the Coffeehouse Loop. This is a 2.2 mile loop that starts just off the parking area. It's pretty technical, with a couple of skinny bridges spanning marshy areas. Without knowing where they are or how to approach, they can be tough to mount. Dave was at a slight disadvantage as his full suspension Yeti has been out of commission for a few weeks. He's been riding his old hardtail Iron Horse.
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| Look how HARD Dave's tail is!!! |
The Coffeehouse shares probably just under a mile with the Midstate, which is blazed with yellow triangles and runs from the RI/MA border to the MA/NH border. We stayed on the Midstate and continued north across the
Southern New England Trunkline Trail and up to White's Highway.
There's a tedious piece of steady uphill fire road climb through this section that seems to be getting a little more washed out. We made it up to the intersection of a pair of fire roads before heading back over to the singletrack- still the Midstate - and still uphill.
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| John pulls up on the fire road on his brand new Kona Dawg Supreme |
After the Midstate turned back to singletrack and we wrapped up the rest of the climb, we hit White's Highway, AKA Southwest Main St.
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| Looking back across White's Highway |
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| Leaf-blown Midstate heading toward Rte 16 |
Continuing north toward Rte 16, we come to a section of the Midstate we call Tight-But-Doable. It's probably the gnarliest section of the Midstate south of Rte 16, replete with ridiculous rocks, rounded and ridged, laser-thin lines and short, sharp slopes.
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| Mr. Fisher sitting at the boulder-shouldered S-curves on TBD |
The end of TBD has a really fun, wider section with a boatload of rocks to jump off before it connects with the Schmidt Trail. Take your time on this one and keep a lookout ahead. No major drops or anything, but because the trail is wider you need to be cognizant of where the next feature is.
Once the Midstate hooks back onto the Schmidt, it almost immediately veers off to the left again and heads up to Rte 16. Once it veers off, if you are feeling adventurous and have full suspension (or are impervious to pain/fatigue), try taking the first left onto the old NETRA trail. As I understand it, it was the old trail used by the New England Trail Riders Association. It is beyond boney. Spine shaking, teeth rattling, hand numbing. It will take everything you've got to keep upright and moving forward. In the end, if you do it right, you'll end up near White's Highway and sleep with a sense of accomplishment you may not have experienced in a while.
We did a small section of this before it got to the babyheads, but cut back up and caught Rte 16 at the trailhead there. We crossed 16 and followed the Midstate through for several miles. It's been pretty dry around here, so the new boggy area (which will probably need a go around in the near future) was very passable. There is a section of the Midstate on the north side of 16 (not right away) which is also really rocky (surprise!) I remember the first time I saw this section cursing and walking my bike all the way through all the time thinking it was absolutely impossible. I clear it every time now. Maybe the rocks are smaller.
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| Midstate Rock Garden |
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| Dave crossing the Midstate bridge |
At about 9 miles in we hit the rope swing at Whitins Resevoir. This is where we learned Dave broke a spoke and that we broke John. Starting to tank and FAR from the car still.
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| Broke Spoke Bloke |
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| The Rope Swing (down for winter) |
We started taking more direct routes out, but staying on single track. We came by the waterfall near the causeway on the reservoir and back out through the trail we call Pine Needles that heads back up to Rte 16.
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| Entrance to Pine Needles |
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| Must be the Midstate |
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| Rock Garden shows John who's boss (hint: it's not John). |
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| It's not Dave either |
We finished up the Laurel Trail and headed back down the Midstate to the Coffeehouse and out.
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| Trunkline Trail Stream Crossing |
In the end we rode 15.585 miles at a 7.9 mph average. And John only threw up twice.
Douglas is definitely worth checking out. Don't get discouraged if you seem to only be hitting fire road or rock gardens. Plenty of great trail to be had in there. Grab a map and keep on keeping on.
