The best traffic-free bike rides in Carroll County

The 'Echo Lake' in the 'State Park' of the same name is very popular as a swimming lake in the summer months. A panoramic path leads around the lake; the place is also the starting point for hikes to the rocky cliffs 'Cathedral Ledge' and 'White Horse Ledge' with a spectacular view of the 'Saco River Valley'. https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/echo-lake-state-park

Echo Lake is a popular spot for swimming and picnics. There are several trails to choose from that go around the lake through beautiful woodlands.

Echo Lake is a popular spot for swimming and picnics. There are several trails to choose from that go around the lake through beautiful woodland.

Jackson Falls is a cool set of cascades on the Wildcat River. You can see the falls from the side of the road both above and below the cascades.

As soon as you enter Jackson from the South, going past the Wildcat, look to your right for a mild looking road entrance, to Switchback Road. The name suggests what is ahead. The lower section does have switchbacks, so use the outside of the curves to ease the gradient, but as it reaches a 5-way junction (and changes its name to Thorn Mountain), the road designers went full Roman - straight is great! Straight up and up. There is some shade, but not a lot, and when you hit the T at the top, turn left, and keep cranking... the gradient eases a little but you've still got to pedal to the end of the road and the turnaround for the lovely view of the Pressies. Longer and higher than Hurricane Mountain Road, but not as brutal.

A nice little MTB park on the side of Cranmore Mountain. There's 5 or 6 'non-technical' swoopy, berm-rich trails winding there way dow the mountain, and 3 or 4 'technical' trails which head downhill through the woods, with roots and rocks. These trails are quite accessible for beginner riders and intermediate riders, although advanced downhill riders will find them limited. A regular dual suspension bike is fine for these trails - which you can rent at the bottom of the slopes. You have to buy a ticket online for full or half day for access to the lifts. Unless of course, you want to ride up the Service Road before the ride down.... :)

It is easy to fly past the entrance to this climb, which skips over a spur of Iron Mountain, as you bomb down Route 302, but it shouldn't be missed. Look for the signpost for Jericho Road (on the north side of 302) and take it until Glen Ledge Road. The beginning of the 4 km climb is very deceptive. The average gradient for the whole climb is 5%, but you don't even hit 5% until 2 km in, which tells you what is coming in the final 2 km. 10%, and lots of it. The road is a well paved one through a subdivision, and so it's all about putting the power down and getting up that hill. There's no views, from the top, but you do get the reward of an insanely fast descent down to Route 16.

Not the toughest climb in the Whites, but still a good workout. The Notch is most commonly ridden from South to North (the Kanc to 302) just because the 302 isn’t really pleasant to ride on, whereas the Kanc is. Bear Notch connects these two roads and therefore allows a shorter loop than going all the way to the end of the Kanc. Repaved in late 2020 the tarmac on both sides is smooth and sweet. From the south, the gradient of Bear Notch is reasonably gentle, and pleasant - so look around at the pine woods, river and beaches while you can - as the gradient kicks up a bit towards the only viewpoint on the southern aide. After that it flattens out before a fun and fizzy decent. From the north, the gradient is more consistent, and you will have two viewpoints to take in as you ride up. Note that the road is gated in the winter , and opens around April. This usually means that there is a week or so after the snow has melted that you can ride Bear Notch CAR FREE!