Northboro Conservation Land

Northboro Conservation Land

	Northboro Conservation Land
Location:	Massachusetts
Nearest Town:	Berlin
Directions to Trailhead:	495 to 290 west, take exit24 (Church Street) Take a quick right (50 yards off exit) onto Ball street follow for 3 mi. to the end. Go left onto Green Street, follow for 1 mi. take a right onto Smith Street Parking lot will be a 1/2" mi. on the right.
Trail Description:	Grinds, steep downhills, rockbeds, smooth tight singletrack, stonewall crossings, bridges, logs, rocky fire roads, and nice views.
Trail Length:	10+ miles
Trail Type:	Singletrack & Fire Roads
Skill Level:	Trails for all skill levels
Submitted By:	Don

Teej from Hudson, MA Date: June 25, 2003 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Lower parking lot on Lynden St. Climb steep incline to right after bolders at TH. Turn to right after first V in path and left at the next V. Other recommended trails in the same area: Stow Town Forest, Nam, Calihan, etc.
Review: Been riding here for 3 years now. Some of the vets I've met on the trails still show me new stuff to this day. I love this place. First, because it is close. Second, it is a quick, lung bursting workout (read-climbing). Third, it is as challenging as you want to make it. I like to start in the lower turnoff parking lot on Lynden St. There is only enough room for 2-3 cars here (vs 5-10 cars at the true TH on Greeen Street). I like to start here so I get all the climbing in at first and then I can downhill back to my truck for a cool down. Recommended areas are: super technical singletrack around the lower pond which you can preceed with a fun switchback run from the top (I think it is the Green trail), the downhill from the Eastern most scenic viewpoint and various stretches of singletrack in the park. Watch out for horsecrap in the western part (and they think cyclists are bad), and the mosquitos were out in force last night. Ride on	Overall Rating:

Kaparzo from Sudbury, MA, USA Date: May 28, 2003 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: I rode right up rt. 62 through Hudson center and through Berlin center until taking a right onto linden street. I then took a right up Ball Hill Rd to Smith Rd. The lot is on the left. 14 miles of sweet sailing, ball hill is a good up hill as is green street coming in the opposite direction. This is a great place to explore b/c there are little junctions and long singltrack sections. When in doubt, keep goign up. Other recommended trails in the same area: Callahan Nobscot Great Hill Great Brook Farm Vietnam Lynn Blue Hills Noanet Fells Leominster/Watchusett Stow Woods Foxboro Purgatory Chasm Castle in the Clouds, my seceret stash
Review: These trails were a great suprise. Not unlike great hill in acton, but much, much larger and not as rocky but still technical. tons of trails, 95% singletrack and I still have not been everywhere. The climbing is not as bad as other reviewers have been saying. It is not real steep but because of the roots and exposed rock faces, "slippery when wet". The blue trail has some sweet switchbacks, real ones, mind you. The red loop trail from the TH is a nice warmup. It is also not quite as technical as others ahve been saying but defintly more than callahan. There is a viewpoint off taylor trail that has a skinny rut trail off of it to the right. While it is fun and kinda steep, be sure to come back up it b/c the trails (if there were any) have been obliterated by construction. on the other hand, green street is a nice climb on the road if your into that kind of stuff. The stream crossings are also pretty good, definetly the best I have ridden around here. not too muddy at all	Overall Rating:

Luke from Malden Date: June 17, 2002 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: I took the Metger trail up to the lookout rock Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: 'twas a decent place, as it was relatively close to my buds house in marlboro. not too taxing with a few light grade climbs. there are TONS of loose rocks though, it makes it kinda hairy in some places. In others, theres a ton of roots sticking out of the ground. for the few hours that we were there, we didnt find any trails that werent either full of loose rocks or all rooted up. it wasnt too taxing on me, but my buddy couldnt take it. we got to the rock and almost puked. guess it is a taxing trail if youre out of shape, but not if you are. ill give it three wheelies, would have gotten a four if there were less loose crap to maneuver around	Overall Rating:

Dave from Nor'bro Date: November 16, 2001 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Anywhere, Just keep your bearings Other recommended trails in the same area: Vietnam! Upton to Vitnam!
Review: Godd stuff, if you live in town. I'm not sure I would drive far to get here. I like I 'cuz it starts near one of my riding buddies houses, so we just meet up and tool around. It's fun, but not very challenging. $ tires because its close, but nothing compared to 'nam	Overall Rating:

bkebrk'r from Date: October 29, 2001 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: I don't know. I went there once according to the directions at the top. I didn't see any trail markings while I was out there, but reading the other reviews, I think I did Mt Pisgah! Other recommended trails in the same area: Callahan: smooth terrain climbs, lots of people Groton: banked singletrack -w- climbs, lots of insects Carlise: near-flat fireroads -w- some good singeltrack Veitnam: nothing better than Nam!!
Review: Overall, not too bad, but there is a lot better places to go for fun. Lots of long, doublewide climbs (the kind that are possible to do, but difficult to convince yourself that it's worth doing) I would agree with the other reviewer that said it was alot like the Marborough side of Callahan, except I would add that the trails are a little more harsh with longer climbs -w- rocks and roots.	Overall Rating:

mike from house of northbroo pizza Date: March 6, 2001 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: get lost like me and find a computer and type trail reviews Other recommended trails in the same area: the roads
Review: i like bikes. the last time i rode here in the fall i was attacked by beesand was beat up.	Overall Rating:

Brian, brother of paddy below from Northboro, Mt. Pisgah Date: March 1, 2001 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Go anywhere u want becasue the trails are endless and they always lead to the same place usually. Other recommended trails in the same area: Vietnam, Foxboro, Any thing elevated
Review: This place is great because I basically live right on it. But the riding is not that technical although there is a huge tree across the path somewhere and some steep downhills. I ride it to keep in shape, but I would go to Vietnam to ride technincal and Foxboro for fast singletrack. Althoug I will give it 4 tires because it is behind my house and it is fun for beginners.	Overall Rating:

Barnyard from Northboro Date: February 8, 2001 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Start from linden street or sign for conservation area. Other recommended trails in the same area: go west, mt toby, the berkshires
Review: Hopefully the atv's are leaving this place alone, but I know they like to sneak up there in the winter. Hopefully they quit before the wet spring. This area is being encroached by housing. If you come down or go up Kimberly circle, some lady might follow you or try to intimidate you with her car. Finally, watch out for the guy on the mountain bike with the beard or the dude with the little white dog.	Overall Rating:

steve from MA Date: May 28, 2000 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: get lost! Other recommended trails in the same area: GO to Nam or foxboro but watch out for the fires!
Review: ROcks, rocks, roots, rocks, roots, and more rocks. Plus I think the whole place is uphill! I'd much rather ride Nam or FOxboro. But It does offer some great views in certain areas.	Overall Rating:

Mike from Weston Date: May 15, 2000 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Explore, go in and get lost. Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: This is an excellent secret. I've never even heard of the place before, until I found this site. I decided to go there since it was so close to my relatives. I went in and was amazed by the varied terrain. Stream crossings, sheer rock, technical singletrack and all the rock one could possibly need. It gives you great technical downhill seeing as your base should be a top Mt. Pisgah. I recommend this trail to advanced riders, beginners may become discouraged. All in all, a great place to ride. Two words though, Bug Spray!	Overall Rating:

Brian Kennedy from Worcester, MA Date: May 11, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Baconman said it best. I still get lost in there and end up hiking a little. That's a GOOD thing though. Other recommended trails in the same area: WPI campus at night. Lighted trials fun!
Review: This is a fun place. A very large trail system that has some great XC style riding. Not very technical although is does have a couple tough climbs. I'd like to call BS on this being mostly fireroads. If you go straight at the four way trail intersection there's plenty of single track stuff. Just look for the 3 way intersection at the brick walls. Close to home for me is the biggest appeal but I'm not gonna award extra points for that.	Overall Rating:

Baconman from Newport, RI Date: December 28, 1999 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: Go in, get lost, ride around, go home. Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: There's good riding to be had in NCL. My brothers and I ride there most holidays since Mom and Dad live down the street. It rates a 3 but it's so close to Mom and Dad's crib that I added a point and then my brother broke a rib there so I added another point.	Overall Rating:

Michelle from Bolton Date: August 18, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Ride straight until you get to the four way intersection. Take a right and then after a little way take a sharp left. Be in granny gear before the turn. Its a steep climb. Beautiful view at the top. Taking a right at the top is not recommended. Its steep, narrow, and loose dirt. Continue straight and follow many trails that have intense long climbs and some more good views. Other recommended trails in the same area: Callahan
Review: I discovered this trail on this website. Its 5 minutes from home so its a great place to do a quick ride after work. The place is not huge and you can cover most of the trails in a couple of hours, but still get a good workout. Its also very wooded and lots of roots and rocks so you get plenty of technical training. Its a lot like the Marlboro side of Callahan. All trails lead back to the fireroad so you can't get lost. I give it five tires for being so close to home and for what it is.	Overall Rating:

paddy from northboro Date: August 11, 1999 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: anywhere you choose. it is marked nicely and if you follow any part of the trail for a few miles you will find a road. Other recommended trails in the same area: for this trail literaly being out my back door it is great. i never get bored although it doesn't have as much technical ridding as I would like but hey for me its hope on my bike and go. :)
Review: the trail is mostly a fire road. packed down well in the summer and offers fast riding. although watch out there are many cantaloupe sized rocks to hit. view at pigah is great. in the spring is a muddy haven. in the winter it is packed down by snowmobiles and is good on studded tires or cross-country skiing.	Overall Rating:

NCN from Berlin Date: August 6, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Explore. Other recommended trails in the same area: Callahan State Park
Review: This is a nice trail system, although not quite as wonderful as reviewed by Don. It tends to have a fair amount of loose trail surface, and is also very buggy in the wet season. It does have good variety, although I wouldn't say it has a lot of big-time downhills. There is a lot of use by horses too, and some illegal 4-wheeler activity so the trails get pretty torn up. Also, don't ride over the little bridge Don mentions -- it's rotten. One thing to be aware of is that the nice trails and their marking were done by the Conservation Commissions of Northboro and Berlin (yes, half the system is in Berlin, not Northboro). So far, the trails are open to all non-motorized traffic, but at least some other trails in both towns are already closed to bikers. So if you do go, please be extra courteous -- watch that speed, and don't ride in large packs.	Overall Rating:

Don from Hudson Date: August 3, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Mt Pisgah Trail, Yellow & Blue Dot Trails, as well as, Spring ledge Trail. Other recommended trails in the same area: Vietnam, Upton State Forest, Callahan
Review: All I can say is that this place is a great hidden surpise! Well for me anyway. It's very quit and isolated. I've lived in near by towns for 8 eight yrs. and mtb for 6 yrs., yet never new it was there. As for a route, I've ridden it only 5 times but someone put their time in and did a good job marking the trials. Try Mt Pisgah Trail, nice view at top. follow, take your first right down a fast steep down hill. There is a loop around a pond. Also, the Yellow Dot trail is a nice tight singletrack loop w/ and old long bridge. Off of Yellow dot trail look for the Blue Dot Trail, many switchbacks and downhill w/ some technical spots thrown in. On the South side there is a long fast trail that I haven't fully explored yet, but just getting to it was some good technical riding and it looks well ridden as well. All in all this place is worth a trip. I've been to many different places and most were worth the trip as long as it had atleast one good trail I was happy; This place has many, you just have to find them! I'll give 5 chilli's not as a comparsion to other trails but for it's newness to me and it's variety. I'm still exploring it. Cool Beans!!!	Overall Rating: