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 So,
you're wondering if you can hike the trail.
As things now stand, the
New England Trail isn't an official trail designation, it's a proposal. While
there is no "official" trail to hike, you can hike much of the
"proposed" route since more than 85% of the footway is already
"unofficially "in
place. Where there is no footway, it's
possible to detour along roads, bushwack, or use alternate routes.
I'd like to
hike it. Tell me how.
Okay. But first a few caveats:
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Keep in mind that camping privileges
have not been established in many areas. This is the case along much
of the route in Connecticut. It's also true along the portions of the
route which are privately owned. If you plan on doing more than day
hiking, you may have
to make other arrangements in certain areas. NEVER camp on private property
without permission! Hotels and guest houses are often options where
camping is unavailable.
-
Please heed private property rights.
Crossing regions posted as private property threatens future negotiations
with landowners. While I've attempted to provide hiking descriptions
for some of the gaps in the proposed route, please bear in mind that access
conditions can change rapidly.
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Before hiking
on existing trails, pick up the appropriate
guide books and/or maps for the portions of the route you intend on
hiking. Most of these resources are published by the organizations
responsible for trails that make up the proposed route. By supporting
these groups, you also help support this proposal.
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Where the proposed NET route passes
through currently trailless, areas, strong navigation skills may be
necessary. This is especially true in the wilderness areas of northern
New Hampshire. For those unaccustomed to cross country navigation and
bushwacking, road walking may be necessary.
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So far, no one has hiked the entire
proposed route route end to end. (I'd be honored to offer a website
feature the first person to hike the entire route). Information on what
would constitute and end-to-end hike is included below.
-
I highly recommend that anyone hiking a
substantial section of the route (over 50 miles) support, by way of
contribution or membership, one or more of the fine local conservation
non-profit organizations or outdoor recreation clubs associated with the region the
proposed NET route traverses. Those hiking more than one section
should consider supporting more than one group.
Hiking
Information
Under construction; sections will be posted as soon as I
finish writing them.
The
West Branch in Connecticut
The West Branch in western Massachusetts and New Hampshire
The East Branch in Rhode Island
The East Branch in Massachusetts and New Hampshire
--Wapack
to Monadnock Connector
The North Branch, southern New Hampshire (Monadnock to Plymouth, New Hampshire)
The North Branch, northern New Hampshire (Plymouth, NH to the Canadian border)
The North Branch, Quebec (border to Mount Megantic)
End to end hiking of the proposed route
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