Trail Tour

Tour Overview

The New England Trail, if realized, would consist of three branches: The West Branch Branch, The East Branch, and  The North Branch. All three branches would meet on the summit of Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.  

The East Branch

The East Branch begins in Charlestown RI, at the end of Charlestown Breachway in the Ninigret Conservation Area. The route would pass through various conservation areas and state parks, through abandoned farmland, along the banks of lakes and rivers, and over jumbled glaciated cliffs and ledges, then enter Massachusetts in Douglas State Forest.  In Massachusetts, the route would visit U.S. Army Corps reservoir lands, crosses a series of high drumlins, passes through various state parks and conservation areas, ascend the famous Mt. Wachusett, and climb the southern edge of the Wapack Mountain Range, where it would enter New Hampshire. From there, it would traverse the Wapack Range and pass through the Contocook River Valley, before ascending Mt. Mondanock. The East Branch would use The Rhode Island North-South Trail, the Midstate Trail, the Wachusett Greenways Trail System, and the Wapack Trail. 

The West Branch

The West Branch would begin at Lighthouse Point park in New Haven, on Long Island Sound. From there, it would link a series of urban parks, college greens, and high traprock ridges, (including the stark cliffs of Forbes Bluff and East Rock) then ascends the great ledges of the Metacomet Ridge that parallel the Quinnipiac and Connecticut Rivers.  Between the continuous cliff walks (the most extensive cliff-side walking in New England), the route also visits reservoirs and historic sites, including the Old Newgate Prison copper mines. Still traversing the Metacomet Ridge, the route would enter Massachusetts on West Suffield Mountain, continue along the East Mountain, Mt. Tom and Holyoke Ranges. From there, the route would ascend into the Quabbin Plateau forests, alongside various waterfalls and ledges, crosses the conglomerate Mt. Toby, then descend to the Millers River. From the river, the route would pass through the Northfield Mtn. region, over Mt. Grace and Mt. Tully, then visit the waterfalls of Royalston, MA before passes into New Hampshire. From the New Hampshire border, the route would climb several rocky peaks before reaching Mt. Monadnock. The West Branch would use the East Rock, Regicides, Quinnipiac, Mattabesett, Metacomet, Metacomet-Monadnock, Robert Frost, and Tully Trails. 

The North Branch  

The North Branch would begin on the barren summit of Mt. Monadnock, pass north through dense forest with regular sharp viewpoints, cross the blueberry barrens of Pitcher Mtn., then climb Mt. Sunapee. After Sunapee, the route would visit the John Hay Reservation, cross Mt. Kearsarge, Ragged Mtn, and other peaks, then pass through the Gile State Forest region. From Gile, the route would skirt several pegmatite mines and pristine lakes, pass over the famous Mt. Cardigan and several other peaks in the vicinity of Plymouth, New Hampshire. From Plymouth, the trail would enter the White Mountain region, cross the Squam, Sandwich, Tripyramid/ Chocurua, Moat, Montalbon,  Presidential, Crescent, and Pilot Ranges. Leaving the WMNF, the route would traverse Nash Stream Forest and its peaks, then the Northern Forest region which includes Coleman and Dixville Notch State Parks and Mt. Magalloway. It would then pass alongside the Connecticut Lakes, and reach the Quebec border along the Border Mountains. From the border, it would traverse rolling farmland and hills, then ascend Mt. Megantic.  (Extension of the route along riverways to Quebec City--and even further north, through the mountains of the Canadian Shield all the way to James Bay in the Arctic would be possible). The North Branch would use the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, the Sunapee-Kearsarge-Ragged Greenway, various White Mountain National Forest trails, a short section of the Appalachian Trail, the Cohos Trail, and the Megantic trail system.  

Possible extensions of the route

Just as the footway of the Appalachian Trail has been extended north by the International Appalachian Trail into Quebec and now Newfoundland, so, too could the New England Trail be extended into an Arctic to Atlantic Greenway. Such an route would continue north from Mount Megantic through Frotenac Provincial Park, then follow the course of the Chaudiere River to the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec City. The route would pass through the city via parkland and classic historic districts, then enter Jacques Cartier Provincial Park and the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, Grand Gardens Provincial Park, River Malbae Provincial Park, Saguenay Provincial Park, and Valin Mountain Provincial Park. It would bear northwest from Valin and skirt the north side of Lake St. Jean, then enter Ashaupmushuan Wildlife Reserve and Assinica Wildlife Reserve. From Assinica, the route would bear northwest to Waskaganish at Saint James Bay, the southernmost extension of the Arctic Ocean. The route would include the the northern edge of the Appalachian Mountains, classic Quebec farmland, boreal lakes and rivers, historic Quebec City, the Saint Lawrence at Tadoussac (a well known habitat of several important whale species), the scenic Saguenay River and Lake St. Jean, the Laurentides Mountains, the remote, boreal wildlands of the Canadian Shield, and finally the icy waters of Saint James Bay. It would include some of the most remote and challenging hiking in North America with opportunities to see species such as the gray wolf, lynx, and caribou.

Where would you like to go from here?

Visit the East Branch

Visit the West Branch

Visit the North Branch