Overview of the New England Trail route

The New England Trail consists 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. 
 

Summary: The West Branch of the New England Trail

Lighthouse Point, CT to Mount Monadnock, NH

The West Branch of the New England Trail begins 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 enters Massachusetts on West Suffield Mountain, continues along the Provin Mountain, East Mountain, Mt. Tom and Holyoke Ranges. From there, the route ascends into the Pelham Hills forests, alongside various waterfalls and ledges, crosses the conglomerate Mt. Toby, then descends to the Millers River. From the river, the route passs through the Northfield Mtn. region, over Farley Ledge, Rose Ledge, Mt. Grace and Tully Mtn., then visits several waterfalls in Royalston before passing into New Hampshire. From the New Hampshire border, the route climbs several rocky peaks before reaching Mt. Monadnock. The West Branch of the New England Trail uses portions of the East Rock Park andother New Haven trails, Regicides Trail, Quinnipiac Trail, Tyler Mill Conservation Area trails, Mattabesett Trail, Metacomet Trail, Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, Robert Frost Trail, Mt. Toby trails, and Tully Trail, among others. 

See a detailed description of the West Branch of the New England Trail

Summary: The East Branch of the New England Trail

Ninigret Beach, RI to Mount Monadnock, NH

The East Branch of the New England Trail begins in Charlestown RI, at the end of Charlestown Breachway in the Ninigret Conservation Area. The route passes 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 visits Wallum Lake, U.S. Army Corps reservoir lands, crosses a series of high drumlins, passes through various state parks and conservation areas, ascends the famous Mt. Wachusett, and climbs the southern edge of the Wapack Mountain Range where it enters New Hampshire. From there, it traverses the Wapack Range and passes through the Contocook River Valley, before ascending Mt. Mondanock. The East Branch of the New England Trail uses portions of the Rhode Island North-South Trail, the Tippecansett Trail system, the Walkabout Trail, the Midstate Trail, the Wachusett Greenways Trail System, and the Wapack Trail. 

See a detailed description of the East Branch of the New England Trail

Summary: The North Branch of the New England Trail  

Mount Monadnock, NH to Mount Megantic, Quebec

The North Branch of the New England Trail begins on the barren summit of Mt. Monadnock, passes north through dense forest with regular sharp viewpoints, crosses the blueberry barrens of Pitcher Mtn., then climbs Mt. Sunapee. After Sunapee, the route visits the John Hay Reservation, crosses Mt. Kearsarge, Ragged Mtn, and other peaks, then passes through the Gile State Forest region. From Gile, the route skirts several pegmatite mines and pristine lakes, passes over the famous Mt. Cardigan and several other peaks in the vicinity of Plymouth, New Hampshire. From Plymouth, the trail enters the White Mountain region, crosses the Squam, Sandwich, Tripyramid/ Chocurua, Moat, Montalbon,  Presidential, Crescent, and Pilot Ranges visiting a number of high peaks including Sandwich Dome, Mt. Tripyramid, Mt. Passaconaway, Mt. Chocorua, Mt. Isolation, Mt. Washington, Mt. Adams, Mt. Waumbek, and Cabot Mtn. as well as other scenic places and peaks such as Diana's Baths, Cathedral Ledge, Squam Ridge, and Mount Resolution. Leaving the WMNF, the route traverses Nash Stream Forest and its peaks (Percy Peaks and Mt. Sugarloaf), then the Northern Forest region which includes Coleman and Dixville Notch State Parks and Mt. Magalloway. It then passes alongside the Connecticut Lakes, and reach the Quebec border along the Border Mountains to Mt. D'Urban. From the border, the trail bears north through rolling farmland and hills, then ascends 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 uses the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway, various White Mountain National Forest trails, a short section of the Appalachian Trail, the Cohos Trail, the North Country Trail, and trail systems in southern Quebec. 

See a detailed description of the North Branch of the New England Trail  

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 of the New England Trail

Visit the West Branch of the New England Trail

Visit the North Branch of the New England Trail