# Pawtuckaway, NH



## skiMEbike (Oct 15, 2014)

I am reporting back after a 3 day weekend of camping & biking at Pawtuckaway State Park, NH.  This was my first visit Mtn Biking @ Pawtuckaway.  First, the park, the campground, and scenery were all top notch...You really get the sense of being in the wilderness and away from civilization.  We did close to 40 miles over the three days with very little repeat trails.   In looking for some advice/input on the trails, I believe Snoseek described it best with his description of:  "Chunky Doubletrack...It was spot on.   We did all of the trails there with the exception of the three summit trails, since we had more than enough to keep us entertained (& my buddy would have none of it).  Aside from roads/wood trails (i.e. Round Pond Trail, Fundy Trail),  most of the terrain is very technical, and it doesn't seem to let up...It seems like you are constantly having to maneuver around/over obstacles.  Lots of Rocks, not just rock gardens, but boulders.   Not your place for fast/flowy XC type of riding.   Some of my favorites rides:  
-Woronoco & Split Rock: Technical ST.  Not lots of vertical but lots of ups & downs, which keeps the blood flowing.
-Mountain Trail:  Mostly Technical DT, depending on direction it is either a gradual incline or decline.
-Mtn Trail Bypass:  Not very technical, but provided an opportunity to open it up a bit, so it was a nice change of pace.

Not so favorite trails:
-Boulder Trail:  as you can imagine lots of rock with a bit of hike a bike, and lots of people (rock climbers),
-Shaw Trail:  Extra Chunky Double track...so not much flow & for some reason just wasn't interesting to me.

We also did a section of the S Ridge Trail from Shaw trail down to Round Pond which was a crazy steep descent...I believe Strava registered a 43% grade....Going down was a challenge, but I could not imagine trying to climb/walk/hike-a-bike in the other direction.   

I would recommend riding @ Pawtuckaway especially if you are into the technical riding....8 out of 10 times I would probably choose Bear Brook over Pawtuckaway due to variety & quantity, but those other 2 times riding at Pawtuckaway you will not get bored.  

Here are some pics:
Section of Split Rock Trail

Woronoco Trail

North Mtn Bypass

Round Pond


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