They might sound like names from the latest season of Game of Thrones, but they are actually the brand new mountain bike trails at Greylock Glen! Volunteers from the Thunderbolt Ski Runners (TSR) and the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) worked with Paul Jahnige, Director of the Greenways & Trails for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to create these new single-track trails on the East slopes of Mount Greylock in Adams, Massachusetts.
The single-track trails are part of the DCR’s $3 million Greylock Glen trail expansion. Single-track trails are approximately the width of a single mountain bike. The four trails are interconnected with a total length of approximately 5.5 miles with an elevation change of 1900 feet. The trails are all rated Moderate. Access to the trails is from Gould Road via the existing Bellows South trail or the new Meadow Loop Trail. The trails tour the Thunderbolt Meadows area along the famous backcountry Thunderbolt Ski Trail.
The new trails are not limited to mountain bikes. They are also a great place to walk or trail run. The many switchbacks make it much easier to climb the hill whether you are on a bike or on foot.
The DCR has undertaken to develop the new trails at Greylock Glen to support the Town of Adams’ mission to become a center for outdoor recreation. Dodson & Flinker Landscape Architects performed the initial rough layout of all the new trail work proposed as part of the trail improvement project. Working from this initial plan, volunteers from TSR and plotted the trails in detail over the past two years. Heather Linscott, Josh Chittenden, Larry Mach and Daniel Celentano are some of the volunteers that worked on the project. They are all very experienced mountain bike enthusiasts. “We took care to follow the contours of the land and to use many switchbacks over steep terrain, so that the whole trail is ride-able for all reasonably fit cyclists,” said Linscott. “We also did our best to run the trails by interesting features in the landscape such as waterfalls and rock formations.” Section by section over the last two years, the volunteers would flag the track and then ask DCR staff members Paul Jahnige and Becky Barnes to review and approve the plan or suggest alternatives.
TSR and NEMBA volunteers then constructed the approved trails with important help from students from the Student Conservation Association. The students’ work was paid for through a grant obtained by DCR.
For more information:
TrailForks Listing
DCR’s Trail Expansion Press Release
Thunderbolt Ski Runners
Student Conservation Association
DCR’s Mount Greylock and Greylock Glen Trail Map
