Southern New England Trunkline Trail (Douglas, MA)

This summer I took a drive out to Douglas State Forest to ride a confluence of trails located within the state park. The first trail is called the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) and extends from Franklin, MA all the way to Douglas, MA. From there, at the Connecticut state line, it becomes the Air Line State Park Trail which travels all the way to East Hampton, CT. This lengthy trail is just plain fun. I rode from Franklin to Blackstone and then from Douglas. While there are some technical sections, it's typically quite tame, especially on a hardtail. It also allows you to spin quite a bit. As it passes through each town, there are dozens of side trails to explore as well. In Blackstone the trails get a bit hard to follow (only singletrack in places) and detours are required to get around the Blackstone River Greenway construction. If you're looking for a great long distance mountain bike ride, this is the trail.

 The second major trail to cross through Douglas State Forest is the Midstate Trail. This trail runs about 90 miles through the center of Massachusetts (including over Mt. Wachusett). In Douglas, the terrain was very rocky and offered some steep climbs. Descents weren't a breeze either as there was quite a bit of erosion and washout. The trail, however, was exceptionally well marked.

 There are even some well marked and maintained shelters along the way of the Midsate Trail. 

The third trail is the Rhode Island North South Trail. Of the three trails, this was the least marked. I only assume I was on the right trail when the Midstate trail ended and I was still heading south. The 'trail markers' were simply yellow dots. The terrain was very rocky and very narrow. This was by far the most challenging of the trails, especially by bike.

The trails are somewhat confusing to find, however, if you park at Wallum Lake and follow the signs and trail map, you will be golden. Bring bug spray--this place has many swarms of flying insects.