The interactive map
Shortest and Simplest Goose Pond Loop
- Head out of town on Wheelock Street, and keep plugging until it Ts into Hanover Center road near Etna. Hang a left.
- A little ways down the road, near a soccer field, take a right on Rudsboro Road. Enjoy the gradual climb and sweet descent.
- When the road ends in to US 4, take a left. You're on this for a while before Goose Pond Road appears on your left, after a Citgo station and before a small up hill.
- Goose pond road, unsurprisingly, goes by the scenic body of water with the same name. The road turns to dirt for a while after the pond, but switches back to tarmac at the Lyme Border.
- Keep chugging along, and eventually you'll wind up at NH 10, which you can turn left on to return to Dartmouth. Total distance: 34mi and some change.
Ride suggestions
- Take the Mascoma Rail Trail instead of US 4 (see below). Infinitely more scenic, infinitely flatter too.
- Don't get home via rte 10, go through Hanover Center and back to Etna instead.
Matt Rossman flying by Goose Pond. It really is a beautiful lake.
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For a really sweet ride, instead of taking US4, parrallel US4 on the Mascoma Rail Trail. This Rail Trail is very road-bikeable, is very flat, and is very scenic. For your information: the rail trail starts in West Lebanon, and travels all the way to Canaan (I think). It goes over many cool bridges, and travels next to many cool forms of water. One of the more exhilaterating things to do is to travel >30mph on it.
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Matt Rossman and Will Haslett showing how it's done on the rail trail. As you can see, the surface is quite nice for roadbikes.
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Grafton Turnpike
Grafton Turnpike is a road that goes from US 4 to the Dartmouth Skiway. So, it more or less parallels GoosePond, but is a lot more rugged, and a lot more isolated. The turnoff is past the Goosepond turnoff. All in all, it's a fun road, I recommend it. Once you get to the Skiway, there are a lot of ride possibilities.
