The Barre Town Forest is home to the greatest diversity of trails in the Millstone network. The Barre Town Forest area is roughly circular, with numerous trail alternatives on all sides. Many of the trails in the Town Forest are excellent for all types of recreation including mountain biking, hiking, trail running, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
The Mainline, VAST, Town Forest Parking, #6, Westside, Rail Road, and Grand Lookout trails are primary corridors through the western, northern, and eastern sections of the Town Forest. These trails link the Town Forest parking areas at Brook Street and Barclay Quarry. Beginner mountain bikers will find them to be Millstone’s easiest trails to ride and can be combined to form a number of enjoyable loops.
These main, easy trails are connected on the south and east by Locomotion and TNT, two of the Town Forests areas’ longest and most characteristic trail. TNT is the most challenging trail for mountain biking in the Town Forest.
The west side of the Town Forest is home to a number of interesting trails that are dotted with relics from historic quarrying activity. These trails, including the Black Lagoon, Last Light, Wynding Woods, Switchback, Woodside, and Holy Ghost. Note that Holy Ghost is not maintained for mountain biking.
While not in the Town Forest proper, the Whetmore and Whetmore Heights trails (across Church Hill Road from Woodside & Rail Road) have one of Millstone’s most sustained climbs as well as many relics of historic interest.
The north and eastern sections of the Town Forest area feature a number of trails that are delightful when experienced independently, and provide a sampler of the best of Millstone with combines. The Ledges, cutting between Mainline and #6, offers the single most comprehensive set of representative Millstone trail features. Heifer Pasture, Capital Trail, and Rambler offer longer and more varied alternatives to VAST and Mainline. In addition to these trails, Crossfire, Indian Trail, Capital Loop, Little John, Boulder Dash, and the Sidewinders allow riders, hikers, runners, skiers, and snowshoers to add mileage and difficulty to their rambles through the Barre Town Forest.