snowmobiling in new hampshire
Amsnow
When the President of the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association (NHSA), and the immediate past president, AND the Chief of the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails all invite you to ride with them, you don’t say no!
That is exactly what happened this last season when I rode in northern New Hampshire on a perfect, warm and cloudless day with excellent trail conditions and even better company.
I met Roger Wright, NHSA President, Russ Davis, past president and Chris Gamache, Chief of the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails in Bretton Woods, N.H. in the state snowmobile parking area next to Fabyan’s Station.
New to New Hampshire
Fabyan’s is a former railroad station that now serves as a restaurant. The parking area adjacent to Fabyan’s quickly filled up with trucks towing trailers and large groups of riders assembled to take advantage of the beautiful conditions every day in this area. By 9 a.m. there was not a parking spot to be found and we had already assembled to head out on the trails. We were joined by Russ Davis’ wife Maria and son Damon, as well as Chris Gamache’s wife Kristina and children Sandor and Katiana. Families riding together is what makes this sport great and these young people enjoyed being out in the fresh air… hey, it’s better than being inside playing video games!
Chris was our guide, and we traveled north from Bretton Woods along N.H. Corridor 11, a well maintained trail with outstanding views of Mount Washington, New England’s highest peak. Mount Washington is 6,288 feet high and boasts to have the world’s worst weather at its summit. Although you can drive by car to the top in the summer, as of this writing, it is closed to snowmobiling in the winter.
We continued north on Corridor 11 into Jericho Mountain State Park where we turned on primary trail 118 up to the Jericho warming hut. The hut sits at an altitude of 2,400 feet along a north facing ridgeline behind a steep drop-off that offers unbelievable views of the valleys below and surrounding mountains.
The hut is a small log cabin that can be accessed by N.H. Corridor 11 or 19. It is maintained by the White Mountain Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club and has a woodstove for warmth and a radio to help you relax while you’re visiting. Because of the spectacular views, this site is very popular with snowmobilers. Based on the last reports, people from 11 different countries and 24 different states have visited the hut and signed the guest book since its opening in December 2011. While we rested at the hut, groups of riders came and went. It seemed like every group riding that day made an obligatory visit to the site.
From the Jericho hut, we traveled northeast on local trails within Jericho towards Berlin, N.H. We climbed a trail to the top of Mount Forest, another high peak overlooking the town of Berlin. From our vantage point, we could peer over the Maine border and also down into Berlin where we saw snowmobiles driving the “cross-town connector trail.”