WMNF Forest Road Status

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Drove to the end of Zealand Road today and saw several cars parked at the trailheads for the Sugarloafs and Hale Brook. Parked and hiked out to the hut and back - saw several folks on my way out and several more cars on the road. Both Sugarloaf campgrouds are ungated and appeaedr open. One site had a reserved sign on it starting today.
 
Anyone know if the Success Pond Road accessing the NW side of the Mahoosics is open and drivable with a little, baby Scion?
 
ORM I drove it Friday May 16 and the beginning of the road from Berlin was full of ruts and holes, the worst I have seen it in a few years...once you get by that it's is not too bad if you DRIVE WITH CAUTION and pick your spots so not to hit rocks and boulders sticking up in the road..I was thinking if someone asked (which usually happens every year) I would say NO..your Scion might be too low right now....
 
Lefty's comment on Success Pond road should be taken seriously, the landowner is notoriously cheap on fixing the road as his operations taper down. Rather then bringing in new gravel they scrape down into the base of the road which yields large bounders and occasionally tear off the tops of culverts leaving jagged metal sticking out of the road. Plan on 10 MPH at best, far slower for the first mile or so. The approach from RT 26 is sometimes in better shape, although I believe the actual Success Pond road may be closed due to a failed culvert or bridge but there was an alternative route.
 
I believe the actual Success Pond road may be closed due to a failed culvert or bridge but there was an alternative route.
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The northeast terminus at Rt. 26 was closed as of last summer. North Road connects Rt. 26 to York Pond/Success Pond Road and should be open.
 
Forest Service contacted me today and informed me Tripoli Road was opened yesterday afternoon even though their official WMNF page still indicates 'closed.' This might mean other roads listed as 'closed' might actually be open as well.
 
UPDATE: SUCCESS POND ROAD has been worked on so the first mile, which was really bad, is now smoothed over...still looked like a lot of small rocks in the road;
UPDATE #2: NASH STREAM FOREST ROAD IN STARK: Road will be open this Friday so hikers can get to North and South Percy and Sugarloaf...road might be soft in spots..now we need good weather for the Memorial Day weekend....
 
Lefty E said:
UPDATE: SUCCESS POND ROAD has been worked on so the first mile, which was really bad, is now smoothed over...still looked like a lot of small rocks in the road;
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So I take this to mean I might be able to get in there again with my low-clearance car now?

I drove it from Gorham around this time last year as far as the Speck Pond Trail and it was definitely slow going (~1 hour to do 12 miles) and I clipped a few rocks on my aluminum belly pan (intentionally installed for cases like that), but it was doable with much care. That first stretch up the hill was terrible, and the part from the Notch Trail to the Speck Pond Trail was actually in good shape except for a washed-out culvert at the latter trail. Hoping to get into the Carlo Col Trail this weekend weather-permitting.



As of Memorial Day weekend Haystack Road and Sawyer River Road were still closed and gated. Probably waiting for the roads to dry out and harden a little before the gates open.
 
As B & G have indicated above, road openings and web site don't always line up. No confusion on Sawyer River Rd. which was still gated as of 5/31/14.
 
To answer my own question about Success Pond Road, the answer is a resounding YES. It is in far better shape than last year, when I was barely able to average 10mph on the road and even that was pushing it. No problems averaging nearly 20mph this weekend out to the 8.1 mile mark. I posted the following on NETC which may be of help to those who have low clearance vehicles such as myself:

As reported by LeftyE, Success Pond Road is in pretty good shape.

Miles 0-3 have been recently graded, the initial hill is a bit washboarded and covered with small rock, but not an issue, the rest is in better shape than a lot of paved roads by me...

Miles 3-6 were a bit rougher, with some boulders sticking up here and there, but all easily dodged on one side of the road or the other. One minor ditch/bump that low-clearance cars will want to slow for, but won't impede progress. Also a culvert with one end exposed (now in a serious ditch, and also marked off with a cone and some flagging) that was fine on the other end.

Miles 6-8.1 (my trailhead today) were in good shape. Some spots out past the 3 mile mark seemed to have had some spot-grading. Overall, I was able to comfortably average nearly 20mph in my low-clearance car (25min to do the 8.1mi), versus the barely 10mph I was able to maintain last year at this time.

Active logging appears to have been going on. Several loaded logging carts staged at the start of the road, and a few more on a side road a ways in. No work going on on Saturdays I guess? The road is fairly easy to find if you use the AMC description and watch for the ATV Trails signs from just South of Berlin over the bridge.
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LeftyE also went out to Speck Pond Trail (around mile 12ish) on Friday and posted about it on NETC: http://newenglandtrailconditions.com/me/viewreport.php?entryid=16861. Sounds like the logging extends out at least that far. FWIW, I found the road out that far to be overall in better shape than the first 6-8 miles last year.



Sawyer River Road apparently opened yesterday (6-1) afternoon, too late for those that went to Carrigain in the morning and got to walk an open road back in the afternoon.
 
Sandwich Notch (non) update, from 49 to Algonquin trail: it's in excellent shape to the forest boundary (not surprising), and really very good beyond that, EXCEPT for the two (very) steep paved sections that others have mentioned, leading up to/down from the height of land. Depending on the exact geometry of your car, there's a very good chance of getting high-centered. We saw a Forester and another compact crossover come through fine, and a lower clearance passenger car that wasn't scraping but sure was showing any daylight between the car and road. Given that our group's vehicles included a Fit, a Prius, and a couple of smaller cars, we were content with the roadwalk. I wouldn't have taken the Camry on it, either.

I don't expect this to change anytime soon, as there's probably no simple repair that would do the job and I doubt there's the demand to finance an expensive repair.
 
jniehof said:
Sandwich Notch (non) update, from 49 to Algonquin trail: it's in excellent shape to the forest boundary (not surprising), and really very good beyond that, EXCEPT for the two (very) steep paved sections that others have mentioned, leading up to/down from the height of land. Depending on the exact geometry of your car, there's a very good chance of getting high-centered. We saw a Forester and another compact crossover come through fine, and a lower clearance passenger car that wasn't scraping but sure was showing any daylight between the car and road. Given that our group's vehicles included a Fit, a Prius, and a couple of smaller cars, we were content with the roadwalk. I wouldn't have taken the Camry on it, either.

I don't expect this to change anytime soon, as there's probably no simple repair that would do the job and I doubt there's the demand to finance an expensive repair.
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I've done that stretch with a Prius and it was sketchy but no issues. The eastern end has a couple parts that I don't think I'd try with it though. The Algonquin trail is pretty fun, eh? :)
 
From the WMNF Forest Road Status website...

"This road [Bear Notch Rd] was closed by NHDOT on 11/18, but may re-open with the change in weather and improved conditions."
 
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