When roads open in Springtime.

chas · Mar 30, 2006

Hi all,
Is there an official date for the opennings of certain roads in the WMNF or does it go by conditions only? I'm specifically interested in Zealand rd, Wild River rd, Sawyer River rd, and Tripoli rd.

Thanks,
Chas.

TDawg · Mar 30, 2006

It is generally mid to late May or maybe even into June. It totally depends on conditions of the road.

chas · Mar 30, 2006

TDawg said:
It is generally mid to late May or maybe even into June. It totally depends on conditions of the road.

Ok, thanks. Among other things, I was thinking of a backpack trip in the Wild River valley and Carter range, I'll be sure to plan accordingly or start from rte 113 instead.

Chas.

grouseking · Mar 30, 2006

chas said:
Hi all,
Is there an official date for the opennings of certain roads in the WMNF or does it go by conditions only? I'm specifically interested in Zealand rd, Wild River rd, Sawyer River rd, and Tripoli rd.

Thanks,
Chas.

Here is the forest road status web page. Some are already open...but most remain closed.

FOREST RD STATUS

grouseking

chas · Mar 30, 2006

grouseking said:
Here is the forest road status web page. Some are already open...but most remain closed.

FOREST RD STATUS

grouseking

That's worth bookmarking, thank you! I see from that web page that even rte 113 is closed now, I assume they mean only the area near Evans Notch (?).

Chas.

Mohamed Ellozy · Mar 30, 2006

TDawg said:
It is generally mid to late May or maybe even into June. It totally depends on conditions of the road.

Given the low amounts of snow this past winter, I would asume that they will open somewhat earlier than usual this year. Of course Spring weather can "spring" many surprises on us

vegematic · Mar 31, 2006

chas said:
That's worth bookmarking, thank you! I see from that web page that even rte 113 is closed now, I assume they mean only the area near Evans Notch (?).

Chas.

I was on 113 yesterday. The northernmost gate is closed but the road is free of snow up to the Haystack Notch Trailhead. I did not go any further than that as I was on my road bike and there was clearly not enough pavement open for riding much beyond that.

The road until that point (6 miles south of Rt 2) is littered with small bits but was passable on a bike with care. The Wild River Road I did not travel on but is probably mountain bike worthy at this point. I'll make a separate thread about crossing at the former Spider Bridge as I was there recently.

Chip · Mar 31, 2006

Darren made this a "sticky" in Q&A recently. It's at the top in this forum.
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11896

chas · Mar 31, 2006

vegematic said:
I was on 113 yesterday. The northernmost gate is closed but the road is free of snow up to the Haystack Notch Trailhead. I did not go any further than that as I was on my road bike and there was clearly not enough pavement open for riding much beyond that.

The road until that point (6 miles south of Rt 2) is littered with small bits but was passable on a bike with care. The Wild River Road I did not travel on but is probably mountain bike worthy at this point. I'll make a separate thread about crossing at the former Spider Bridge as I was there recently.

Ah, I haven't been in the valley for about 12 or so years and didn't realize that the Spider bridge is now 'former'. I will check that other thread, thanks, as that will figure into my plans.
If I go before the Wild river road opens I will arrive from the south on 113 to make sure I am able to access the Cold River Campground area as that offers a way into the valley via the Basin trail.

Chas.

Waumbek · Apr 1, 2006

chas said:
Ah, I haven't been in the valley for about 12 or so years and didn't realize that the Spider bridge is now 'former'. Chas.

It washed out only last spring, if I remember correctly, and only on one side. There had been plans to rebuild it.

vegematic · Apr 2, 2006

Waumbek said:
It washed out only last spring, if I remember correctly, and only on one side.

Yes, as of last summer there was still a span or two hanging there but they have since been removed.

Waumbek said:
There had been plans to rebuild it.

I had heard that but not from any official sources. I wonder if those plans (if they really existed) have been put on hold pending a decision on a Wild River Wilderness?
-veg

post'r boy · Apr 2, 2006

success pond road has been closed until sometime in may. i was there this morning. 4-2-06

David Metsky · Apr 2, 2006

RoySwkr said:
Anybody know if Jefferson Notch and Ravine Road are really open already, or is their page mistaken?

Ravine Road is open, they've been putting in a new electric line to the Lodge so it was open and plowed a while ago. Still wet and slick, but open.

-dave-

gaiagirl · Apr 2, 2006

Jefferson Notch Rd. is open

We found Jefferson Notch ride open and driveable (with 4wheel drive) over 2 weeks ago.

When roads open in Springtime.

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