Bike the North Country is a 501(c)3 organization. We rely solely on grants and donations to fund our initiatives which include promoting and increasing bike safety, education, and accessibility while also increasing bike awareness and making information available for all riders. Please reach out if you want information on our specific goals and projects.
Welcome to Bike the North Country! We are New Hampshire’s year round cycling destination for all types of riding and riders.
Whether you’re new to cycling, riding as a family, or out for a killer workout, we've got great rides for you. We have almost 100 miles of mountain bike trails, many of which are groomed for fat tire riding in the winter. Plus, we have some great rail trails and bike paths, and about 100 miles of great road routes that we’ll tailor to the type of ride you want. For those with disabilities and want to be on the road or trails we have adaptive bikes, guides and lessons through our amazing partner, Adaptive Sports Partners. We also have great amenities for riders – a gear library, rental, repair and gear shops, and of course everything a
rider needs – coffee shops and breweries and of course some great bike-friendly lodging facilities.
We are officially a Bike Friendly Community!
The League of American Bicyclists certified the Tri-Town area of Bethlehem, Littleton, and Franconia as a Bike Friendly Community. We were one of only three communities nationwide that received a new certification!
This only happened through the hard work of a lot of people in the area all committed to making cycling safer and more accessible. Look through our website as well as those of the trail networks and supporting businesses to see all the great things going on cycling related.
The League of American Bicyclists certified the Tri-Town area of Bethlehem, Littleton, and Franconia as a Bike Friendly Community. We were one of only three communities nationwide that received a new certification!
Fat Tire Loaner Bikes
Don’t have a bike and always wanted to get out on the trails? Through our generous grant from the NBRC, we bought out first three fat tire loaner bikes and are awaiting our first three mountain bikes (any day now). They’re housed in the Bethlehem Gear Library which is behind Rek-Lis until we get our loaner-bike sheds. You can borrow one by going onto the Gear Library’s website and making your reservation here. We had lots of fat tire bikes go out in the last few weeks of the season and now we expect that you’ll be able to use the fat tire bikes and the mountain bikes on the trails or rail trails in Bethlehem, Franconia or Littleton as well. Winter riding was great and as soon as the trails dry out, they’ll be ready for spring riding – no excuses not to be out there!
May is just around the corner and that means it’s national Bike Month!
Not surprising, the North Country will have many events to help celebrate cycling throughout tMay, and here are a few of them:
- May 4 & 5: The Annual Bike Swap –looking for a bike but don’t want to buy a new one? This is the perfect place to pick one up. Or, if you have a bike you’d like to sell – it’s a great place to put in on the market. Held at Littleton Bike and Fitness each year.
- May 5: National Ride A Bike Day – This is a day for everyone to just get back on their bike regardless of how long it’s been or how far you ride
- May 8: National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day – Just what it sounds like; getting students and faculty to get to school by any people powered means.
- May 15: The Worldwide Ride of Silence – this is a ride out of Littleton Bike and Fitness at 7:00pm and is at a pace that works for everyone. Like the name implies, it is done in silence to commemorate those that have been killed or injured by vehicles while doing what they love – riding a bike. Not only is it a time to remember those individuals, it’s a time to make a statement as to the importance of bike safety on our roads.
- May 13 – 18: National Bike to Work and School Week – We’re looking forward to announcing lots of events in the region to support those commuting by bike
- May 17: National Bike to Work and School Day – We did it in the winter, we can do it in May. Let’s see how many people we can get to participate in bike to work or school (or errands) day!
- Date to Be Determined: Bike Maintenance Class – We want everyone to know the basics of bike maintenance so if you ever have a problem while riding, you’ll be able to get yourself home. And don’t forget, we’re going to have about 15 bike repair stations in the area soon so if there’s ever a problem, a pump and tools won’t be far away!
- Throughout the Month: Bike Bingo – this is our favorite! Check out the bingo card below. For those that get “bingo” throughout the month, we’ll have drawings for prizes to local establishments.
We’re also looking forward to doing bike rodeos and safety classes at schools throughout the North Country.
Movie Night
Our first Movie Night featuring a series of short films sharing adventures bikes was a resounding success!
Turnout was great and everyone had a great time with many people leaving with great swag and prizes.
Thanks to generous beer donations from Iron Furnace, Rek-Lis, Moat Mountain, Big Boy Brewing, and Rhythm Cider, there was no shortage of refreshments. And of course the food trucks were a big hit, and music from Broke and Ugly kept the night lively.
We had some great raffle items and silent auction items and it was great to see people leave with a new Specialized bike, lots of great gear from SRAM and Salsa Cycles, as well as some great baskets put together by each of the networks’ Boards.
Stay tuned for next year’s movie night as the shorts will feature the best of the movies put together on our own trails – you be the judge on which one will be the winner!
The evening was hosted by TriCycle NH, a collaboration of the three area trail networks: Bethlehem Trails Association, PRKR MTN Trails, and Franconia Area NEMBA; the shorts were sponsored by SRAM.
Winter Event Recap
Our annual Fat Tire Poker Run was held on February 16 – 18; all three trail networks were in fantastic shape! We had about 15% more riders this year than last, and about half were not from the area, which is great for local businesses! The after party was held at Iron Furnace Brewing in Franconia, and everyone walked away with some good swag and great prizes!
The first Winter Bike to Work and School Day held in the North Country was a resounding success. Not only did the weather cooperate making it a great day to ride, we hosted three events including: Littleton Bike and Fitness welcomed riders in the morning with a place to change, store their bikes for the day, and get a free cup of coffee. The 2024 James Beard nominee, Super Secret Ice Cream had riders covered mid-day offering free hot chocolate and given that they’re in the center of Town, next to the trails and school, it was a prefect place to host riders. And to end the day, the Franconia Inn offered a free drink to riders in their pub, a place to shower and change, and to store bikes. No wonder we had so many participants!
Top Notch Triathlon Registration
Registration for the Top Notch Tri is now open (warms you up just thinking about those summer events doesn’t it?). It’s the 30th anniversary of the Top Notch Tri – congrats!! – so you know it’s going to be a big celebration. It’s taking place on August 3 and you can sign up by clicking here or scanning the QR code below
10 Things that Make Biking the North Country so Great
- Three great trail networks with over 100 miles of trails for all levels
- Amazing road and gravel riding across hundreds of miles of roads in the scenic White Mountains
- No rider left behind – a program to pick up riders that need help on their bike (see details below)
- A rail trail that stretches 30 miles from Bethlehem to Woodsville (part of the XNHAT)
- The Franconia Bike path
- Free loaner bikes and helmets for all ages
- Lots of great gear and rental shops in a small area including Littleton Bike and Fitness, Franconia Basecamp, White Mountain Bike Shop and Drummond’s Mountain Shop
- Fantastic supporting businesses like Rek-Lis Brewing, Iron Furnace Brewery, Crumb Bum Bakery, Maia Papaya, Super Secret Ice Cream, and other great places to eat and stay
- Supporting resources throughout the area including public repair and pump stations
- A great partnership with Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country so everyone can Ride
Bike the North Country’s Upcoming Projects:
Thanks to the generous grant from Northern Borders Regional Commission, Bike the North Country will focus on stimulating economic growth in the region through cyclo-tourism as well as focusing on accessibility, education, and safety. From a cyclist’s perspective, who doesn’t like that?!
Some of the things that the grant will help fund include buying up to 66 loaner bikes (see comments above on the fat tire bikes; we’ve also purchased 10 bikes for Adaptive Sports to ensure they can be out on the trails and roads too) including mountain bikes, fat tire bikes, road/gravel bikes and adaptive bikes for the three towns (Bethlehem, Franconia, and Littleton) and storage sheds so anyone can borrow a bike (free) and ride!
We’ll also be buying and installing up to 20 bike racks so you can safely leave your bike anywhere in the region, up 10 additional repair stations (on order), so no matter where you’re riding, help, if needed isn’t far away. We’ll also install kiosks at trail heads and cycling hubs within each town so people can easily find places to ride and supporting resources.
Then we’ll be able to do things like help businesses become certified as bike friendly. We already submitted 8 applications and have more in progress (there are only 6 other bike friendly businesses in NH!), and working with the DOT and local towns, buy and install signs on the roads helping to make it safer for riders. We’ll also be able to put in markings on roads to indicate trail crossings as well as bike lanes and sharrows where it makes sense.
This is an amazing opportunity for cycling in the North Country – stay tuned to see how it plays out. And of course, let us know if you want to help in any way.
No Rider Left Behind
Ever have a flat tire or a mechanical that you just can’t fix while on the road or trails? E-mail us at BiketheNorthCountry@gmail.com or text us at 603-991-1413 and if you’re in the Tri-Town area we’ll do what we can to get someone there to give you a ride home or to a bike shop. Riders helping riders – that’s what it’s all about!
New and Improved North Country Cycling Maps
Bike the North Country Recommended Road & Mixed Terrain Rides
- Easier ride: Franconia Out-and-Back: Route 116. 18 miles for full ride and 700 feet of elevation gain.
- Easier ride: Bethlehem/Carroll Out-and Back: Route 302. 23.6 miles (for full ride) and 1,000 feet of elevation gain
- Easy to moderate: Littleton Lollipop. 19 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation gain
- Easy to moderate: Bethlehem/Littleton/Whitefield Figure 8. 17.5 miles and 1,100 feet of elevation gain
- Moderate: Littleton/Bethlehem Loop. 18.5 miles and 1,250 feet of elevation gain.
- Moderate: Bethlehem/Twin/Trudeau Loop: 18.7 miles and 1,100 feet of elevation gain
- Moderate: Bethlehem/Franconia/Cannon Mountain/Littleton Loop: 24.2 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain
- Advanced: Sugar Hill Loop. 23.8 miles and 1,700 feet of elevation gain.
- Advanced: Littleton/Whitefield/Twin Mountain/Bethlehem Loop. 32.5 miles and elevation gain of about 2,300 feet
- Advanced: North Conway Out-and-Back. 85.5 miles and 5,300 feet of elevation gain.
Mixed Terrain Routes
Littleton: Mann’s Hill to Forest Lake Loop 20.6 miles with about 2,150 feet of elevation gain
Littleton: Slater Ledge to Partridge Lake Loop 27.7 miles with about 2,700 feet of elevation gain
Bethlehem: Wing Road/River Road to Trudeau Road/Swazey Lane Loop 14.7 miles with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain
Bethlehem: Lewis Hill Road, South Road, Cherry Valley loop 17.0 miles with about 1,750 feet of elevation gain
Franconia: Mt. Eustis Road Loop 23.25 miles with about 2,150 feet of elevation gain
Franconia: Pearl Lake Loop 27.4 miles with about 2,800 feet of elevation gain
It's an incredible feeling of freedom to be able to bike from my house in downtown Littleton to access a network of mountain bike trails (PRKR) with beautiful forest and clear signage. We also have easy access to the rail trail and river walk in town. We feel very lucky to live here."
Angela