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, pump and repair stands where you need them, information kiosks, bike racks, and of course everything a rider needs – coffee shops, breweries and amazing ice cream, 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 North Country Is Even More Bike Friendly (is that even possible??)!
Not only is the tri-town area of Bethlehem, Littleton and Franconia a certified Bike Friendly Community, we just got word that three more businesses and organizations were certified by the League of American Bicyclists as Bike Friendly.
Be sure to congratulate PRKR MTN who was certified as “gold.” We all know they’re the ones that started the whole mountain bike craze in the area so it’s great to see them recognized for all the amazing work they do, and have done on the trails and for the community.
And Unspoken Bike, the new bike shop in Bethlehem also received “gold” certification for jumping right into the community and making a difference with all their volunteer work and commitment to the cycling community.
And lastly, please congratulate the North Country Council for their “silver” rating. They are amazing at working to make the roads safer through traffic calming exercises, working with the DOT on our behalf, and of course all the work they do to bring grants and guidance to the cycling community – plus a whole lot more!
This brings the number of organizations in our community that have been certified as Bike Friendly to 13! As a reminder, when we started this, there were only seven in the whole state, and none in the North Country!
Below is a list of all our certified bike friendly organizations – be sure to stop in and let them know that we all appreciate all they do.
- Littleton Bike and Fitness – Gold
- Adaptive Sports Partners – Gold
- Bike the North Country – Gold
- Bethlehem Trails Association – Gold
- FA NEMBA – Gold
- PRKR MTN Trails – Gold
- Unspoken Bike – Gold
- Franconia Basecamp – Silver
- White Mountain Bike – Silver
- Rek-Lis Brewing – Silver
- Iron Furnace Brewery – Silver
- North Country Council – Silver
- Crumb Bum Bakery – Bronze
The Gear Library Has Moved!
It’s now located in the parking lot at the Bethlehem Elementary School right on Main Street.
A huge thank you to the Bethlehem Elementary School for partnering with us and allowing us to put the Gear Library in their lot.
The new location allows us to have more space so we can expand our offerings, and it’s right next to the trails, so it’s super convenient.
Speaking of expanding our offerings, we added 2 new fat tire bikes, so we now have 5 fat tire bikes as well as 3 mountain bikes. We’re also expecting to new e-assist mountain bikes that can be used on the trails, running errands, or just to ride around. Of course we also have helmets that you can borrow as we don’t recommend riding anywhere without one.
We also have kids and adult snowshoes, micro spikes, trekking poles, sleds and backpacks to carry your little ones – and lots more.
The gear is all free to borrow, so go to the Bethlehem Gear Library website and get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!
The Chris Huyler FatBike Poker Run Was A Blast
In case you missed it, everyone had a blast at this year’s Fat Tire Poker Run. Unlike past years when we worried about rain and ice ruining the trails, this year our concern was snow (that’s not a complaint), but the timing of the snow made it fun for everyone and thanks to all the amazing groomers that we have, the trails were in great shape Friday and Saturday. And of course, thanks to the generosity of Iron Furnace Brewing, the afterparty was fantastic! There were many, many great prizes (how about those studded fat tires, or the gift baskets from White Mountain Canning and Chutters?!) and everyone went away happy and feeling great.
It was especially great to see so many people recognize and appreciate that we changed the name of the event to the Chris Huyler Fat Bike Poker Run in honor of what would have been Chris’ 45th birthday.
Chris was a passionate advocate for the trails, a key part of our cycling community, and a friend who brought joy to everyone he met and therefore it seemed appropriate to ride, laugh, and celebrate his adventurous spirit together this year and for years to come, in the way he would have wanted—on the trails and in great company.
Registration for the 2025 Top Notch Triathlon is Now Open!
Register before March 15 and receive the early bird special registration price.
And the big news for this year’s race is…..
it’s going to finish at the top of Cannon Mountain!
It should be a great race, again. I know there’s snow on the ground now (we love it), and fat tire riding season is great, but it’s a great time to be planning those summer events and this is one you never want to miss. You can sign up as an individual or do it as a relay team – both are great ways to participate.
Go HERE to sign up now
Bike Assistance
Need any kind of assistance for ride or bike related resources – see our new tab “Assistance” for lots of information including:
- Where you can find local restrooms
- Repair stand and pump locations
- On-the-road quick bike repair instructions
- Local bike shops
- Where to rent or borrow a bike
- No rider left behind
- Bike Information Kiosks
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, Unspoken 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, The Little Grille, The Wayside, 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
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
“Three great but distinctly different trail systems within 10 minutes of each other for some great mountain biking and a coffee shop and brewery near each one.”
Dave H