Sunday, June 13, 2021

Hop River State Park Trail

What an awesome ride - the scenery is magnificent! I started the ride in Manchester and went to a little past the Bolton Notch where I turned around and returned. Kudos to the Towns of Vernon and Manchester for all the wonderful kiosks detailing the railroad history - everything was super informative and a pleasure to see such a tribute to the history of this trail.

Manchester  - where I start my ride
It was great to see the rails preserved here!
Remnants of a telegraph pole
All the kiosks were great! :-)
Some stretches of the trail had ties still (on the side!)

Dobson Mills

The Dobson Mills were a short downhill walk off the trail
You could barely see the falls from here
The ravine was gorgeous!
The Falls

Short Video (includes footage all the way to The Notch)

At the former Vernon Depot Area

There was a big yard here including a turntable. Kiosks were once again marvelous!
Yep - that's the remains of the turntable!
 The parking lot was full at the Vernon Depot Area -locals know the railroad history!

Onward to the Notch!

Rail racks

Ah yes - there were plenty of these telegraph poles still standing!
There were long stretch of tall embankments
A road tunnel below!
Google Street view!
I love rock cuts and there were plenty to enjoy riding through!
I stopped for a nice chat with two lovely ladies here - we chatted about our mutual fondness for finding old foundations and mill ruins, etc. They sent me off with a mouthful of wasabi coated almonds - mmm mm good!

At The Notch

Wow - this was great!
Photo on the kiosk
Riding under Interstate 384
The Notch Road Bridge above...
I turned around and headed back
Tunnel Ahead!
Going back under i384!

What a fantastic ride! 

Historical Maps

Ride Details


Further Info

Source >

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