Jim Hill River Walk and Mast Yard

I’ve written about Concord’s local trails before and the fact that there is an extensive network of hiking and biking trails. Some of them are very short and others are of a decent length. Two of them combined form one of my favorite loops for a quick mountain bike ride. I use this loop often for recovery rides when I don’t feel like riding on the road or just a quick night ride as the sunlight fades quickly in the fall.
I combine the Lethinen Park Trails (Map 2) and Mast Yard loop (Map 1) for a nice 18-ish mile ride mixed with pavement, old rail bed and a little singletrack. Until 3-4 years ago these were two separate/distinct trails that required a inconvenient connection via paved road. Thanks to one of the local snowmobile clubs though, the two trail systems are connected via a very sweet bridge.

The installation of this bridge combined two short trail networks and now allows one big loop with very little road riding.
I generally cut through the Woodbine Rd neighborhood, swing through the Mast Yard and Vineyards condo complexes with a little off roading and then get to parallel Bog Road on the old rail bed that used to head out to Tooky and then Warner.

This pops out right near Riverhill Market and from there it is a short pavement section into the first short section of trail.

And what seems like a common theme for some of my favorite trails (Plymouth Mtn, Bear Brook, Bow trails) this one passes behind a cemetery. Not sure why that it is, but it does seem to be a common theme.

cemetery and trails. A common theme for some of my favorite loops.

This drops you out onto Runnells Road which is a dead end street that dumps you out at the far end of the Lethinen Park Trails. You can do this part either clockwise or counterclockwise when you hit the first field after leaving the pavement. I tend to do it clockwise on the way out and then counterclockwise fashion to end the loop before heading home.
There is not a lot of climbing or technical riding on this loop. It’s very beginner friendly, which is why I think it makes such a good easy spin.

The beach is not far after the start when you choose the clockwise option first and then it is also right towards the end before I head home. Often times in the summer this place is pretty busy with people looking to cool off. People who want to get here need to put out a little effort too. This is probably almost a mile from where you have to park your car and then walk in via the trails. It’s also common to see people parking their boats here and hanging out.

If you are looking for an introduction to mountain biking or just want to take it easy, t his is a good network of trails to combine for a loop. From my house out and back, usually doing two smaller loops out towards Daisy Beach this is about an 18 mile ride.
Lethinen Park also makes for a nice trail run. I don’t usually run the Mast Yard side as it is mostly old railroad bed. We have snowshoed out that way before though.

You have multiple options to access trailheads. There is parking off Runnells Road, Bog Road/Riverhill, and West Parish Road.