You Are Here: Pillsbury State Park Ponds Loop

I use a random number generator and a spreadsheet with pre-planned hikes to decide where I'm going to head most weekends. This week's lucky recipient was Pillsbury State Park. I had a pre-planned hike that required a non-Winter start, as the road to park is not plowed as far as I needed to go. Half Moon Pond Road in Washington is a gravel road, and turns Class VI beyond the intersection with Martin Road. I had read you could continue all the way to where the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway crosses, so I took the chance. It ended up being not that far and was doable in a mid to high clearance vehicle with care. I was surprised to find a car already there and carefully pulled in behind so as not to block either the trail or the road. Luckily as not too long after a truck came tearing down Half Moon Pond Rd probably not anticipating anyone being around. I later read that trucks have been known to drive recklessly down this road, so take care should you be in this area. I headed down the Greenway which descended down a Class VI road in the direction of Frog Pond before turning off into the woods at a marked junction. I have found many sections of the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway to be lush forest with amazing pine needle trail that is just heavenly to walk through. Today was more of that. The trail crosses a stream with a bridge and then begins climbing up Kittredge Hill. The only downside to my hike today were all the mosquitoes that decided to join me. I ended up wearing a bug net for most of the hike as I got sick of swatting them away. The climb up Kittredge Hill is moderate but the footing is great. Just under a mile from the car I passed Ridge Link Trail to the left. This would be where I would pop out on my return. There were a couple peakaboo views over to Lovewell Mountain as you got higher in sections where previous logging had taken place. The summit is wooded and the true summit is several hundred yards off trail, currently under a large blowdown. I continued on the Greenway which descended then ascended over a higher, but unnamed bump until the trail met up with Bear Pond Trail. Just under 3 miles from where the car was parked. I took the left onto Bear Pond Trail, which I ascended several months ago on my hike to Lucia's Lookout. This is a snowmobile trail and was damp, muddy and somewhat overgrown, as snowmobile trails tend to be in Summer. As the trail descended, the grass gave way to more of a Class VI type trail. Having remembered what a slog up it was on my first time here, I opted to go down this time. Good choice. Views of Bear Pond appear near the bottom of the trail. This was the only trail that was somewhat bug free for me today for some reason! I met up with Five Summers Trail which I turned left on and made my way through the campground at Pillsbury State Park. Here I saw my first people of the day. From here I picked up Mad Road Trail. To find this trail, I continued straight through the visitor parking area at the playground, there is a path through to the parking area for Sites 26 & 40, cross this and you will see Mad Road Trail directly in front of you, beginning at a gate/bridge and dam. Another snowmobile trail, like Bear Pond Trail, it was damp and muddy in places but easy enough to navigate around those areas. About 1.4 miles from the dam, I turned left on Ridge Link Trail and ascended back up to the Greenway. Ridge Link Trail was not blazed that I noticed, but was easy enough to follow if not a bit rustic and less maintained than the rest of the park. Back on the Greenway, I descended and headed back to the car. At the bridge over the stream was a family who had overnighted at Max Israel Shelter on Lovewell Mountain doing a small section hike. They were the only other hikers I saw all day.

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