You Are Here: Section 14 Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway

I actually did this Section over 2 Sunday's as an out and back from each end, but I'll tell the story in one report. I took pictures starting at the Newbury Harbor end, so we'll begin there. Parking is along Lake Sunapee on Rt 103, which is the same for the Newbury Trail up Mt Sunapee. There was only 1 car when I arrived. I geared up and headed out. Mosquitoes are out at the moment, so bug spray and bug net were put to good use on these hikes. The first 2 miles are on the roads, starting out down Rt 103. A couple short sections do not have sidewalk, so take care on these sections. Take a left onto Old Post Road and start going uphill. I was surprised how busy this road actually was, a relatively constant stream of cars, but the road is wide and I was able to keep way off to the side with no safety concerns. After a couple tenths, turn left onto Old Province Road.. and continue going uphill. At just under a mile, take a left onto grassy road (that is named Bartlett Road on some maps) at the sign for Bly Hill Cemetery. This is an old woods road and continues to head uphill. About half a mile up this there is an SRKG blaze on a tree on the left showing the trail going right up a short little rocky climb to a private driveway. Cross the driveway, and the trail re-enters the woods. There are some SRKG blazes pointing the way. (This was my turnaround point on hike 1). For just over 2 miles, the trail is now in the woods and on what is known as Fishersfield Trail, though only signed on the Chalk Pond side. From the private drive, the trail climbs up a little more and then has some rolling ups and downs. Pass a logged area with peekaboo views of the surrounding area. Initially the treadway is easy to identify and is well marked. Beyond the logged area, the trail becomes a little harder to follow, but is still relatively well marked. I did find that the blazes going in this direction were a little sparser than coming from the Chalk Pond side. I had to turn around and use the reverse blazes several times to stay on track, and did in fact wander off trail 3 times.. thankfully only briefly as it was my return direction on my 2nd hike and I quickly realized things didn't look familiar. A downloaded track helped immensely in those areas. The closer to Chalk Pond the trail got, it definitely became less identifiable, especially through some rocky areas where the small grasses had grown in and there was quite a bit of small debris. The last half mile or so is quite a steep descent (so uphill if coming from Chalk Pond). You can start to see signs of life with houses not far off. The true trail portion ends at a sign for Fishersfield Trail and continues on an old woods road for another few tenths. There were a couple of For Sales signs along the trail too, must be land alongside that is for sale as there were no houses in that immediate vicinity. The woods road ends at Skytop Lane and you turn right. Continuing downhill to a stop sign, take a left on Gerald Drive. I did not see any blazes at this turn in either direction. Walk along Gerald Drive for about a tenth of a mile to another stop sign and turn right onto Chalk Pond Road. Head up Chalk Pond Road a short distance and the Stoney Brook Wildlife Sanctuary parking area is on the left. This is the end of Section 14. Nothing of note along this section, just a relatively pleasant wander through the woods and neighborhoods of Newbury! I now just have 1 1/2 sections left to complete of the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway.

Strava Activity - Part 1

Strava Activity - Part 2