I had done Epsom Town Forest a few years ago in Winter as part of my redlining the AMC 5th Edition. I had also done Fort Mountain up the access road a couple of times when I was first getting into hiking. There is now an expanded small network that combines the 2, so I headed out today to explore. I was a bit hesitant, for some reason I was thinking it wouldn't be as well as established and maybe a little rustic.. it was the complete opposite. Well marked and very well maintained. A really enjoyable day in the woods. I parked at the Epsom Town Forest parking area on Tarleton Rd. First I checked out the cellar hole off the parking area, then continued down Tarleton Rd until I reached a sign at about 1.4 miles indicating the trail headed left off the road and into the woods. There was a nice viewpoint about halfway up the road looking over to Fort Mountain. Just a short climb up, the new blue blazed S Fort Mountain Vista Trail headed off to the right and meandered around the lower slopes of Nottingham Mountain before heading to Fort Mountain. The trail started the climb up towards Fort Mountain before reaching the orange blazed Vista Loop. This was a short, steep little climb up with 2 red blazed spurs off to viewpoints. I went in a clockwise direction once I reached the actual loop portion of the trail, and the first spur I encountered was the nicer with wide open views and an established firepit. Completing the loop, and arriving back at the blue trail, I continued on to what they are calling N Fort Mountain Vista Trail which weaved around the lower slopes of Fort Mountain towards Mill Pond. This side was much more rustic and technical, but still well marked and maintained. The trail skirts the edge of Mill Pond before reaching an old woods road at a dam. Turn right here and follow a short ways (you can either stay on the old road back to Tarleton Rd which I had previously done) or take a left just after the dam onto another orange blazed trail called Mill Sluice Foot Trail. This follows a brook from the pond, which was very dry today. I passed a sign that said Mill Spur Trail and tried to follow it. It's shown on the map, but there are no blazes. I saw some flagging on trees, but it petered out and I didn't see any sign of the old mill sluice apparently at the end of this spur. Back on Mill Sluice Foot Trail I followed it back to Tarleton Rd and returned to the car.
Strava Actvity
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| Kiosk on Tarleton Rd |
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| cellar hole off parking area |
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| another cellar hole along Tarleton Rd |
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| view over to Fort Mountain from Tarleton Rd |
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| where the trail leaves the road |
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| Neville Peak Trail/S Fort Mountain Vista Trail intersection |
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| view along S Fort Mountain Vista Trail |
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| intersection of Fort Mountain Vista Trail and Vista Loop |
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| at the loop portion of the lollipop on Vista Loop |
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| first view point heading clockwise on Vista Loop |
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| second view spur heading clockwise on Vista Loop |
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| where N Fort Mountain Vista Trail meets the old road at Mill Pond |
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| this was as far as I got on Mill Spur Trail |
