Orchard Pond Trail

"Way cooler trails to go to."

"It's an OK ride. A single route, no forks, no jumps, some good hills, sand, gravel, mud. Two trailheads approximately 3 miles apart running parallel to the orchard pond parkway. You go to the other trailhead and turn around. It's a former gravel road that doesn't see a lot of maintenance. I ride here often because it's close to where I live. Trees fall across the trail, and it seems to take forever to get cleaned up."

"Great for wild bird lovers! Can mountain bike or hike. Surrounded by private-owned pine forests on both sides, so make sure not to venture off the main dirt road. Before sunrise you can hear chuck-will's-widows and northern bobwhites singing."

"This is a great trail with beautiful spidery oaks and a well established and wide "canopy road" path. For the most part the surface is well compacted and flat, although I did encounter a few spots of loose dirt and one muddy puddle. Inclines are present, but mostly mild. The trail runs roughly parallel to the Orchard Pond Parkway toll road, which means you will occasionally catch views of traffic going by. Even when you don't see the traffic, you can still hear it. This is not as noticeable, however, as there are plenty of birds an other nature sounds that help drown out the traffic. Although I did not have any critter encounters to note, there were plenty of sign along the trail, including animal tracks and burrows. So if you are trying to escape civilization, this might not be the trail to take. If you want a great place to get some exercise and/or take your dog(s) for a nature walk, this is a great option. Note that if you approach the trail from the east end of Orchard Pond Parkway, you will have to pay the toll (twice if you leave the same way). If you approach it on the west, you will not have to worry about the toll."

"Orchard Pond Trail was formerly an unpaved County road that connected Old Bainbridge Rd and N Meridian Rd. When the Orchard Pond Parkway toll road was opened the old road was in part converted into this trail. In many ways this road was very similar to other canopy roads found around here. So in that respect the trail has in some parts got a tree canopy over hanging it, it has a hard packed clay surface in places and also is deeply incised into the earth with high clay embankments. There are few to no opportunities to safely walk along local canopy roads. This trail gives one the chance to walk along a very old historical path that once would have seen horse and cart traffic. The trail is very picturesque and well worth a visit. It seems to be fairly underutilized which is too bad as there are no other trails around here that are quite like it."