Thoreau Falls Trail

Technical XC skiing with many washouts, drainage crossings, and decent hill climbs. My first time on XC skis so it was a little challenging for me but the two guys who were with me were intermediates and they had no problem. Temps were in the low 20s so there was little traffic after about 2 miles in and no traffic past 6 miles. We started from Lincoln trail head and didnt see signs for the thorough falls bridge being out and only heard from a parking-lot hero, and one passer, by giving us intel. However, the reports were conflicting and inconclusive. Although we had planned to do the whole 22 miles from Lincoln to Zealand, a hypoglycemic emergency and poor research led us to the decision to turn around about 6 miles in. We camped overnight in a small area about 400 meter from the trail, good tree fall, all soft wood. Running water was abundant and clean. Some areas past the 3 mile mark to the 5 mile mark were well washed out and bushwhacking through side trail overgrowth was necessary. Lesson learned: Do your research, start early.

Good long hike, took two dogs and one other person! Not very crowded and good sized parking lot.

one of the best hike. was looking for easy egress from AMC pond area going south to rest up in town nearby. nice hiking next to river the whole way

I hiked the Thoreau falls Trail as part of a loop with the wilderness trail and Shoal Pond Trail. A notice at the Zealand parking lot said that the bridge was out at the intersection of Thoreau Falls and Wilderness. Luckily I found that crossing the water there was no problem at all, and I didn't even need to take my shoes off to get across. The trail is in good condition and was quite easy going for the most part, following the river for most of the way with some short, steep jaunts up and down the hill. Really beautiful hike with nice tree cover and easy water access (bring a filter, of course) for a hot day. I saw lots of moose scat, but only later in Shoal Pond did I actually see a beautiful cow moose. The section of wilderness trail between Thoreau Falls Trail and Shoal Pond Trail was in good condition. Saw only two hikers once I got off the path to the AMC hut. Hiking North on Shoal Pond Trail was definitely the most difficult part of the loop, due to many downed trees in the trail and lots of mud and decomposing bog bridges. Still a great hike all around and the ~18.5 mile loop to/from Zealand lot took me (fit hiker with light backpack) 9.5 hours total.