Frenchtown Preserve Conditions

walker33 said:
Is the small lot on Horseshoe Bend Rd. the only place to park? looks like it might get crowded.
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It is the only official lot though I’ve literally never seen it crowded. If cycling, there are a few other entry points that may require a small amount of road riding but you should be fine to park on Horseshoe Bend lot.
 
walker33 said:
Is the small lot on Horseshoe Bend Rd. the only place to park? looks like it might get crowded.
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I've never seen this lot full either. An alternative is the big Frenchtown lot on the D&R. This lot does fill up on the weekends, so the tiny lot on Horseshoe may be a better bet on weekends lol.

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audionerdio said:
Was able to snap a pic of the signs up at the end of the Green trail heading south out of the park yesterday. Just in case anyone else was wondering.

On another note, there is some serious erosion from the recent rain as well as a couple of large trees down. Trails were mostly great though and the trees will be removed shortly.
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Thank you audionerdio, I now know exactly what the signs say and I definitely now know to not follow that trail off of the Frenchtown Preserve property.
 
Conditions better than expected. Few soft spots in the usual areas. Stream a bit high but.. duh.

Tried to mark issues on TF during ride but don’t think it worked.

Large tree down on Red near Yellow/kiosk.

Few saplings on Orange.

I moved a few small trees on Red and Blue.

Like the skinny on Blue! Spent some time playing on it.
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Saw a few hikers out today. Nice to see some people out enjoying.
 
Robin said:
Conditions better than expected. Few soft spots in the usual areas. Stream a bit high but.. duh.

Tried to mark issues on TF during ride but don’t think it worked.

Large tree down on Red near Yellow/kiosk.

Few saplings on Orange.

I moved a few small trees on Red and Blue.

Like the skinny on Blue! Spent some time playing on it.View attachment 236212
View attachment 236213

Saw a few hikers out today. Nice to see some people out enjoying.
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These trees, along with a few other low-hangers have been cleared by Chris. Thank you for alerting us to it.
 
Morning all!
The Mill Race Trail behind Frenchtown Park has been re-routed and could use some riders. The rain storms we had in late winter/early spring eroded the embankment to the point where the trail was non-existent for about 100’ with about a 8’-10’ drop down into the creek. The new route hangs to the left just past the picnic table and reconnects with the old trail. We beat through a lot of vegetation and didn’t really make it down to dirt so trail use will be helpful. Be mindful of hidden pedal grabbers for the time being. We will get out there to fine tune it at some point, hopefully soon. We left a couple of logs out to be used as features, which is the benefit of having some mountain bikers on the decision-making team now. Trailforks suggests it’s hike/run only but I’ve been riding it for years without any issue and I’m not sure if there’s an official ruling on that. It’s a nice add-on when you’ve finished a ride at the preserve and just want a little more. It is a popular trail for parents with young children so please keep that in mind too while you’re riding.


Let me know if you have any questions!
 
Hi everybody, I was at the Frenchtown Preserve yesterday. I entered the preserve from the Frenchtown Commons and followed the Yellow Trail east for a little while. I took a photo of the second trail going uphill from Frenchtown Commons. That trail going uphill is so steep! I didn’t attempt to climb it, I didn’t want to risk falling backwards down the slope. I also took a photo of the brook.
 

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Hi, I was at the Frenchtown Preserve again today and I hiked the preserve today instead of riding my bike and I again entered the preserve from Frenchtown Commons and followed the Yellow Trail east along the brook. I saw that steep trail again that goes up the slope. It’s either one of the Green Trails or one of the Orange Trails but it’s really steep and like I said in my previous post, I don’t want to risk falling backwards down the slope.
 
Brian Sipler said:
Hi, I was at the Frenchtown Preserve again today and I hiked the preserve today instead of riding my bike and I again entered the preserve from Frenchtown Commons and followed the Yellow Trail east along the brook. I saw that steep trail again that goes up the slope. It’s either one of the Green Trails or one of the Orange Trails but it’s really steep and like I said in my previous post, I don’t want to risk falling backwards down the slope.
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Yes, that section from the Yellow, up the hill to the corner of the field is very steep. I believe that trail has been there for a long time and was originally created by the farmer who used to work the fields above. Glad you played it safe!
 
audionerdio said:
Yes, that section from the Yellow, up the hill to the corner of the field is very steep. I believe that trail has been there for a long time and was originally created by the farmer who used to work the fields above. Glad you played it safe!
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Actually, I was there today and I entered the preserve from Frenchtown Commons again and I followed the Yellow Trail along the brook toward Horseshoe Bend Road and the trail I’m talking about is actually one of the orange trails. It goes uphill from the yellow trail and gets so steep that I was afraid to attempt it. This orange trail is before the yellow trail gets to the red trail. It isn’t the field connector trail that you see on the left as soon as you enter the preserve from Frenchtown Commons.
 
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Actually, it isn't one of the orange trails that I saw, it's one of the green trails going uphill from the yellow trail but it isn't the Field Connector Trail that is the first trail going uphill on the left when you enter the preserve from Frenchtown Commons, it's the second trail going uphill when you follow the yellow trail from the Frenchtown Commons entrance toward the parking area on Horseshoe Bend Road. I looked at the Trailforks website and it shows a warning on that green trail that says extremely steep descent. That warning is so accurate!
 
Yes! It’s very steep! Good place to test your braking technique. I’ve never attempted going up that section with my bike, only down. And downhill, it seems like a waste of elevation considering there are much more fun ways to get down from there. I might go down it again soon now that you have me thinking about it. 🤔
 
Hit the stupid steep downhill yesterday. Tried braking, coming to a complete stop, then continuing on. It was doable but front tire slipped a few times. Fun stuff!

Trails are getting a little shaggy in spots but nothing is impassable. I was with Chris who does the bulk of the trimming so he’ll likely head out there soon to hit some of the problem spots.

Stay hydrated y’all!
 

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