Billerica

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Billerica

Billerica is a small trail system in an area of the world I would call, more or less, Almost Nowhere, MA. It's not actually so remote as a western, MA trail system might be. But like Yudicky Farm, it's not really destination material. I also do not think this is "on the way" material, as this is a more technical destination and if you're in a rush, this is not where you want to ride.

That said, I really do enjoy this trail system and I have made it a point to hit it every time I am in the area north of Boston.

All told, you can do the whole thing in about an hour. But several of the trails can, and should, be ridden in both directions. You can do a solid 1.5 hours here, more of you're going slow and trying all of the features. But some features are pretty big league, like this rock below which is a good 6-7 feet tall.

billerica.jpg

Getting There/Parking

This park is about 45 minutes NorthWest of Boston, right off 495 on the way to Maine, I suppose. The closest town is Chelmsford.

For this park, you should park in the lot off Rangeway Road right in the middle of the system.

General Ride/Trail Notes

I ride the north side of the park as a warmup, which is the tame side of it. You can do this in 15-20 minutes and while there are a few features on this side, it is certainly more tame than the south side.

Once you cross over the street, here is what I ride:

Trail notes:
  1. Climb Yellow Rabbit. This trail is your entry/exit to the park. Several features can be ridden both ways so take your time.
  2. Norther Loop - CW
  3. In the middle of Northern Loop, take Inner Loop. TF says to do this CW but it seems to have recently been made a CCW trail. That said, this is the trail with some of the biggest features that are questionable to hit when solo. Inner Loop is short so you could do this both ways if you want.
  4. Gilson Hill Loop CCW. This trail certainly rides better CCW.
  5. One Rock Lollipop Loop. I tend to ride it CCW because somehow I just flow into it this way. I think this is more or less either way. It's just a few minutes.
  6. At this point you have done all the trails, so I then do...
  7. Northern Loop - CCW.
  8. If you are so inclined, you could do the Inner Loop in the other direction on the way back.
  9. Go down Yellow Rabbit back to the car.

Routes
  • My 2022 Strava ride is here.
  • First 2023 ride here.
  • Second 2023 ride here.
  • 2024 ride here which is described above and would be my recommended loop.
I also went here a 5th time before any of these rides, but it's listed as Mill Pond since I started there and rode over to this.

Trip Planner

I don't see this place as trip worthy. Perhaps I will throw something together 1 day for "people stuck in this specific area" but really, you should not plan a trip here unless you are on some sort of mission to hit as many parks as you can.

Food & Drink

I think I got pizza once in this area after a ride and it was pretty bad. So I can't recommend that. There's not much here, so I will direct you to the same few places in Lowell, MA that I used for Yudicky Farm which is close enough, but not really close.
  • Nibbana Cafe - really, really good coffee shop with excellent pour-over and excellent espresso
  • 1981 Ramen Bar - it's ramen, so...
Links
 
I’ve actually never ridden these trails, but you can connect Billerica to Russell Mills, which are a fun mix of flow with a dash of technical A lines (rollers or skinnies). Fun generally intermediate-level trails, but there are a bunch of spots I’d visit before thinking about Billerica and Russell mills. If you’re in that area and need a quick ride, though, it’s a fun trail system.

Random, but it took me a while to pronounce Billerica accurately without thinking about it. I always want to pronounce it as if it rhymes with “America”, but in reality it is just pronounced Bill-Rick-Ah.
 
SO BIZARRE!!!

I am going to Billerica in a week or so to try to convince a company there to start using my stuff, a town I've never hear of until last week and there is a review of a park system there!!!

I mean, come on, that is nuts. I was planning on bringing the bike, but now I know where to do.
 
SO BIZARRE!!!

I am going to Billerica in a week or so to try to convince a company there to start using my stuff, a town I've never hear of until last week and there is a review of a park system there!!!

I mean, come on, that is nuts. I was planning on bringing the bike, but now I know where to do.

I’m here for you.

Russel Mill is ok, this is better. And as Chris says, it’s bill-RICK-ah.
 
I’m here for you.

Russel Mill is ok, this is better. And as Chris says, it’s bill-RICK-ah.
Alright, I'm also heading to another town I've never heard of, Tyngsborough.

What you got? If you have something there, I guess the better question would be, "where haven't you ridden your bike!?"
 
What you got? If you have something there, I guess the better question would be, "where haven't you ridden your bike!?"

I got you - tagged in another post I did last week.

I have never ridden my bike in Detroit.
 
Rode this park on day 2 of the trip this past week. Have been here 5 times now and I do like going. But it's not worth a trip, @rottin'
Thanks @Norm I drove past this area on Friday morning and again today on my way to/back from Hew Hampshire. Unfortunately, I had my road bike setup for this trip, not MTB. But on my next jaunt up there this will be a stop for sure.
 
Thanks @Norm I drove past this area on Friday morning and again today on my way to/back from Hew Hampshire. Unfortunately, I had my road bike setup for this trip, not MTB. But on my next jaunt up there this will be a stop for sure.

When you do, come back and leave a review here.
 
I didn't read your review but I can tell by the fact that they named these places up there in a way to discourage visitors the trails must be amazing.

BILLERICA? That's the name you give a place when your name is Bill and you declare it's a sovereign state.
 
BILLERICA? That's the name you give a place when your name is Bill and you declare it's a sovereign state.

IMG_2850.jpeg
 
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