The New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) has proposed building a new trail on Mount Kearsarge in Warner.  Their proposal describes this as a downhill mountain bike trail to be primarily accessed from the summit parking area.

Warner residents spoke passionately about this trail in March 2026 at town meeting and voted overwhelmingly for a warrant article (Article 4) against the trail as proposed.

We ask that the State of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources reject the proposed multi-use trail on Mount Kearsarge, and we ask that NEMBA withdraw their trail application within Rollins State Park.  Additionally we ask that NEMBA work with the Town of Warner on any future trail proposals on public land within town.

Update 5/19/26:   We're off to a good start with 71 additional signatures on the paper petition from Spring Into Warner!  Prefer to sign the paper copy?  Reach out to us at protectkearsarge@gmail.com

Issues:

• Safety
  • Rollins State Park is in a remote area with ambulance service currently provided by the town of Hopkinton.  Response time for an ambulance crew will likely be in excess of 20 minutes.
  • Two way traffic on the steep, narrow toll road is already dangerous.  Adding additional Foot/Bike/Vehicular traffic to this road will significantly increase risk to all users.
  • There is no secondary evacuation route from Rollins State Park.
• Impact to Existing Park Users
  • The Rollins Trail which is accessed from the summit parking lot is a popular route for many groups of users providing long ranging views which are accessible to children, families and those with limited mobility. The summit parking lot includes 27 parking spots, only two of which are ADA accessible. These limited parking spots require reservations. This trail will further reduce available parking, thus restricting park accessibility for these types of users. 
  • There is no designated parking at the bottom toll gate for potential shuttling of bikers. 
• Erosion / Ecological Impacts
  • The toll road within Rollins State Park climbs roughly 1700 feet over 3.5 miles sections of which have extremely steep grades.  The proposed trail route roughly parallels the road in sections and becomes steeper in others.  While NEMBA acknowledges in their proposal that erosion control will be necessary, including hardening the trail surface with rock in areas, successful erosion management will be challenging at best.  Sections of the Rollins Trail and the Winslow Trail in neighboring Winslow State Park are examples of the extreme erosion that can take place in this terrain.
  • Much of the higher elevation terrain on Mount Kearsarge is considered Tier 1 wildlife habitat, a critical area for conservation efforts. 
  • The proposed trail runs through several wetland areas and close to a stream containing native New Hampshire brook trout.
  • The state is actively planning a timber harvest that will directly impact the last mile of the proposed trail.

Proposed Route: