Bicycling

Where’s the best bicycling in Weirs Beach?

There are quite a few hidden paths where you can go mountain biking through the woods right in Weirs Beach—but you’ll have to find them on your own, because they’re a SECRET! Hint: try exploring off of Hilliard road; Scenic/Roller Coaster road; and White Oaks road.

Whether you ride a road bike, a gravel bike, or a mountain bike, there are fun bike rides for everyone in the Weirs Beach area!

The closest trail to consider is the WOW trail from Lakeport to Belmont. The trail is easy, mostly level, and paved its whole 4 1/4 mile length. Winnipesaukee E-Bikes, in Laconia, can rent you an electric bike to explore the WOW trail. Rental rates for this summer of 2026 are $50 for a half day (3 hours) or $85 for a full day (7 hours).

In Belmont, the Village Spur Rail Trail is a short and easy, level gravel trail, beginning at the Belmont Mill in the center of Belmont village. The trail extends for 2 miles through beautiful quiet woods and fields until it dead ends at the Tioga River.

Other close by, easy, level trails include the 5-mile, Winnipesaukee River Trail from Tilton to Franklin, and the 60-mile, Northern Rail Trail, which can be accessed in Franklin, around its midpoint.

One final easy, level gravel trail is the Old Hill Village Trail, also known as Old Route 3A. The trail is well known to locals, but hardly anyone else. The trail stretches 6.1 miles alongside the Pemigewasett River, from the Profile Falls parking lot in Bristol, to its South Gate parking lot in Franklin. Midway along the ride, the trail passes through what is known as the Needle Brook Reservation Area, the abandoned location of the former village of Hill, which had to move to higher ground as a result of the Franklin Falls dam. The best map of the ride can be found on the Natural Atlas website here. (The South Gate parking lot is very hard to find, as it is located at the end of a long, unmarked driveway. The South Gate driveway begins just 50′ north of the mailbox for 559 Hill Rd in Franklin.)

All of the above trails are easy and level because they are based in part, or in whole, on abandoned railroad lines, which mostly paralleled alongside local rivers and streams.

For moutain bikers, looking for longer, more challenging rides with real hills, there’s an extensive trail system at Gunstock. There’s also miles of intertwining trails in the Belknap Lakes area. Mountain bikers have several other choices in the area, including Ahern State Park in Laconia, Ramblin’ Vewe Farm in Gilford, and Waukewan Highlands in Meredith. Advanced and technical mountain bikers should check out the Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield.

If road biking is your preference, there are many nice, quiet country roads, even in the summertime, in the sparsely populated nearby towns of Sanbornton and Gilmanton. You’ll find the DeLorme New Hampshire Atlas & Gazetteer absolutely indispensible if you wish to explore the byways and backways in these areas. The most recent version of this Atlas was published in 2021 and combines NH with Vermont.

To get to Sanbornton by bike from Weirs Beach, take Roller Coaster Rd to Parade road, head N 1/4 mile, then take a left on Livingston Rd to Meredith Center. Head N on Meredith Center Rd 1/4 mile, then take a left on Chemung Rd. Follow Chemung Rd two miles to Sanbornton.

For more tips on where to bicycle in the area, see the Lakes Region Bicycling website, or the website of the Central NH chapter of the New England Mountain Biking Association (NEMBA). Nearby NEMBA trail areas that are quite extensive include Franklin Falls, Page Hill (in Hill), and Spaulding Woods (in Tilton).