Ride NoCo turned five this year, and it’s incredible to think about how much this small nonprofit has accomplished with an entirely volunteer board, community support, and a few key grants. Check out our Project Page to read a history of Ride NoCo projects.
Ride NoCo has also raised $82,000 towards our $100,000 Capital Campaign that we launched in the beginning of 2024, and we have completed a majority of the capital campaign projects.
For the last five years, Ride NoCo has pushed the envelope of what we can achieve, yet 2025 may have been our busiest year yet. Check out our accomplishments:
Lower Red Tail Rebuild
Ride NoCo completed its top-to-bottom rebuild of Red Tail. The lower Red Tail rebuild addressed many of the same problems that existed in Upper Red Tail, including widening abrupt corners and smoothing degraded areas, while also aligning with guidelines to preserve the watershed. The rebuild also included two significant reroutes. The result is an easier, smoother trail that is more enjoyable in both directions.
Lynx
Lynx is a crucial new artery that connects Red Tail to Kettle Ridge, creating the easiest top-to-bottom descent and ascent in the Hurricane Mountain Zone. It also increases the variety of riding options in the network by enabling Red Tail and Hurricane trail users to more easily reach other trails and the primary lower parking area at Cranmore Mountain Resort.
Kandaroo
Ride NoCo volunteers built Hurricane Mountain Zone’s first new hand-built tech trail since building Sendero in 2018. Kandaroo starts to rider’s left of Kandagnar and has a plethora of small-sized features which make for an incredible intermediate tech trail that is a longer and more playful alternative to upper Kandagnar.
Fine-tuning Half Day
Ride NoCo volunteers completed a new official entrance at the top of Half Day that diverts rider traffic from the rock climber’s trail. In addition, Ride NoCo’s trail crew benched the remaining off camber turns on the lower half of the trail and established a single line where multiple lines existed or where the trail was not well defined.
Trail Crew
Ride NoCo hired our first official trail crew who spent 146 hours improving our trails. The trail crew improved the berms and rock armored sections on Kandagnar; revitalized berms on Charlie’s; bench cut, widened, and smoothed the tread on Kettle Ridge; bench cut large swaths of Half Day to meet US Forest Service standards and increase the safety of the trail; raked gravel and debris off of Tornado and Surf’s Up; added material and shaped berms on Hurricane; and helped build Kandaroo.
Volunteer Trail Work
Ride NoCo volunteers put in 482 hours of trail work this season, from leaf blowing and repairing berms to building bridges and new sections of trail. The Hurricane Mountain Zone would not exist without volunteers, so THANK YOU to all who volunteered their time and came to a trail day.
Fryeburg Academy Trail Course
Fryeburg Academy’s May Term course Understanding Our Trails, led by Ride NoCo’s Caroline Murphy, gave students hands-on experience in sustainable trail building and environmental ethics. Over three weeks, they learned from regional partners and practiced trail building skills on Half Day using Ride NoCo tools. The program strengthened trail stewardship and highlighted the collaboration behind local trail systems. Special thanks to Sally McMurdo of The Conway Daily Sun for joining the group—read her article here!
What is Ride NoCo planning for 2026?
Having tackled so many big projects over the last five years to build, repair, and reroute trails to improve the quality of the riding and sustainability of the network, the Ride NoCo board is excited to have more of a “planning” year, but that does not mean we’ll be relaxing! Be on the look out for:
A new hand-built blue tech trail “Raw”
A more robust paid trail crew
An improved map and lots of new signage
Many more volunteer opportunities
New merchandise
Improved rider and community engagement
