Happy Thursday!
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programing to bring you this special report on the GRASS RIVER RAILROAD TRAIL! Grass River Railroad Trail 09/15/25 Massawepie ---> Tooley Pond Road 13 1/2 miles. 9:00 AM: I was dropped off with my bike and backpack at a junction called "Four Corners" way, way down Massawepie Boy Scout Camp Road. Having never explored this neck of the woods, I approached a kiosk and wiped some dew off of the plexi glass to confirm on the snowmobile map underneath that "you are here" is where i hoped it was. There were no GRRR trailmakers to be seen but I had studied and brought maps, read articles, talked to folks about it and was confident as I headed westward veering right at a fork in the dirt road. I was abruptly greeted by a gate and NO TRESPASSING AT ANY TIME signage. Before I could second guess my decision to go beyond the gate onto Trail C7A, the scenery changed and I found myself biking through the reputed Massawepie Mire, bouncing on century old rail ties, scattering away clusters of unspecified warblers. This is what I read about; this is what I was after: cruising through one of New York State's largest bogs. I rode slowly stopping now and then to soak it in. It was a picture-perfect day drenched in sunshine and a chorus of late summer crickets. I had the trail all to myself. After a couple of junctions - still no GRRR trail markers - a few miles down the trail a bridge crosses the South Branch of The Grasse River and the scenery changed from bumpy bog sunshine and tamaracks to a long and fast thrilling stretch through a tunnel of hardwoods. Signs alerted me to be aware of endangered spruce grouse crossing the trail. Some ups and downs here and there, cars on rt. 3 heard in the distance north, the still water Grasse River Flow visible through the trees on my right. A wide junction sends snowmobilers North on C7 towards Shurtleff's clearing and across rt 3. Bikers continuing on the GRRR continue head west on a trail labeled 718 which goes along a narrow section of the Grass River before meeting at rt 3 to cross over to the other half of the GRRR. I stopped for lunch by a large boulder along the rapids of the river. From my perch a stones-throw off the trail, I heard and saw four bikers heading east. The journey continued and I crossed over highway rt 3 bridge. This section was marked with helpful red GRRR Trail Markers and I would continue to see them for the rest of the trip. This next stretch of trail led through an open gate onto a bumpy fresh stone road downhill labeled S88/Buckhorn Road. It was a nice up and down jaunt through the forest. The next labeled junction takes bikers further west onto S88A/Windfall Road. A sandy and fun downhill stretch through the mixed forest led to a robust bridge which once again crossed the Grass River. Gates on either side of the river were closed to motor vehicles but bikes can work their way around or under without much trouble. I had seen Bear scat on the trail here and there all morning and noticed some fresh tracks in the sand at this section of trail. Some spots of recent culvert construction, uphills and downhills on freshly laid stone made this section more of a workout than the earlier relatively flat railroad grade section through the mire earlier in the day. Before long I found myself at Windfall Road and the end of the Grass River RailRoad Trail. It was one o'clock in the afternoon. The only people I saw all day were the four bikers heading east. I found the section of trail east of RT 3 to be more interesting and enjoyable than the western side of Rt. 3. The Eastern side holds a more dynamic landscape and smoother riding overall. The western side was a nice ride through the woods but felt less primitive and mysterious and the trail/dirt roads on the western seemed newer, and more used and accessible to the public. If you're looking for a breezy ride like the Rail Trail from Tupper to Placid: this isn't it! If you want wild, remote and rugged adventure through beautiful and relatively underutilized terrain: this is for you! Thanks to the GRRR folks working behind the scenes for nearly a decade to bring this outdoor recreational experience to life! Also, many thanks to the Childwold Snowpackers and Cranberry Lake Mountaineers Snowmobile clubs for keeping these cleared, labeled and maintained all year long!
