Hickory Trail

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

Part of the Hampstead Conservation system of trails, Hickory is a short loop trail that runs up to Dogwood Trail on both ends. Hickory is a mixture of mostly singletrack, with short pieces of doubletrack, that meanders south from Dogwood. It is mostly intermediate terrain with a couple of more advanced, techy spots and a steep little hill in the middle (if you come from the south it is especially steep).

Coming in from the north (the more northern entrance from Dogwood), the trail Y's pretty quickly, with both paths taking you to the same place. The more southern path seems like the more well-used (and it is the more technical and fun) section of trail so I suggest staying right here. Shortly thereafter, you'll come to another Y. Here you'll want to stay left to stay on the Hickory Loop. Alternatively, you can take the path to the right and this will connect you to the other end of Hickory, which is where you're headed anyway, so if you want/need to shorten the loop for any reason, you can do so here.

At the next Y, you'll want to stay right; the left path will take you on a short connector down to a road, which will exit the trail system. Once you pass that intersection, you'll stay on a southwesterly path for a while, and once you turn northwesterly, you'll again have two options. If you stay to the left, the trail heads up a technical little step-up rock to a rest spot with a bench and then a short little re-entry downhill. If you want to avoid the technical section, just stay to the right. Both paths end up in the same place, which is back on the main trail. You'll then encounter a trail coming in from the right; this is the connector spoken of previously, so stay to the left to stay on Hickory, which then meanders up a short climb and runs back into the Dogwood Trail, and you're done!