Distance: 3.5 Mile Loop
Difficulty: Easy
The Loverens Mill Hiking Trail is located on Loveren Mill Road off of Route 9 in Antrim. After you turn onto Loverens Mill Road you cross the bridge and the parking lot is located on the right. The trail starts across the street which is marked with a sign from the Nature Conservancy and a trail map.
From the parking lot you walked up an old road along an old mill and dam site
After walking a few hundred feet the trail turns to the right. The trail was fairly easy to follow due to trail markers. Not far down the trail is the side trail through Loverens Mills Cedar Swamp. Fun fact: "Atlantic white cedar swamps are rare in New Hampshire, comprising only about one percent of the state’s wetlands. Loverens Mills Cedar Swamp is the second largest and considered the highest quality boreal cedar swamp in New Hampshire." Courtesy of the Nature Conservancy Website.
After meandering through the woods you come to a fork in the trail where you can go right or left. I have gone both ways and do not have a preference. If you go right you follow the trail through the woods to the Contoocook River.
There is another side trail to a lookout point that overlooks the rivers and some local ridges.
After the lookout point the trail follows the river for a little bit before turning back into the woods and connecting to the start of the loop.
The total hike was about 3.5 miles it is mostly flat, but there are few gradual inclines and declines throughout the trail. Due to the length and various up and downs of the trail I would recommend this for older kids and people who have some hiking experience. There are a lot of rocks on the trail so you want to make sure have had about a foot of snow if you plan on snowshoeing here.
