A 27 mile gravel and road bike ride in Ipswich that covers varied ground

The Essex County Greenbelt gravel bike meetup was held on Saturday, May 4th in Ipswich. This post is based on the route followed by the ride a year ago and the 2024 route was longer and more varied – the map shows the route.

My buddy TC asked me recently if I’d like to join him on a gravel bike ride in Ipswich, hosted by Essex County Greenbelt. I gamely said yes, and slapped some knobby 30cm tires on my road bike – not the ideal setup, but it worked.

The ride starts on Topsfield Road in Ipswich, enters Willowdale State Forest and continues on the pleasant streets and roads of Ipswich, reentering non-paved trails at Castle Neck River Reservation, a Greenbelt property off of Route 133. From there the trails take you through – well, candidly I didn’t know where we were until we entered Bradley Palmer State Park!

For this loop a gravel bike is ideal for your mount, but a hybrid or hardtail mountain bike will work fine as well. The loop is about 2/3 dirt and 1/3 paved.

This route is a fun one and got me out of my road-riding comfort zone without the rougher gnar that single track can often include. I’d like to thank TC for inviting me and the Essex County Greenbelt for the sharing the route. For more Greenbelt events, check ’em out here.