Old Mine Road and Three Lakes Trail Loop

This loop covers the entire length of the Old Mine RR Trail, which, as the name implies, is the bed of a narrow gauge railroad which served to haul the iron ore from several of the mines in the surrounding area during the Civil War era. You will not only travel along these beds, but also see other mining-related items such as a small vertical mine shaft just off the trail, as well as mine dumps. Almost by definition, the part of the loop that traverses the old mine bed is quite flat, but other sections have moderate ups and downs. Although there is very limited parking on Sunken Mine Road near the Old Mine RR trailhead, vehicular traffic is not allowed on this road during the winter. Park in a lot (for about 8-10 cars) at the intersection of Dennytown Road and Sunken Mine Road. Walk on the latter (mild descent) for 0.3 miles, then turn left onto the Old Mine RR Trail (yellow), which crosses over a small ridge, with views of John Allen Pond on your right. At 0.7 miles, turn left onto the bed of an old railroad, which you follow until you turn right at 1 mile onto another, but wider railroad bed. Continue past the intersection with the Charcoal Burners Trail (red) at 1.4 miles until you reach the southern end of Hidden Lake at 1.8 miles. Turn right and cross the outlet stream of the lake on some rocks. You reach the end of the Old Mine RR Trail at 2 miles, at which point you turn right onto the 3-Lakes Trail (blue). Follow this trail past another intersection with the Charcoal Burners Trail, shortly after which you make a moderate descent before turning right onto another short stretch of railroad bed. Shortly after you leave it again, on the right you will see a collapsed dam which the original RR bed traversed. When the trail reaches the shore of John Allen Pond, it parallels the shoreline for a while, then descends to a (sometimes iffy in high water!) stream crossing, with a small waterfall to your right at a break in the dam. At 2.95 miles, turn right onto Sunken Mine Road and follow it back to your starting point.