Down East Sunrise Trail Cherryfield/Ellsworth
Gravel Segment
From Down East Sunrise Trail, Cherryfield, Washington County to Down East Sunrise Trail, Hancock, Hancock County, Maine
2015 gravel was packed down into two paths from ATV traffic. This leaves a center berm of course gravel. Tires smaller than 35mm may not work well.
WTB Nano 40c worked perfect.
Saturday morning in July I passed less than 10 ATVs they all slowed down to pass and wave. (no bikes?)
Distance
Elevation
28.44
miles
36 ft
minimum
282 ft
maximum
981 ft
gain
853 ft
loss
100%
gravel
1 image
Leave a Comment
on November 28, 2023
We rode from Ellsworth to Cherryfield and back in late October - was an awesome day on the bike. There were a couple of heavily wash boarded sections, but much more of it was just awesome gravely goodness. I rode a Salsa Cutthroat with 2.1 inch 29ers, so none of it was too difficult to navigate. We saw maybe 30-40 ATVs and only 2 other cyclists.
on May 17, 2021
rode from ellsworth to franklin on 5/16/21. First 3 miles out of ellsworth are fine, it quickly deteriorates into loose sand topped with mountains of egg-sized sharp rocks. watched dirt bikes struggle. really not suitable for bicycling. lots and lots of ATVs, side by sides, etc.
on August 14, 2018
Rode this portion on 8/14/18 from Ellsworth to Cherryfield. My set up is a Cannondale Super X with Schwalbe X One 35 tubeless. The first 5 miles out of Ellsworth were fast with great hard pack. Able to move along at 15+ mph. The next 5 miles were looser but with ample hard sections. Miles 10 -25 were quite loose and slow - I was averaging 8-10 mph. Needed to work hard and pay attention all the time. By mile 25 I was fighting it and went down in a moment of inattention. Last 5 miles in to Cherryfield were again packed down and easy. This was not an easy ride and one I would not recommend if your looking for a gravel cruise. Might be more enjoyable with fatter tires (40 or larger) and being prepared to ride slower. - Mark Godin