Perhaps the best stretch to ski on the Jack-rabbit Trail is known as Old Mountain Road. As it leaves North Elba, the trail drops through a series of beaver swamps, passes Pitchoff Mountain’s ice-covered cliffs and eventually ends at a woodsy trailhead on Alstead Hill Road, a quiet dead-end lane in Keene.
In recent years, like many scenic places, this 3-mile stretch through the Sentinel Range Wilderness has seen increased use. Skiers show up in droves on weekends, climbers use the trail to access nearby cliffs and hikers enjoy the path’s gentle grade.
“It’s a major access point to the wilderness area, the forest preserve, not just the ski trails part of it, but people hike on Old Mountain Road. They use it to access the Barkeater Cliffs,” said Josh Wilson, executive director of the Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA), which maintains the 35-mile Jackrabbit Trail from Paul
