sandwich notch road

[kltilton]

Sandwich Notch Rd. can be a beast, but it has gotten a lot better in the last couple of years. After some major flooding a few years ago, the state got some FEMA money and fixed a lot of the old culverts and did a lot of other drainage work to keep the road in better shape. I have driven my Ford Focus over it numerous times. You just need to be careful.

 

[TrishandAlex]

I am sooooo tempted to rent a car and take this trip....yelling "yeeee haw" all the way....

(I'll be sure to purchase the insurance package when I pay for the car rental).

 

[grouseking]

I went down that road in May of '04. Its still the worst maintained road I've ever been on. Then again, it was just after all the snow had melted, and I don't think the forest service had a chance to get out there and fix some of the 12-16 inch deep potholes. If you tried to get in there from Rt 49, good luck getting up the very first hill right off the highway...its quite steep. I think there is a house on the other side of that hill, so maybe that part is maintained, but everytime I drive by that first hill, I think, "how the heck do you get up that without sliding down in winter?"

grouseking

 

[skibones]

I would say the Sandwich Notch Road is barely a road. The first time i took it, I was expecting it to be like the Tripoli Road. I was ready to turn my 1990 Saab around, but I figured since i already went half way I might as well continue. I do take it a few times in the summer when I'm not in a rush. it's a fun road to do on skis. I haven't seen the dog sleds there, but my friend did the road last week on skis and she said just when she got to the end, there was team of dogs going out. I guess if she was on the road on her shis, the dogs would have the right of way!

 

[rocket21]

I guess perception of Sandwich Notch Road might have to do with where you're from. Sandwich Notch Road is actually somewhat similar to the dirt roads I grew up on in Western Massachusetts, both in terms of terrain and road condition. Thus, it doesn't really seem to stand out as being *that* bad, at least when driving a vehicle with high clearance.

 

[Stan]

Most gravel roads in New England take a beating in the winter whether they are open or not. Often they are graded in the spring, after mud season, and early summer, but they can be most dangerous to your tires immediately after grading as that often exposes sharp rocks until time and traffic cause them to settle.

The traffic control strategy for Sandwich Notch Road is a new explanation to me and it raises philosophical possibilities to control a lot of things. I, however, am in constant search of the perfect 40 miles of bad road.

 

[RoySwkr]

Sandwich Notch Road is neither a Forest Service or state road, but instead is owned and maintained by the towns. In the past at least they have not bothered to gate it whether it is passable or not, but let users make their own decisions. One guy who used to live at the end went for a drive during mud season in his jeep and wound up stranded partway across when he couldn't get up the hill going either way. He walked home and waited for the road to dry.

I have been across numerous times in various vehicles nearly all 2wd, just drive slowly and go in the dry season (roughly Jun-Oct).