This summer, the annual cycling event called the Biker’s Run kicks off with long, rolling stretches of green hills through the rolling lawns of the Whitehall State Park in Hopkinton MA. You will be able to enjoy the entire scenic loop, and soon you will start to hear the voices of other runners and cyclists as you come around the bend of any forested trail.

If you want to take the Whitehall Bicycle Ride, the distances between the different trails are quite long. To keep yourself motivated, you might want to go with one of the various shortened courses that can help you keep pace with the bicyclists or you can always just start at the first option.

When you first reach the parking area at Whitehall State Park, you will be welcomed by the man wearing a vest. “Welcome, Trail Runners!” The man with the vest, or the one in charge, is an enthusiastic, nice and very friendly riding buddy.

To begin your ride, you will cross over the rocky trail on the left side. This trail is actually somewhat steeper than the other two, so you might find the walking portion challenging. There are two trails available for you to take at Whitehall, and both are equally enjoyed. What will be more difficult is the older of the two trails that runs from the parking area to the main trail junction.

With the center of the Whitehall Bicycle Trail, you will take the gradual ascent up to the junction where there is a sign for the still-described “old” trail. Just after you reach the junction, you will need to make your own decision as to whether you want to take the shorter, more straightforward trail or continue on the well-breezed, more strenuous, longer, but less arduous, trail.

Whitehall Reservoir Loop is a 7 mile trail. Once you have made your decision, you will take the longer of the two, with the steep ascent climbing higher than the first two previous segments. You will keep going back up the trail until you reach the junction where you will turn left and take the shorter trail.

As the trail climbs up and over, the steepness of the steeper parts of the route becomes less of a challenge, although you will still need to take care of your knees and ankles. The way down, when it will finally end, will have you continuing on through the forest until you reach a slope that winds its way into the center of the larger and cooler Whitehall Lake.

The actual land that you will be riding on is quite picturesque, especially when you are on the longer, more difficult trail that climbs and runs its way up to the middle eastern spa. Once you cross the lake, you will need to put your bicycle on a waiting spot at the water’s edge and enjoy the solitude that the lake provides. This park consists almost entirely of water: the 592 acre Whitehall Reservoir.

After you have gotten to your first port of call, the Whitehall Bicycle Loop, the next two sections of the trail consists of three or four loops. Each of these loops will come together again and will connect with each other to make a big, long loop.

You will still find other options to get to Whitehall if you are not going to the lake, however. You will continue your loop at Hopkinton State Park, a great park that is just a block or two from the center of Whitehall.