Most hotels in New Hampshire don’t want your ATV. They’ll let you park the trailer in a far-back lot and call it good. Red Fox Inn is not most hotels. We were a 1955 motor lodge before we became an inn, which means every room opens directly onto a parking spot. Park your machine at your door. Walk twenty feet to your bed. Repeat tomorrow.
If you’re planning a Ride the Wilds trip, this is a guide to staying in Lancaster — what the trails look like, where to ride, where to eat after, and which room to pick.
What Ride the Wilds is
Ride the Wilds is a network of more than 1,000 miles of interconnected ATV and UTV trails across Coös County, New Hampshire. It’s the largest such system in the Northeast — bigger than anything in Maine or upstate New York. The network was stitched together over the last fifteen years through a partnership between local clubs, the state, and dozens of private landowners. The result is the kind of riding most of the country lost decades ago: legal, well-marked, varied, and connected to actual towns.
Lancaster sits at one of the southern entry points. The town permits ATVs and UTVs on town streets, which means you can ride from the trail directly to a restaurant, a gas station, a hardware store, or your room. Most New Hampshire towns don’t allow this. Coös County is built for it.
The drive-up advantage
Red Fox Inn’s exterior-corridor format — every room opens to its own parking spot — is what makes us the right basecamp. You don’t lug gear through a hotel lobby. You don’t hunt for a trailer space half a mile from your door. You ride up, kill the engine, and you’re home. This is the same logic that made the property work as a 1950s motor lodge: you arrive in your machine and park at your room.
A few specific things about the property that matter for ATV riders:
- Trailer parking is free and available on-site (call first if you’re bringing more than one).
- Wayfarer coffee + continental breakfast opens at 7:30 AM in the lobby. Coffee in your hand before sunrise on a riding day.
- Late check-in isn’t a problem — call ahead.
- Laundry on site for the extended-stay units (the others can use the local laundromat two blocks away).
Where to ride from Lancaster
Jericho Mountain State Park (Berlin)
The marquee destination on Ride the Wilds. About 25 minutes northeast from the inn. Jericho is a 7,000+ acre state park that exists primarily for ATV and snowmobile use, with everything from beginner loops to genuine technical riding. Parking, restrooms, picnic areas. The park staff knows ATV culture — they want you there.
Kilkenny Trail Riders
Lancaster’s local ATV club, based right here at PO Box 64. Their Kilkenny trail system covers some of the most varied terrain in northern New Hampshire — climbs, mud sections, scenic ridge runs. The club maintains the trails, hosts events, and is generally the kind of organization worth supporting if you’re going to ride the area.
The connector trails
The whole point of Ride the Wilds is the connection. From Jericho you can ride west toward Stark and the Connecticut River, north into Pittsburg and Moose Alley, or south toward Gorham and the Northern Forest Heritage Park. A multi-day trip is genuinely possible without putting your machine on a trailer once.
Where to eat after riding
Lancaster is a working downtown — the food and drink scene is tighter than what you’ll find in most ATV towns:
- Polish Princess Bakery — fresh pierogi and naturally-leavened breads. One block from the inn. The pierogi after a long ride is a tradition.
- Copper Pig Brewery — Lancaster’s craft brewery, in the basement of an old brick bank beside the Israel River. Award-winning beer, real food.
- Scorpio’s Pizza & Sports Bar — exactly what you want it to be. Burgers, wraps, full menu, sports on the TVs.
- The Den — our cocktail bar inside the inn. Open Thursday through Monday, 5–11 PM. After a long day on the trail, sometimes you want a real drink in a velvet chair.
Which room for ATV riders
A few honest recommendations:
- Solo or duo, weekend trip: the Standard Queen or Deluxe Queen. Park at the door, sleep, ride.
- Group of four, splitting one room: the Deluxe Double — two double beds.
- Multi-day trip with gear: the Extended Stay (Ground Level). Full kitchen, living room, your own private entrance, free laundry. Great for a 4–7 day trip where you want to settle in.
Snowmobile note
The same drive-up advantage applies in winter for snowmobiles. The Coös County corridor system connects to Quebec and Vermont. We offer a seasonal package — three months of lodging with your trailer parked at your room 24/7. Call us if you want the details.
The bottom line
The Northeast doesn’t have many real ATV towns left. Lancaster is one of them — a working downtown that built ATV access into its town code, a working trail club, and a 27-room inn whose layout was built sixty years before anyone knew what an ATV was but happens to be exactly what an ATV rider wants.
Book your Ride the Wilds basecamp, or call us at (603) 788‑4921 to talk through dates and rooms.