Coring methods cannot reveal the distribution of roots with depth in rocky soil, and root cores are typically taken without regard to the location of trees. We used quantitative soil pits to describe rooting patterns with depth and distance to trees in northern hardwood stands. We sited three 0.5 m2 quantitative soil pits in each of three young (20-28 y) and three older (55-70 y) stands developed after clearcutting plus two mature stands developed in a former pasture and woodlot. Live roots were divided into diameter classes delimited at 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 100 mm; dead roots were not distinguished by size. Total live root biomass was 2900 ± 500 g/m2 in older stands and 1500 ± 400 g/m2 in young stands. The root mass in the 2-20 mm class was 2.7 times greater in the older stands (p=0.03); fine (<2 mm) roots were 1.5 times greater (p=0.12). Root abundance declined with depth, with the finest roots (<0.5mm) declining most steeply; roots were found at low densities into the C horizon. Surprisingly, we found that fine roots as well as coarse roots reflected the influence of nearby trees (represented as the sum of basal area/distance from pit), suggesting that root measurements should be made with attention to patterns of tree distribution.