By
pilots48
in
7/9/2010 4:13:39 PM
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This trail is a very picturesque ride. It is a 6.8 mile ride from the old Wolfboro train station to the intersection of Cotton valley rd. and Cotton Mtn. Rd.. Don't know why some of the trail is between the rails and some of the trail is next to them. Still, it is a great ride.
By
pilots48
in
7/3/2010 2:52:05 PM
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Road the trail today and yes it does have some soft spots but with a cross-trail or mountain bike should be no problem. I averaged 8mph. Maybe late spring or early summer would be a better time to ride so as more moisture would be on the trail to keep it packed down. The shady places were harder packed than sunny spots. At one point you ride up to a parking lot and it appears as though the trail ends but if you keep going you will find that the trail drops down out of the parking lot and continues. If you follow the trail along side Washington St. you can also ride through part of the town and the trail picks up again. You will re-enter the woods and be able to ride to Pleasant St. It ends at Claremont building supplies. You can see some left over tracks if you cross the road and go into the parking lot of the building supply company. It is a multi-use trail and you will meet up with OHRV and dirt bilks. They were very courteous towards me by slowing down and not making dust. The trail follows the river for most of the trail. Plenty of places to stop and get wet if it is hot. Total length of the trail is 11.5 miles. Very scenic ride.
By
pilots48
in
7/3/2010 6:54:40 AM
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Road the entire trail yesterday. Was as the previous post stated. As for the parking directions here is the correct version on the Grafton end. If you want to go the 23.8 miles as stated, take route 4 into Danbury, NH. and park at Zaccaria Rd.. Danbury is just East of Grafton and if you look for Zaccaria Rd. on your GPS in Grafton you won't find it. You will see a town line marker when you are on the trail. Not sure what store they are talking about but there is nothing across the street. The Lebanon half of the trail is the most improved. The trail does continue East of Zaccaria Rd. but not very well kept up. I did not take that end of the trail. As for parking off Depot st. that is also in Danbury opposite Ragged Mountain Hwy. That would add about 2.8 more miles length to the 23.8 mile trail.
By
pilots48
in
5/22/2010 2:30:49 PM
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This trail is very secluded. Very much into the back woods for the entire trail. Trail was smooth except for the bone jarring, teeth chattering, pocks left behind by horseback riders. I was able to bike 8.9 miles from Mason to Greenville. At that point the trail was covered with trees and looks like it has not seen any maintenance. There was a few muddy spots but still very passable. Also there was a large pine tree at about mile 2.5 that fell across the trail but I was able to pick up my bike and found a hole to get to the other side. If you want solitude this is the trail. Oh, and watch out for the moose.
In the other direction as like a previous post there are still rail road tracks in place at about .15 miles towards Townsend.
By
pilots48
in
5/21/2010 4:35:01 PM
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Needed to get away from the New Hampshire winters so I saw this trail and had to walk it. I started in Boulder city and walked to the dam. About half is paved in the begining and the rest is gravel. On my way back I saw some longhorn sheep. Would not want to do this in the summer as there isn't much cover over head except for the tunnels. Took me 8 hours. I clocked 16miles round trip with my GPS.
By
pilots48
in
5/21/2010 4:27:11 PM
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I rode this trail on my crossroad bike and was able to go from Route 111 in Windham to Mammoth road in Londonderry. This trail does cross the main road in Derry and goes through parts of the down town area but is well marked. The section at Hood park in Derry that had a "No trespassing" sign has been removed. At that part of the trail it is not obvious where to go but if you go straight across the grass you will come out to a road. It takes a little snooping around but you can find the trail continues on the other side of the road up a driveway to a business. I had to get off my bike as it was a steep ride down on loose gravel to get back onto the trail. . Got back on my bike and ran into a small stream. Someone had put a 2x4 across so I walked my bike across. Got back on the bike and continued. Once you go under route 93 it again looks like the trail ends but if you go straight across the grass, you will find the trail continues all the way to Mammoth Road. The trail does continue across Mammoth road but that is for another day of exploring.
On the way back I was able to avoid the stream by going onto the road that you can see from the trail in the area of the RC flying club and picked up the trail on the grassy part out of Hood park.
If you are adventurous this is a good trail.
By
pilots48
in
5/21/2010 4:05:31 PM
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Road the trail this morning on my cross trail bike. Started out in Jaffery. It is a gravel trail all the way. All bridges have been repaired. Took me an hour to reach the end of the trail which was at Lincoln ave in Winchendon Mass. Two parts of the trail had been recently graded and a little soft but should be OK once people use it. The last quarter mile was a little rough over rail road ties still in place but doable on a mountain bike. One part on the Mass side had some water on the trail but I was able to bike through it. Water was about 8 to 10 inches deep and we just had some rain 2 days before. I'm sure the water will recede in the summer. This is a trail worth checking out.
By
pilots48
in
9/6/2009 9:16:07 AM
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This trail which starts at the intersection of Rt 28 and Range rd is an easy walk to Hood park in Derry. There is a sign on the other side of Hood park that warns of private property with no trespassing. Not sure how they plan on connecting Salem to Concord with this trail as planned. You could park at Hood Park to walk the trail back to Windham but it is not clearly marked and does take some investigating to find it. The trail goes by the Depot at Broadway, crosses Broadway to Manning to Hood Park. It is easier to start in Windham and continue to Hood and then it will all fall into place. Not all of the trail is paved but some sections are under improvement. At the beginning in Windham, do not park in the motorcycle business parking area. Round trip was approximately 13 miles.
By
pilots48
in
8/7/2009 8:17:59 PM
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I decided that I would try to walk the entire length. I did and it took me 8 1/2 hours. It is an easy walk. Gravel all the way. Would also be a great bike ride. The trail is much improved from the 2004 post. Easily passable. One area had some water but there was a way around it. There are a few road crossings. In Raymond there is a place to eat. In Stratham there are also a places to eat.The map says it ends in Rockingham but it actually ends in New Fields. This trail has many other trails off of it in the Manchester area. Didn't meet many people once out of the Manchester area. This Rail Trail basically goes from exit 1, Rt. 101 to exit 11, Rt 101. There are no sanitary facilities along the route other than what you can find in towns along the way. There are a few signs pointing the way to some restaurants and Hannafords. The tunnels have been improved with planks placed inside for snowmobiles.
By
pilots48
in
8/1/2009 12:48:09 AM
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Started walking towards Raymond but was stopped a short distance because the trail was flooded. Turned around and walked towards town. Some work has been done on the trail from Massabesic circle to Candia rd. Beyond that you are on your own. The trail does go all the way to Elliot Hospital but it is not pretty. Am going to try walking to Rockingham tomorrow.