Description
This 18-mile Presidential Range Trail runs between Cherry Pond, a great bird-watching venue, and Gorham. The trail skirts the Presidential Range along the edge of the White Mountain National Forest and passes through Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge as it follows portions of the Israel and Moose rivers.
The trail has a natural surface and is in general good shape, though portions may have ballast and high brush, especially at the western end. The best trail conditions are between Gorham and Jefferson Notch Road. You can see remnants from the old railroad days, including a plant where water was bottled for transport to the cities.
Near Cherry Pond you enter marshland with bridges carrying you over the wetter trail sections. Wildlife watching is good here, and the pond has an observation deck that makes for a nice picnic spot. From the pond you can carry on along the trail to the White Mountain Regional Airport.
Parking and Trail Access
Park at Hazen Road in Whitefield, Rt. 2 in Randolph at the Castle Trailhead and at Rt.2 in Gorham just past Jimtown Road.
Late Summer Ride
By
lukster
in
August, 2011
My wife and I rode the Presidential Rail Trail up and back from Gorham, NH to the Pondicherry Nature Refuge this weekend (West). The trail is well maintained and has a solid base for most of the way. From Gorham to Rt. 115 the trail is in better shape ...
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Presidental Range Rail Trail
By
thutchinson
in
November, 2010
Come on, folks, you are missing the best kept secret in NH. Start at the parking lot on Rt 2 in Gorham, and in 1/2 mile, you are on a remote rail bed along a river with views of Mt Madison and Mt Adams, the second highest peaks in the White Mtns. We did ...
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thutchinson on Presidental Range Rail Trail
By
thutchinson
in
February, 2010
Another beautiful winter Saturday rding our horses in New Hampshire. We met our friends from Vermont and showed them a great ride on the Presidental Range Rail Trail in Whitefield NH. It was sunny and 15 degrees and, though that may not excite everyone, ...
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