Explore the best rated trails in Bristol, NH, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Guinea and Flat Mountain Pond Trails and Winnipesaukee River Trail . With more than 54 trails covering 496 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Rode the trail from Lebanon till it got too cold. About 5 miles and then turned around and came back. Nice trail for a fat tire E bike. A few bumps but not too bad. Was very busy when we rode, but it was plenty wide enough that it did not cause a problem. Mostly shaded ride. Would have liked to go the entire distance.
We hoped to do the entire trail by parking in the middle just south of Keene. The signage going through town was minimal and included being on the road quite a bit. The south side noted “road closed” because it’s being paved, but the road dead ended after 2 miles.
Disappointed is an understatement.
This trail is very peaceful and few others are using it. The trail has a lot of protruding rocks, uneven surfaces and branches on it. Best for hiking or if you are going to bike, like we did, just go slowly and enjoy the surroundings
We parked along Jeffers Hill Rd at the west end of the trail in East Haverhill. We rode about 0.25 miles east and came to a gate completely across the trail with "Road Closed" signs. We returned to the car, drove east along Route 25, and parked in the grass where the trail crosses the highway near the Oliverian School (not official parking, but there weren't any "No Parking" signs). We rode back towards the gate and were able to ride up to it without seeing any road closed sign. Perhaps the gate is to prevent ATV's from riding onto the Oliverian School property. We then retraced our route back to the car.
We continued on the rail trail, now heading east again. Not too far after we crossed the power line corridor, the trail was washed out where the grade steepens. We walked our bikes maybe 70 yards until we got to the concrete barriers in a rock cut. Even though it's been dry, there was a puddle in front of the barrier. There was one spot that we could use to get across to the barrier and lift the bikes over. The following 20 or 30 yards had several trees down across the trail.
The next section was pleasant to ride, although overgrown in places. We dropped down off the trail near Oliverian Pond, rode up Route 25, then climbed back up onto the trail. We continued on another mile or so to the AT crossing. This was our endpoint as we had ridden the section up from Warren previously. It did not look like ATVs used any of the trail we rode on.
We decided that riding the trail in one direction was enough of an adventure for the day and rode Route 25 back to the car instead. It was an easy mostly downhill ride.
We are two seniors riding gravel bikes with 47mm tires.
This trail is a 4-mile (round trip) trail in Belmont. Although short, it is clean, well cared for, and packed with treasures and great views. The trail has plenty of parking and includes a book trail for kids, two covered bridges, a cornfield, small water views, seating options, and fields of flowers. Although I found the four gates to be part of the adventure of checking out a trail for the first time, some people may not appreciate having to get off and on their bike. However, the trail does go through a private farm, so be respectful and enjoy the views as you navigate each gate.
Takes you to all the stops in franconia notch. Holly and a fair amount of effort to ride. Especially northbound.
The surface is very variable. It ranges from packed hard cinder to rocky left from railroad days and pot holes. In some instances the ATV traffic has take its toll. If you are prepared for some rough surfaces, the route is very nice with some scenery of the river and mountains. I rode the XNHAT so the availability of services in Bath, Especially Lisbon and Littleton were appreciated. There needs to be an infusion of money to get the trail to meet the rail trail standard set by other rail trails across the country T
I was involved with the development of this trail so my review is somewhat biased. The eastern half in Merrimack County (Danbury to Boscawen) is in beautiful shape (due to federal financing) with a nice stone dust surface. The western half (Grafton to Lebanon) is much more scenic but was done mostly by volunteers with some local funding so has a highly variable surface, great in areas and poor in others.
Highlights include the trail in Lebanon as it crisscrosses the Mascoma River, in Enfield where it runs several miles alongside Lake Mascoma and downtown, and all of Merrimack County thanks to its trail surface.
I dearly wanted to give it a 5-star rating but had to admit that it was a bit of a slog going through the central (and high point) towns of Grafton and Orange. Wish the state of New Hampshire would put some resources into this trail, which would truly make it a premiere destination and top-rated trail.
We rode mountain bikes from Claremont to Newport. Nice easy ride. Only met a few others on the trail. We saw a blue heron, 2 hawks, blue jays, and beautiful mushrooms. There were spots on the trail that had a good bit of gnats. The covered bridges are wonderful.
I have ridden the Methuen/Salem/Windham/Derry links of this former rail line and today did this section. It is flat, nicely paved with good parking options, traveling through some suburban and commercial stretches, a few wooded areas, even past a former reservoir but is mostly uninteresting. However, when the missing pieces are connected, and the embarrassingly poor Salem section is finally paved it will be great to travel all the way from the Lawrence, MA line to at least Manchester airport and then hopefully on to Lebanon some day.
We started from Echo Lake parking lot, first going north all the way - not that interesting, and pretty steep. Then went south all the way to the end of the trail - much more fun. On the way back you'll have a lot of climbing, but it's pretty moderate and there are plenty of nice stops along the way. For a perfect ending, finish at the lake!
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