Explore the best rated trails in Danville, NH. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Stevens Rail Trail and Common Pathway. With more than 85 trails covering 495 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.
The Fresh Pond Bikeway runs through Fresh Pond Reservation, a park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bikeway winds around the east edge of the Fresh Pond Reservoir. Part of the trail is on a road...
Many commuters choose the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway for freedom from congested traffic in the northwest Boston suburbs. For others, the 10.1-mile paved trail between Cambridge and Bedford serves as a...
The Mystic River Greenway is part of the Mystic Greenways trail system, which also includes the Wellington Greenway and the Malden River Greenway. When completed, the trail will connect the...
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 4.5-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
More and more, airport lands near previously under-used rail corridors are being transformed from largely neglected vacant lands into urban greenways. These new vibrant spaces are used not only by...
The Nashua River Rail Trail stretches from southern Nashua, New Hampshire, to downtown Ayer, Massachusetts, connecting to the towns of Pepperell and Groton. The trail is built on the former rail...
The Peanut Trial is a distinct trail in the town of Newton that spans one-mile. This rail-trail was meant to connect to the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. However, due to a controversial lawsuit by land...
The Bay Colony Rail Trail will one day span 7 miles connecting the Boston suburbs of Newton, Needham, Dover, and Medfield along tracks once used by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. In May...
The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) is a developing, multi-use trail that will run from the Village of Saxonville in Framingham to Natick Center, a distance of 4 miles. Currently, its northernmost mile in...
The Clipper City Rail Trail is part of the Coastal Trails Coalition, which is developing in the four towns of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury along the Merrimack River and will...
The Pine Tree Brook Trail travels alongside the brook in Milton, Massachusetts. The path travels through woods and residential neighborhoods for a distance of about 1.8 miles, and it connects to the...
The Charles River Bike Path, also referred to as the Charles River Greenway, offers a paved, 22-mile route from Boston to its western suburbs. The trail is also part of a larger, developing network...
The Piscataquog Trail, though only about 2 miles long, provides a vital off-road link between the communities on the western side of the Merrimack River (the West Side of Manchester) to several parks...
The Common Pathway travels 5.5 miles from the outskirts of Peterborough south to downtown’s Noone Falls area, paralleling US 202 and the Contoocook River for most of its journey. The small town of...
Methuen Rail Trail connects three communities in northeastern Massachusetts as it follows the route of the former Manchester and Lawrence Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The rail-trail's...
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Although only a grassy, hard-packed dirt pathway, the route along the Salem-Beverly Canal (also known as the Grand Wenham Canal), is scenic and peaceful. The old canal, built in 1917, lies between two...
Mile 0.0 - DPW Garage Cross the bridge in the parking area, the trail starts behind the fence, crossing over Great Brook on a old dam. Mile 0.53 - After crossing Union St. you will come to a...
Bruce N. Freeman was a Massachusetts state representative from 1969 to 1986. Beginning in 1985, he championed the creation of a bike path that would run along the former Penn Central railroad line...
The Wellington Greenway is a section of the Malden River Greenway in Medford, Massachusetts. Eventually, the Wellington Greenway will be connected to the other sections of the Malden River Greenway in...
This exquisitely maintained trail slices through forested areas and wetlands for a wonderful experience in southern New Hampshire. The trail will eventually be part of the Granite State Rail Trail,...
The Common Pathway travels 5.5 miles from the outskirts of Peterborough south to downtown’s Noone Falls area, paralleling US 202 and the Contoocook River for most of its journey. The small town of...
The New Boston Rail Trail follows the former railroad corridor of the same name for 3.9 miles through densely wooded areas in the town of New Boston. The railroad was in operation from 1893 to 1931,...
Although only a grassy, hard-packed dirt pathway, the route along the Salem-Beverly Canal (also known as the Grand Wenham Canal), is scenic and peaceful. The old canal, built in 1917, lies between two...
This exquisitely maintained trail slices through forested areas and wetlands for a wonderful experience in southern New Hampshire. The trail will eventually be part of the Granite State Rail Trail,...
The Massachusetts Central Railroad was destroyed by a hurricane in 1938, but the 104-mile corridor is being reborn as a cross-state rail-trail. Currently, nearly 40 miles from Boston to Northampton...
The 83 acre West Foss Farm is one of the properties owned by the University of New Hampshire, Durham. The property was purchased from the Boston & Maine Railroad company, and features a 1.6 stretch of...
Spanning 57.6 miles from Lebanon to Boscawen, the Northern Rail Trail is New Hampshire’s longest rail-trail conversion. Trail development began in 1996 after the state purchased the Boston and Maine...
The North Bank Bridge, which opened in 2012, provides a safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle connection between Cambridge's North Point Park and Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. Spanning 690...
The Peanut Trial is a distinct trail in the town of Newton that spans one-mile. This rail-trail was meant to connect to the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. However, due to a controversial lawsuit by land...
Mine Falls Park in Nashua is a 300-acre-plus urban park with a network of approximately 9.7 miles of a variety of trail types. This forested park offers an extraordinary nature experience in the heart...
The Haggetts Rail Trail is a short, but sweet unpaved trail located on the periphery of Haggetts Pond, the local reservoir for the nearby town of Andover. Built on part of the former line of the...
The Old Railroad, as its name suggests, is a multi-use trail that occupies a former Boston & Maine Railroad corridor. The trail picks up at the northern trailhead of the Common Pathway, a paved...
More and more, airport lands near previously under-used rail corridors are being transformed from largely neglected vacant lands into urban greenways. These new vibrant spaces are used not only by...
About a dozen miles west of Concord, the Stevens Rail Trail offers a quiet, wooded route along the former Concord-Claremont rail line in Contoocook Village. It starts off Krzyzaniak Road and continues...
Although short, the scenic Gloria Braunhardt Bike Path travels through forests and pastures full of birds and wildlife. The asphalt pathway parallels the eastern side of the present-day Interstate 95...
Lowell's Canal System Trails are part of Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts. The park preserves some of America's industrial past: its 19th-century textile mills formed the first...
Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway may not be very long, but it's jam-packed with attractions. Along the paved pathway, you can access five parks, be wowed by public art, stop to smell the flowers in...
The Neponset River Greenway is a south Boston jewel, utilizing the best in design and construction standards as it winds through the Neponset River valley, offering a low-stress, high-quality...
The Nashua River Rail Trail stretches from southern Nashua, New Hampshire, to downtown Ayer, Massachusetts, connecting to the towns of Pepperell and Groton. The trail is built on the former rail...
The developing Upper Charles Trail will one day total 24 miles, linking the communities of Milford, Ashland, Sherborn, Holliston, Framingham, and Hopkinton along a former railroad bed. As of 2018,...
The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) is a developing, multi-use trail that will run from the Village of Saxonville in Framingham to Natick Center, a distance of 4 miles. Currently, its northernmost mile in...
The Amesbury Riverwalk (also known as the Powwow Riverwalk) carries visitors between a resurgent waterfront district on the Powwow River to a modern shopping center on the outskirts of this historical...
Although short, the scenic Gloria Braunhardt Bike Path travels through forests and pastures full of birds and wildlife. The asphalt pathway parallels the eastern side of the present-day Interstate 95...
The rail-trail through the Martin H. Burns Wildlife Management Area begins at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail station near downtown Newburyport, a coastal...
The South Manchester Rail Trail is a proposed bike/pedestrian path that would connect the downtown Millyard area of Manchester to the Town on Londonderry. The South Manchester Rail Trail will utilize...
The Whitney Spur Rail Trail runs from just north of the MBTA’s Cohasset Station through dense woodlands to the edge of Wompatuck State Park. The corridor was originally a spur off the Old Colony...
The Clipper City Rail Trail is part of the Coastal Trails Coalition, which is developing in the four towns of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury along the Merrimack River and will...
The Pine Tree Brook Trail travels alongside the brook in Milton, Massachusetts. The path travels through woods and residential neighborhoods for a distance of about 1.8 miles, and it connects to the...
The Common Pathway travels 5.5 miles from the outskirts of Peterborough south to downtown’s Noone Falls area, paralleling US 202 and the Contoocook River for most of its journey. The small town of...
The Windham Rail Trail passes through the woodsy periphery of Windham in southern New Hampshire, but it sits in the heart of the future cross-state Granite State Rail Trail. Its connections to the...
About a dozen miles west of Concord, the Stevens Rail Trail offers a quiet, wooded route along the former Concord-Claremont rail line in Contoocook Village. It starts off Krzyzaniak Road and continues...
The Northern Strand Community Trail is part of the visionary and almost-complete Bike to the Sea plan to link Boston and the Mystic River to the seashore in Lynn, north of Boston. It currently runs...
The Piscataquog Trail, though only about 2 miles long, provides a vital off-road link between the communities on the western side of the Merrimack River (the West Side of Manchester) to several parks...
Mile 0.0 - DPW Garage Cross the bridge in the parking area, the trail starts behind the fence, crossing over Great Brook on a old dam. Mile 0.53 - After crossing Union St. you will come to a...
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Crossing through wooded areas and featuring magnificent wetland vistas, the Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail (Fremont Branch) offers an 18.3-mile trail adventure from Epping to Windham. The northern...
The Peanut Trial is a distinct trail in the town of Newton that spans one-mile. This rail-trail was meant to connect to the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. However, due to a controversial lawsuit by land...
Even though the Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail traces the nation’s first narrow-gauge railroad for 3 miles from Bedford toward Billerica, the mostly crushed-stone path is plenty wide enough now to...
The Massachusetts Central Railroad was destroyed by a hurricane in 1938, but the 104-mile corridor is being reborn as a cross-state rail-trail. Currently, nearly 40 miles from Boston to Northampton...
The Mystic River Greenway is part of the Mystic Greenways trail system, which also includes the Wellington Greenway and the Malden River Greenway. When completed, the trail will connect the...
The Tri-Community Greenway follows the route of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and its Stoneham Branch, originally built to serve Stoneham’s shoe factories and provide passenger service. The trail...
Having ridden this trail in sections numerous times, and having ridden the entire length in a day last fall, It's my opinion that this is the finest rail trail for cycling purposes in NH.
In Merrimack county (Boscawen to Danbury) the dedication of the local friends group is evident. The trail is well maintained and the surface is excellent. From Grafton to Lebanon (Grafton county) the surface is trickier, with regular sandy spots and some exposed railroad ties. Despite this, the trail is still very ride-able in a gravel bike, and my wife had no issues in Merrimack county on a cruiser/townie bike.
Really enjoyed the trail. Great views.. sun and shade . We will be back !
I have found a nice way to link to the Windham Depot to Derry Trail. At the southern end, cross over Rockingham Road onto Seasons Lane and turn left onto Coteville Rd. At the end of Coteville there is a short path through the woods that comes out on Franklin St Ext. Follow Franklin and turn right onto Mitchell Ave. At the end of Mitchell is a path that goes to the Windham Depot.
It’s a nice short trail, and I don’t think many people know about it.
I will preface this by saying I'm basing my opinion on being a runner. It is probably a great trail for dirt bike riders, ATV riders, snowmobilers, etc. For runners the surface is soft in places, pitted in places, has lots of rocks in places, and overall is just not a great surface for runners.
I started on a very warm day, at the parking lot on Glenwood Rd. in Rutland. This trail matches the description perfectly! Beautiful, well-shaded ride and that is pretty continuous. I learned Rutland is the higher point of the ride, so all my work was on the way back from Oakham. But, it was very manageable and well worth the 16+ miles roundtrip.
Nice stretch of paved trail between Winchendon and Gardner, MA. It’s a quick 14 mile out and back with only one small stretch where you have to merge onto a road to find the trail again.
We bicycled a sort of loop, from Mosely Woods parking lot, along Merrimac River, crossing to Salisbury and then returning via I-95 bridge bike path. The latter was our true goal, as this was a mighty project! From the start and throughout, we had some head-scratching moments trying to find our way on the network of rail-trails and roads. I'm not sure if it's the fault/responsibility of the municipalities, the DOTs, or the trail organizations, but there are few, if any, signs indicating bikeways. This struck us as odd because in many other areas throughout Essex County in Massachusetts, and in parts of NH and ME, we have seen copious signs for the East Coast Greenway in remote countryside locations.
Before I say more on that, we enjoyed the gravel-paved Marsh Trail and Ghost Trail. The latter was shaded and welcome on a very hot summer day. The mile or so of asphalt-paved trail that parallels I-95 and crosses the Merrimac is great for getting from A to B, but it's open and not especially pleasant except for the river views, which can be enjoyed from two bump-outs on the bridge and include historic interpretation signs. (A note: if you are nervous crossing major bridge structures on bicycle, this is a good crossing. I have minor such fears, but felt completely comfortable.)
Back to signs. There are signs. But I don't think they are always where they should be, nor say what they should say. More than once, we came to intersections of various kinds and it was unclear where each option would take us. In some places there are posts with trail names and mileage., but few signs to provide context. Within long stretches of the bike paths there were posts indicating mileage (for what reason, I have no idea). Coming from the Ghost Trail there was no explicit sign to point the way to the I-95 crossing. And in Newburyport, we did not see any signs pointing the way to the trail, crossing via the Route 1 bridge. Coming off the I-95 crossing into Newburyport, we had to intuit the way back to Mosely Woods on a neighborhood road.
My suggestion is that if you are solo or with a partner, have fun and explore, and if you have to do a bit of back-tracking, no big deal. If you have kids, it might be better to thoroughly plot your route, as you don't want to be fumbling on roads with cars with kids or a larger group. That said, it would be a nice adventure to cross by two different bridges and experience a variety of trail types and scenery that runs the gamut from marsh, woods, industrial (including a massive solar array), neighborhood, etc. It is almost all flat, and eminently do-able for people of various fitness levels and bike types.
A note: the Route 1 bridge does not have a bike lane, so you must walk your bike across on a sidewalk, and will likely encounter others either on bike or foot in either direction.
First of all, Peterborough is a lovely little town to bike in and around. The trail was shaded, clean and paved all but 1 mile or maybe a little more. We parked in the shopping center parking lot and then followed the well marked signs along some town roads before getting on the bike path. Beyond the parking lot on the north end, the cinder path continues. We bikes for a while before deciding to turn around.
Bikers beware. As others have noted, this is a narrow trail with rails still in place. It is a beautiful path and perfect for walkers and runners. If you choose to ride, Wear a helmet and heed the signs to walk across the on\off ramps where the path veers from the rails, which is often. As others have noted, bike tires can become snagged and cause you to be thrown from your bike. This happened to my partner requiring fire dept/emergency rescue from the trail. Shame on us for not wearing helmets. Concussion and fractured arm later, all is well. Emergency responders and local hospital were all amazing - especially given the current concerns in healthcare. Important to note, no one was surprised at what had happened, it’s not uncommon. Again, beautiful trail, but I think this is a fair warning if you do choose to ride this trail.
Nearly perfectly flat - good compact ground - three nice bridges - very little other traffic.
We had two kids, 8 and 11, with medium bike skills - easy going here so was all fun and no hassle. We started in the middle (parking area) and went to each end and back. Total 6 miles, took 1 hr due to stops to view wildlife.
Only drawback: we wanted more miles !!
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