Explore the best rated trails in Epsom, NH. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Stevens Rail Trail and Sugar River Trail. With more than 66 trails covering 388 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.
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...
The Winnipesaukee River Trail runs along a rail line that previously connected the paper industry between Franklin and Tilton. Nicknamed the Paper City, Franklin saw the industry boom from the 1900s...
Although less than a mile, the trail running through Salisbury Beach State Reservation offers lovely views of the beaches off the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, just a few miles south of the New...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The Roland Bergeron Bike Path runs about 6 miles alongside nearly the entirety of Albuquerque Avenue in Litchfield, NH. Completed in 2010, the 8-ft wide asphalt path averages about 5 yards in from...
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...
The Border to Boston Trail connects the communities of West Peabody, Peabody, Danvers, Topsfield, and Boxford in northeastern Massachusetts. The long-term goal for the trail is to continue it north to...
The Old Eastern Marsh Trail (a.k.a the Salisbury Rail Trail) runs for over 3.5 miles between the north bank of the Merrimack River and the New Hampshire state line, north of Salisbury. The beautifully...
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 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...
The Dover Community Trail snakes its way through the heart of the Garrison City—so nicknamed for the fortified log houses, or garrisons, built by 17th-century settlers—-offering a variety of trail...
Spanning 57.6 miles from Lebanon to Boscawen, the Northern Rail Trail is New Hampshire’s longest rail-trail conversion. It weaves through Grafton and Merrimack counties and is less than a 2-hour drive...
When complete, the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor will run for more than 5 miles on a former Boston and Maine Railroad corridor from connections with the Windham Rail Trail (north) and Methuen Rail Trail...
The Middleton Rail Trail is a trail project along the former Essex Railroad. When complete, the trail will stretch 4.5 miles through the town, and perhaps join the Danvers Rail Trail. Phase I of the...
The WOW Trail is named after the three bodies of water that can be seen from this rail-trail: Lake Winnipesaukee, Opechee Bay, and Lake Winnisquam. This picturesque 2.7-mile trail shares a corridor...
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 Oliverian Brook Trail follows the course of Oliverian Brook through the dense forest of White Mountain National Forest. The trail, open to cross-country skiing in winter, heads toward Passaconaway...
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 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 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 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...
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...
These connecting trails follow the bed of the old Beebe River Railroad up to Flat Mountain Pond, a large, remote pool high in the Sandwich Range Wilderness. This is a great trip for advanced mountain...
The Conway Branch trail runs for 21 miles along an old rail corridor between State Route 113 in Conway and Polly's Crossing in Ossipee. The trail is popular with snowmobiles and rail car clubs; the...
The Garrison Trail is a two-lane, paved, hike-and-bike path that runs alongside I-95. The trail stretches 1.8 miles between State Route 113 in Newburyport and State Route 110 at the Amesbury-Salisbury...
The Village Spur Rail Trail begins in downtown Belmont, and stretches from behind the Belmont Mill to the Tioga River on the west side of South Road. Out and back for the entire trail is about four...
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 Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail brings at least two superlatives to mind: it’s one of New Hampshire’s longest rail-trails at just more than 28 miles, and it begins in Manchester, the state’s...
The Heritage Trail is managed by the state of New Hampshire to provide access to recreational and historical attractions across the state. Eventually, the north-south route along the former Boston and...
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 Head’s Pond Trail (formerly known as Hooksett Rail Trail) is a 1.9-mile rail-trail that visits two scenic ponds, including the eponymous Head’s Pond, in a woodsy area of Hooksett. The trail’s...
The Salisbury Rail Trail Connector, also known as the Gillis Rail Trail Connector, is a 0.3-mile link between two rail-trails: Salisbury's Old Eastern Marsh Trail and Newburyport's Clipper City Rail...
Currently just over two miles long, the Salisbury Point Ghost Trail provides a peaceful walk or bike ride through the woods on a well-maintained stone-dust trail. A paved extension was constructed in...
The Spicket River begins in Derry, New Hampshire, through Methuen and Lawrence, Massachusetts, before draining into the Merrimack River. Like many mill towns of the late 19th and 20th centuries, the...
Hillsborough Recreational Rail Trail connects three communities in south-central New Hampshire: Hillsborough, Deering, and Bennington. The unpaved trail winds along the Contoocook River through rural...
The Dover Community Trail snakes its way through the heart of the Garrison City—so nicknamed for the fortified log houses, or garrisons, built by 17th-century settlers—-offering a variety of trail...
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 Boxford Rail Trail is a short, rustic pathway open on a former rail corridor in rural Essex County. Now home to overhead electric wires owned by National Grid, the trail is open via a license...
The Middleton Rail Trail is a trail project along the former Essex Railroad. When complete, the trail will stretch 4.5 miles through the town, and perhaps join the Danvers Rail Trail. Phase I of 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...
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,...
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 Farmington Recreational Rail-Trail runs for 6 miles between the towns of Rochester and Farmington. The trail parallels the Cocheco River and State Route 11 through a wooded corridor. The trail is...
These connecting trails follow the bed of the old Beebe River Railroad up to Flat Mountain Pond, a large, remote pool high in the Sandwich Range Wilderness. This is a great trip for advanced mountain...
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...
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...
The Spicket River begins in Derry, New Hampshire, through Methuen and Lawrence, Massachusetts, before draining into the Merrimack River. Like many mill towns of the late 19th and 20th centuries, the...
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...
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 Cotton Valley Rail Trail connects the small town of Wakefield, near the Maine border, and the quintessentially quaint New England vacation town of Wolfeboro. In 2017 the towns held a...
The Bobby Woodman Rail Trail, a hard-packed dirt and gravel pathway, begins off a quiet street at the southern end of Claremont and quickly dives under pleasant tree cover. After about a half mile,...
The Oliverian Brook Trail follows the course of Oliverian Brook through the dense forest of White Mountain National Forest. The trail, open to cross-country skiing in winter, heads toward Passaconaway...
The Harrisville Rail Trail runs for just under two miles between the outskirts of Harrisville and Hancock in rural New Hampshire. The former railroad bed is located on lands conserved by the Harris...
Nestled in the woodlands on the northern end of Merrimac in the far northeastern corner of Massachusetts, lies the beautiful Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. The town, once known as West Amesbury, had a...
The Border to Boston Trail connects the communities of West Peabody, Peabody, Danvers, Topsfield, and Boxford in northeastern Massachusetts. The long-term goal for the trail is to continue it north to...
Nice easy walk … mostly flat, well marked and wide enough. For two
A wonderful ride in the shade and pretty flat. We were happy on our hybrids with beefy gravel grinder tires. We did half of the trail from Masabesic Lake east to Raymond. We look forward to doing the other half soon. Not many other people on the trail 11am-4pm. More people after 3pm.
We parked in the Trestle View Park in Franklin (dodging the sprinklers uselessly watering mid day) and went all the way to the beginning of Tilton. There was a parking lot and a small skate park. There were also a trail directions sign with pictures on how to work your way through Tilton to the other end of the trail. Plus a link to the directions online. We decided not to bother and turned around and headed back to Franklin. I checked online maps and this spot is labeled as Winnipesaukee River Trail Northfield. If we went back and had a sprinkler issue or no parking then we'd head over to this other parking area. The Franklin end of the trail, after the initial slow uphill grade, is wide and flat and we ran into walkers, dogs and people with strollers.
Wife and I started in Hanover and went 15 miles the turned around and came back. Beautiful streams and lake on the way. Trail wasn’t crowded on this Thursday.
The trail is extremely sandy. Some parts are packed sand but many sections are like the beach. Great for ATVs, I suppose. Not great for bikes, even a mountain bike. If you do choose a mountain bike, do know that ATVs will be frequently passing you.
Leisurely bicyclist’s review: I’d give it 5 stars, but it’s a bit loud as you are parallel with I-95 on the Whittier Bridge. As the state’s first trail on/adjacent to the highway and the beautiful Bridge, it’s just very cool engineering. The view of the Merrimack River from the trail/bridge is a singular, beautiful experience. A fun trail for an out and back, or a great part of an Amesbury-Salisbury-Newburyport loop. Suitable for all ages and abilities.
1st year cyclist - 5 weeks in I’ve biked Salem/Windam (and a bit beyond but have not finished to Derry) two times. I made it to Derry today on third run. Fabulous Salem to Derry.
we parked by the closed plant on Davidson drive.
trail started off soft, some areas quite wet and rutty. Plenty of rocky spots too that make even riding the fat tire bike tough. Trail doesn't appear to be maintained very well. However, there was a nice waterfall off to the side of the trail.
Road from Methuen to Salem, NH
First, only paved in Methuen. Once you get to Salem, no pavement and the trail is a mix of everything.
Second, SAFETY!!
With most rail trail paths that intersect with cat traffic there is warning signs to stop or traffic lights to assist with safe crossing. Not on this route.
Pretty sure at the 3 major meetings with car traffic that we encountered, they had no idea that a riding path even existed. Treacherous crossings, had to stop at the intersection just before Tuscan Village.
Please don’t call this the Rail Trail
Headed east 10 miles from Lake Massebesic. Trail surface was rutted and very bumpy. Frequent large rocks sticking up and some wet/muddy areas. Not pleasant riding on a touring bike with 32mm tires. A fat bike or full suspension mountain bike would be a better choice. Four long culvert underpasses were too low to walk upright. Generally not much fun. I rode back mostly on parallel roads (which were very nice).
Have ridden this several times now in different seasons. Wouldn't attempt or recommend it on a road bike, but it's perfectly comfortable on something more rugged (gravel bike with 35mm+ semi-knobbies).
Mostly crushed stone and cinder, some doubletrack. Tends to get very overgrown at the sides, recent early Winter ride had me picking thistles off my jersey and tights. Several large puddles tend to collect across the entire trail, even in summer. Can easily be linked to the Garrison, Eastern Marsh and Ghost trails with on-road connections.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!