Find the top rated trails in Newport, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Jonathan Daniels Trail travels the length of Ashuelot River Park through Keene. Along the stone-dust trail, you can enjoy the park’s beautiful natural backdrop and flower garden. The trail was named...
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...
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 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 Mascoma River Greenway is a planned 4-mile non-motorized pathway through the heart of Lebanon. The trail is envisioned to link West Lebanon to the Northern Rail Trail, which spans more than 50...
The North Central Pathway is envisioned as a trail network connecting points of interest through and between Winchendon and Gardner. Several completed sections of trail make for a lovely ride or walk...
he 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...
Built in the 1910s by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) as part of the Connecticut River Division Main Line, the route introduced daily service to the B&M Fort Hill Branch in the early 1920s to meet...
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...
The scenic Valley Trail spans 9 miles connecting Dover and Wilmington in southern Vermont along the Green Mountain National Forest. It provides a critical off-road pathway for bypassing Route 100....
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 3.3-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
The Ashuelot Recreational Rail Trail passes such scenic and historical landmarks as covered bridges, abandoned mills, and postcard-perfect towns. Starting on asphalt in Keene, the rail-trail can be...
Lake Winnisquam is New Hampshire’s fourth largest lake, and taking the Lake Winnisquam Scenic Trail is one of the best ways to experience it. Meaning “pleasant waters,” Lake Winnisquam provides...
The Toonerville Rail-Trail shadows the Black River for most of its 3.2-mile length in eastern Springfield to the border with New Hampshire across the Connecticut River. The route originally carried an...
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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...
Appel Way Trail offers a paved route of about a mile through woodlands on the north end of Keene. Most notably, it offers a connection between Wheelock Park on the trail's west end and Ashuelot River...
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...
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 Keene Industrial Trail links the county's Cheshire Rail-Trail in the city of Keene. The paved path is a 1-mile segment through downtown Keene, which passes among some of the city's old mill...
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 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...
Visitors to the Sugar River Trail (also known as the Sugar River Recreational Rail Trail) can be forgiven if they lose track of which side of the river they’re traveling. The 9.5-mile trail crosses...
The Ashuelot Recreational Rail Trail passes such scenic and historical landmarks as covered bridges, abandoned mills, and postcard-perfect towns. Starting on asphalt in Keene, the rail-trail can be...
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...
Many rail-trails start at a vintage depot, an old caboose, or a rusty locomotive acquired by the local historical society. The Warren to East Haverhill Railroad Grade Trail, however, starts at 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 Mason Railroad Trail runs for nearly 7 miles from near the New HampshireMassachusetts border (nr. Townsend, MA) to Greenville, NH. The trail follows a heavily wooded corridor through Russell...
he 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 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...
Jonathan Daniels Trail travels the length of Ashuelot River Park through Keene. Along the stone-dust trail, you can enjoy the park’s beautiful natural backdrop and flower garden. The trail was named...
The North Central Pathway is envisioned as a trail network connecting points of interest through and between Winchendon and Gardner. Several completed sections of trail make for a lovely ride or walk...
The Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail is a great example of a repurposed rail route that provides safe commuting opportunities while also allowing trail users to escape into forest environments for...
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 3.3-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
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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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 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...
The West River Railroad, which once followed its namesake river for 36 miles, began passenger service in the late 1800s as a way to trim the two-day voyage between Brattleboro and South Londonderry to...
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 Keene Industrial Trail links the county's Cheshire Rail-Trail in the city of Keene. The paved path is a 1-mile segment through downtown Keene, which passes among some of the city's old mill...
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...
The Keene Industrial Trail links the county's Cheshire Rail-Trail in the city of Keene. The paved path is a 1-mile segment through downtown Keene, which passes among some of the city's old mill...
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,...
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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The East Branch Trail is a 0.5-mile ungroomed, backcountry pathway built on a former logging railroad bed in southern Vermont's Windham County. The remote, heavily wooded trail lies just north of the...
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 3.3-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
he 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 scenic Valley Trail spans 9 miles connecting Dover and Wilmington in southern Vermont along the Green Mountain National Forest. It provides a critical off-road pathway for bypassing Route 100....
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,...
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...
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 Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail is a great example of a repurposed rail route that provides safe commuting opportunities while also allowing trail users to escape into forest environments for...
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...
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 Mascoma River Greenway is a planned 4-mile non-motorized pathway through the heart of Lebanon. The trail is envisioned to link West Lebanon to the Northern Rail Trail, which spans more than 50...
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...
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Formerly comprising two separate segments—one running northward from Keene to Walpole, and the other running southward from Keene to Fitzwilliam—the Cheshire Rail Trail now runs a continuous 32.9...
Jonathan Daniels Trail travels the length of Ashuelot River Park through Keene. Along the stone-dust trail, you can enjoy the park’s beautiful natural backdrop and flower garden. The trail was named...
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 North Central Pathway is envisioned as a trail network connecting points of interest through and between Winchendon and Gardner. Several completed sections of trail make for a lovely ride or walk...
I started at the Massabesic Lake trailhead which offered plenty of parking as well as a beautiful start to my ride. There were no mile markers or any history signs on the trail so mileage is difficult to track. The first four to five miles of my ride were very rough with large rocks strewn all over the trail and three tunnels underneath roadways. The rocks in this section are all very well marked by orange spray paint, I just had to take my time on my hybrid bike. A hybrid bike will do just fine on the trail but a mountain bike would offer more confidence in this section.
After this first section of trail I found the rest of the trail to offer beautiful scenery as well as a much smoother ride. There are a fair share of road crossings but all but two are very quiet roads that had very little traffic. Raymond offers the perfect mid-trail stop to take pictures as well as a place to get food. Epping also offers more places to get refreshments. The last stretch of the trail from Epping to Newfields was my favorite part of the trail and offered an easy finish to my ride.
This trail is not at all as described. It started off on crushed gravel for a few hundred yards. As soon as it entered the woods it became a foot path of a nearly contiguous stretch of single-track biking with (occasionally without) large roots and rocks to navigate. We walked our bikes more than we rode them and went a half mile without getting to the reservoir before finally turning around.
We started the trail in Keene. The first 5 miles were nice, but we had to dodge pretty deep chipmunk holes. The trail is very poorly marked and we missed seeing the Sawyer Crossing Covered bridge which could not be seen by the trail. After 7.5 miles we got turned around by heavy mud, water and a downed tree. I would say this trail might be perfect for equestrians and aggressive mountain bikers.
I tried to access this trail from the northern end which proved impossible. There is no road access until you get to parking areas on either end of the causeway. The trail is not marked with any signage at those places, either, but the track is evident when you cross into the fishing access parking areas off Rt 119. As mentioned, the trail is muddy and filled with puddles during this rainy August, and several trees across the trail. I was not able to reach the northern end because of a very large, multi-branched tree across the trail about a mile south of there. But it was pleasant riding close to the Connecticut River and there were almost no other people on the trail on a weekday.
We rode part of this trail while doing some single track riding on the Crosstown trails in West Dover, which connects with this trail. This is not a family friendly paved trail which is the impression I had from the description. I am glad I didn't plan to ride it from Dover to Wilmington with my 9 year old. The part of the trail we saw was single track comparable to a hiking trail. It is not wide, not flat, and not smooth. It is narrow, windy, and filled with rocks and roots. It is not appropriate for little kids or bike trailers.
The Crosstown trails in this area are wide gravel paths. Great for kids who can make it up a decent hill. The single track in the area is nice. It needs some trail maintenance and reroutes along with clearing and trimming. Some areas are nice to ride, others are a mess of roots which are difficult. The trails on the map were very well mapped. It was a nice find on a trip to the area, we will be back!
NOT ASPHALT! Only one small section (1.5 miles) in Dover is paved... ended up biking Rt100 from Wilmington to Mt. Snow, not much of a shoulder but not much traffic and pretty flat.. nice scenery!
I biked the 13.50 mile section from Canaan to Lebanon (and back). The surface is mostly packed gravel. The first three miles (from Canaan) is challenging as the gravel is somewhat looser. However, I had no real problem on my Trek Dual Sport bike. The section along Mascoma Lake is beautiful. I startled a couple of deer along the way.
This trail seems little-used. Rode a gravel bike starting at the parking lot at the south end. Several trees down in the trail and some puddles and running water (to be fair, it had rained the night before). The trail surface varies and while it’s manageable, this isn’t a trail for someone looking for a leisurely rail trail cruise. Nice views of the Connecticut River.
The entry leads you to believe there is a 9 mile asphalt trail linking two towns in a Vermont valley with just a small gap near the north end. Unfortunately, there is no such thing. The trail is a very confusing series of blue signs which go through the woods on dirt (mud) tracks, over grass lawns with no identifiable trail, and on busy and narrow town roads (the only asphalt on the trail). Talking to locals, we discovered that parts of the trail are used for mountain biking, but that the idea of a continuous trail linking West Dover and Wilmington is a dream that has yet to be realized.
From West Swanzey toward Winchester, trail isn't as good for biking as it has not been improved as much as the Keene to West Swanzey portion.
There are two errors in the directions:
About 2.5 miles past the pedestrian bridge, you’ll cross Sawyers Crossing Road, where the circa 1859 Cresson Covered Bridge sits about 500 feet to the right (should read 'to the left'). The trail crosses the river in 0.3 mile near West Swanzey in an area considered moose territory. Passing on the east side of West Swanzey, a 0.3-mile detour right onto Christian Hill Road (should read 'right onto Railroad Street and then right onto Main Street which') leads to the 1832 Thompson Covered Bridge. (FYI: Main Street becomes Christian Hill Road at the bridge over the rail trail and one cannot turn right or left onto either road because the trail passes well below the road level).
Tried it out with dat wheel bike- I like a smoother ride for relaxation and to enjoy scenery.
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