Wonderful trail. Nine miles of crushed stone and hard pack dirt from southern end to Castleton University parking lot. I would not use a thin tire road bike. Beware: the southern end is a dead end 2 miles from Poultney and does not have a parking lot as indicated on the trail map. You must park in Poultney in a well marked lot off of Bentley Ave.

We started in Walpole at Blackjack Crossing. First few miles were tough! But the remaining 12 miles into Keene were great. Some great views and remnants of the railroad. Some beautiful cuts in the stone. Highly recommend!

Though the trail roughly parallels a major road, you are away from it at least half the time. You need to cross it twice but they have walking signals. Every car at the other side street crossing stopped and waved you on. There are some benches, but didn't notice any picnic tables.

The mostly tree-shaded path itself is either improved or unimproved dirt, on this dry late-summer ride I'd rate the surface a B+ with mountain bikes. Roots, just a few patches of sand and a few raised sewer covers. Path to Goffstown is definitely uphill most of the way, but just enough to keep you pedaling. Going toward Manchester is a delight. Mid week there was sparse but steady traffic, probably the most parking places I've seen on a trail.

Beautiful swimming spot around mile 4.2, just off the path . Probably other places, too, as the trail parallels water much of the way. Goffstown end has shops and eateries, there is an ice cream in the middle. The southern end continues to Manchester, we started on a paved continuation trail about 1/2 mile toward Manchester (Douglas Street football field parking lot).

A very nice ride I'd highly recommend for most non-street casual bikers (or walkers/joggers). The wooded swimming spot on the lake is a real bonus.

I rode the northern section today. Actually started near the Walpole bridge and rode some other snowmobile trails and some side roads to the junction with the rail trail, then on to Keene. Saw no one until I reached the dump. Trail was a lot of fun, but in much better shape south of the dump then to the north. Very slow grade, north of the dump it was great in places and pretty bumpy in others. I rode a basic mountain bike and had no trouble. Heard there was a bad section somewhere but never encountered anything that was really unrideable except one bad embankment. Trail was also easier to follow and more obvious the further south you went, multiple snowmobile crossings further north. This was the first time I tried this sort of thing and I had a very good time. I enjoyed the terrain and seeing where the remnants of the old line.

Mason resident here. A great place for visitors to park and access the rail trail is on Depot Road (which is a paved road). The parking area has ample space to park cars, horse trailers, etc. for setting up. This parking access point is up the road past the town fire station on the right hand side if you're accessing it via Valley Rd. There's also a board the town set up with a trail map one can review before setting off on your journey. Otherwise, it's a nice flat surface to walk, bike, and ride on. Hope this information is helpful to someone new who is looking to find a safe and proper place to park and go.

Parked at lot at ballfield at end of Depot Street in Boscawen. Go to very end of Depot Street and lot is on the right. Took trail for about 16 miles to town beach at Highland Lake on Channel Road. Slightly uphill all the way. Very few soft spots. In general all trail all packed gravel. Public beach also at Webster Lake ( about 13 miles from Depot St.).

This is an ATV trail. Plain and simple. Loose surface, LOTS of ATV traffic, and even the occasional donkey. Yes, donkey....kinda cool actually!

If you have a hardtail or full suspension bike with proper aggressive tires, you're probably ok. If you're riding a hybrid...not so much. I think you'll be disappointed.

Started at Depot Rd. in Westmoreland . Trail in fair condition. Some soft spots, some puddles and sticks but averaged 8 mph. For mile or two before Keene Transfer station trail in poor shape. Here it is like riding on bad, uneven cobblestones. Speed 4 mph (too fast for this bouncy ride). From Transfer station heading east trail in good to excellent condition. Ave speed around 14 mph. Trail for entire journey is gentle in slope in an area of wildly varying topography. Very impressive achievement for the people that built this many years ago. My bike has tires of 1.75" wide. This is bare minimum width for Transfer Station to west. Plenty wide for Transfer station to east.

Beautiful ride along the canal, Connecticut River and a nice bridge across the river. Trail is well maintained, smooth, only small area that goes down a quiet side street with junky businesses along it but it's only 1 block and you are back on a an actual trail. Will be back to do this one again!