Find the top rated walking trails in Loudon, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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 Nashua Heritage Rail Trail begins adjacent to City Hall on Main Street in downtown Nashua. It is a short trail that takes you through one of the first neighborhoods that was planned and built in...
The Old Eastern Marsh Trail (a.k.a the Salisbury Rail Trail) runs for 1.4 miles between the north bank of the Merrimack River and Mudnock Road in Salisbury. The beautifully landscaped trail was built...
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 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 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 health and fortunes of Lowell have been intimately tied to the Concord River for hundreds of years. This tributary of the more well-known Merrimack River continues to be at the heart of the local...
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...
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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...
The 28.9-mile Eastern Trail connects the historic towns along Maine’s southern coast from the woods near Kennebunk to South Portland’s harbor lighthouse. Nearly 22 miles of the route follows off-road...
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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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,...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
The 28.9-mile Eastern Trail connects the historic towns along Maine’s southern coast from the woods near Kennebunk to South Portland’s harbor lighthouse. Nearly 22 miles of the route follows off-road...
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...
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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...
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 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 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 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...
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 Sanford-Springvale Rail Trail (also known as Railroad Trail) traverses the woods on either side of Sanford’s scenic Springvale community in southern Maine. Founded by a mill owner in the 17th...
Barker Road Trail begins on the town line between North Andover and Boxford in northern Massachusetts, not far from the New Hampshire border. From there, the pathway continues through dense woodlands...
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 Upper and Lower Nanamocomuck Trails in White Mountain National Forest are accessible from Kancamagus Highway (SR 112) west of Conway. The trails are open for hiking in summer and cross-country...
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 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...
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...
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 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 Salem Bike- Ped is now paved and open to Tuscan Kitchen!
I rode this trail several years ago, when it only extended 3-4 miles east from Wolfeboro. However, this summer I rediscovered the trail, which is now 12 miles long extending all the way to Turntable Park in Sanbornville (completed summer of 2017). What a beautiful trail it is now. I have ridden the trail 7-8 times this summer and am really hooked on it! The natural beauty from causeway lake crossings to very bucolic meadows & wetlands on the western end are some of the best I've ridden in awhile!
As far as trailside features, you have the lakeside Town of Wolfeboro with many restaurants and a great bike shop (Nordic Skier) in town. When leaving Wolfeboro you pass by the restored train depot (restrooms, tourist info) close to town. This first 2 miles tends to be busy with walkers, cyclists, and people sailing remote controlled sailboats by the soccer fields (kind of neat).
The trail continues east crossing Route 28 (kind of busy, but slower traffic with a painted crosswalk so cars tend to stop for pedestrians and cyclists) but still use caution because it is hard for motorists to see around the foliage and buildings close to the road.
After Route 28, the trail continues on to two lake crossings on old railroad causeways, this is where cyclists must start to pay attention for the rest of the trail in regards to the trail width. Due to the narrowness of the RR causeway, and the fact the tracks have not been removed, cyclists must ride on a wonderful hard dirt surface , BUT as good as the surface is, the path is less than 5 feet wide between the two rails. It's great if it's just you on the trail and no-one else is around, but the trail tends to be busy near Wolfeboro. Oncoming cyclists must be very careful passing each other, I have seen many have dismounted to pass, and also you must call out a friendly warning when approaching other users on the trail.
The trail alternates from between the rails to being beside the rails, and a few times the trail will meander away from the rails altogether (especially near Albee Beach (restrooms, beach). This is where CAUTION must be exercised when crossing rails. Signs on the trail suggest dismounting when you must cross the steel rails. Even though there are wooden platforms built up at the crossings, riders must hit the rails as close to a 90 degree angle as they can (I seem to do fine at 45 degrees with 26" x 2.1" tires). The 7-8 times I rode this trail I came across minimum of 4 cyclists that went down, and they had the bruises and cuts to show for it!! (BTW, I counted, and I think 30 crossings of the steel rails is pretty accurate count for the whole trail)
About 3 miles from Wolfeboro, you will cross State Route 109, a bit quieter than Rt 28, but traffic tends to be a little faster.
Also at this crossing there's the restored Fernald Station (parking,porta-potty), which is also home to the "Putt-Putt cars" (Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club). The putt-putt cars on this trail is very unique, they are motorized 2-person railcars that run from Fernald Station 8 miles to the west and State Route 16. I only saw them in action on one of my rides, they always give a big wave and travel at about 10mph. This is why the rails are still in place on this rail trail, and we owe the 80 member club a big thank you for the maintenance of overgrowth they perform.
Beyond Fernald Station, the trail continues west for another 8 miles to very busy SR 16. The trail continues to alternate "between the rails" and "beside the rails" for this section. This is my favorite section, the 8 mile stretch is very quiet and features natural meadows and wetlands, and there are just minor road crossings with one section of 4 miles with no road crossings at all - it is very enjoyable!!
The last mile before reaching busy State Route 16 features some pretty good short up and down whoopee hills. At Route 16, there is a parking area, and the Miss Wakefield Diner is just south of the trail on Route 16 (no need to cross the highway).
If you do decide to cross 16, be aware traffic travels faster than it's 55mph posted limit, and tends to carry a lot of traffic. Crossing the highway gives you one more mile of trail to downtown Sanbornville and it's Turntable Park, featuring an old turntable used to turn locomotives around. There are also restaurants located in Sanbornville. I have crossed the highway a few times, but in all honestly, the last mile on the other side of Route 16 is not that attractive, even though the Town of Sanbornville is kind of nice, it may not be worth crossing the busy road.
(There is parking on Route 16 on the west side of the highway, so a good option is to park on 16 and ride to Wolfeboro!)
Overall, this is a great and beautiful ride, just watch the rail crossings!
My husband and I biked this trail in October and it was great! The trail itself has some soft, sandy spots which make it a bit difficult but we did fine with our mountain bikes. Most of the trail is hard-packed. The scenery is absolutely beautiful! We saw only 1 ATV vehicle, a few other cyclists, and a few walkers. Biking along the river, passing through the covered bridges, and enjoying the fall foliage made this a great day trip for us.
The Worcester and Nashua RR is long gone but the end of the trail in Ayer is still served by MBTA Commuter Rail which provides daily service. You can take your bike aboard all off-peak trains. Enjoy the currently-offered $10.00 unlimited weekend pass to get you there.
Our family rode the trail from Wolfeboro to around mile marker 4, a while past the Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club on Rt. 109, in October 2018. There were a lot of great water views including a couple stretches with water on both sides, and winding parts through very pretty woods from about 1.5 miles just before Albee Beach onwards. The trail surface was very hard and not bumpy and presented no problem for hybrid-style bikes, basically as good as pavement (or even better than some paved trails I have been on that haven't been resurfaced recently). All of the crossings over the rails were clearly marked with signs instructing to walk your bikes and painted arrows indicating to do so at a right angle. After walking over many of them and them seeming very solid I began to slowly ride over them at 45 degree angles and never had a problem, and none of the several kids in my group did either. The parts of the trail in between the rails are narrow enough that you need to take extra care. If you are looking to go fast I wouldn't recommend this trail but if you are looking for a very scenic and leisurely ride I would highly recommend it. On the return ride I noticed that there were no signs for westbound bikers so this might explain some other peoples' complaints (although I still found the crossings vey obvious and good). I hope to return and ride the eastern portion of the trail another time.
What a pleasure to ride this excellent trail from end to end. My only wish is for mile markers or mile cairns!
It's early fall and a great time to ride this trail. The leaves are turning, the surface is dry and flat. There are many street crossings, most of them easy. We started in Raymond, off Onway Lake Road. If you map this using the RTC map, it gives you the address for the Gordon Cammett Recreation Area. If you turn in here, it takes you to a large parking lot and ball fields. This is where we started. The trail runs parallel to the ball fields but you can't see it from the parking lot. If you ride your bikes back up the hill you drove down, to the left at the top of the hill, there's a small cut-through. The trail is right there. If you look to your right, you'll see a tunnel (Manchester, or westbound). We rode to our left (Newfields, or eastbound). This is a 30-mile roundtrip ride. The trail has a few different surfaces, most well-packed and rideable with a hybrid. Some of the sandy patches and looser gravel (not many) might be more difficult with road bike tires. In Raymond, there is an old train station with train cars, a one-room schoolhouse, as well as stocks and a jail cell. There are 2 or 3 street crossings near various services if you need a drink or bite to eat. The trail ends at a parking lot, and fittingly, at the railroad tracks. There are no mileage markers along the trail. A trail kiosk in Epping will tell you the mileage to your destination in both directions.
Most of this trail is over packed earth, which is satisfactory, except following rain. The 4.5+ miles through Biddeford are poorly marked (download a map) and often hazardous. Scarborough marsh is beautiful and the rest of the trail is pleasant, often scenic. I rode the entire trail north one day and south the next. If I were to do it again, I would cut it into two smaller trails, and avoid Biddeford.
Beautiful trail nice even gravel and sand walkway but WAY WAY WAY too much broken glass along the trail someone didn’t want dogs on the trail !!!
My wife and I parked at the Lowell St end in a large lot. We rode about 5-6 miles north. This trail is great. Nice scenery. Good places to stop. Water fountains, jiffy Johnny's, bike shops along the way. In one park, there is a station with tethered tools to do repairs.
Highly recommend.
A brand new bridge has been constructed which crosses 2A seamlessly connecting this (at present) Chelmsford to Acton path. A fully paved, and at times exceptionally wide, path passes through marshland and lovely new wood feel ferns, lovely ponds/small beaches. It was a pleasure taking this 12.5 mile ride which had plenty of canopy covering on a sunny day. The description may be a little outdated b/c we saw newer looking parking on various parts of the trail and actually started in Acton. As always a bunch of street crossings to be cautious about with older style raised brick stanchions at these intersections to encourage reduced speed.
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