Find the top rated walking trails in Portsmouth, 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.
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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
Portland’s Bayside Trail packs a lot into its 1-mile length. The paved pathway provides a pleasant route between commercial and residential areas in the Bayside and East Bayside neighborhoods. Once an...
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...
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,...
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 Chelsea Greenway was built to accompany the extension of the Silver Line between Boston and its northern suburb, Chelsea. The asphalt multiuse trail begins at the Eastern Avenue MBTA station and...
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...
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...
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 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 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...
_175266_sc.jpg)
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 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 Bradford Rail Trail occupies a former Pan Am rail corridor, beautifying an area that once lay strewn with garbage and weeds. The city and numerous dedicated volunteers created the mile-long path...
The Chelsea Greenway was built to accompany the extension of the Silver Line between Boston and its northern suburb, Chelsea. The asphalt multiuse trail begins at the Eastern Avenue MBTA station and...
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...
_200129_sc.jpg)
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...
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 Reformatory Branch Trail connects the historical towns of Bedford and Concord along a nearly 4-mile dirt path through wildlife refuges that ends a short distance from the North Bridge, 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...
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...
_197477_sc.jpg)
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...
The Mountain Division Trail exists as two separate segments of what will eventually be a more than 50-mile-long trail from Fryeburg to Portland. The southern section rolls for about 6 miles between...
Portland’s Fore River Parkway Trail provides an important transportation link in the community while at the same time offering sweeping views of the Fore River. At the north end of the trail, you’ll...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
_194485_sc.jpg)
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 Marblehead Rail-Trail appears on maps as a Y resting on its side, connecting Marblehead and Salem in the north and the city limits of Swampscott in the west. The 4-mile trail knits together a...
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 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 scenic Riverton Rail Trail—also known as “Sandy Road” by residents of Portland’s Riverton neighborhood—follows the former corridor of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad, which stopped...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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 Bridge Street Bike Trail begins near Curtis Park and travels south through downtown Salem, closely following the Bridge Street Bypass. The short trail runs through residential, retail and...
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 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...
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...
I've done trails over over and over again in one day it's tiring but worth it. (The Ten Year Old Girl Who Dreams Of Being One Of The Best Bikers But Not To Be Famous)
goes by some lakes and marsh areas. Different as it goes on and off between rails filled with sand and gravel. beautiful spot at the end with lake winnepasaki.
Now that I've ridden this connector trail, I believe the description is a bit misleading. This trail connects directly with the Old Eastern Marsh Trail, runs under the north end of the Route 1 bridge from one side to the other, and connects to a sidewalk that enables one to then cross the drawbridge. This sidewalk is not suitable for cycling. Once across to the south side, the sidewalk there meets the Harbor Walk and Clipper City trails. This trail enables one to cross under Route 1 avoiding the actual Route 1 traffic - enjoying the art and river view on the way.
This is a difficult trail to assign a star rating to as parts of it are great and parts are not. It’s listed as a 29 mile trail but in reality it is split into 5 sections with 2 sections being on busy roads. I’ll break it down by section starting at the southern end in Kennebunk. I. 6-mile off-road section from Kennebunk to Biddeford - 5 stars. This is a great section featuring a well-maintained hard packed dirt trail through the woods. II. 5 mile on-road section through Biddeford and Saco - 2 stars. The first couple of miles are okay as you can ride on a sidewalk and residential streets. If you just do the first couple of miles combined with the first 6 mile off road section, it’s a nice 16 mile round trip. The issue is the next 2.5 miles is on busy roads through the congested areas of Biddeford and Saco. III. 7 mile off-road section from Saco to Scarborough - 5 stars. I’ve been on dozens of trails throughout the Northeast and this is one of my favorites. The trail is hard packed and is in great condition and features a stretch through the scenic Scarborough marsh. IV. 4 mile on-road section from Scarborough to South Portland - 1 star. The first half mile is fine as it’s on a lightly traveled road. But after that, it’s 3+ miles on busy roads that are narrow in spots. I’ve only been on the stretch once and several times a car came with a couple of feet of me - no interest in doing this section again. V. 6 mile off-road section in South Portland - 3 stars. It’s certainly better than riding the streets of Portland or South Portland. But there’s just nothing special about - nothing too scenic until you hit the very end, the trail is in decent, not great, shape, and it’s not well marked. But the biggest negative is the number of times the path crosses busy streets - I’ve never been on another trail with so many busy street crossings over a short stretch. So, the star rating of the trail depends on what you are looking for. If you’re looking to do a round trip of around 15 miles or less, there are two sections that are great - Kennebunk to Biddeford and Saco to Scarborough. If you’re looking to do more than that, you’ll have to deal with at least a few miles of busy streets.
What a great way to experience the fall foliage!
Great walk along the riverside. Mostly level, flat and paved surface. Easy walking and quite quiet for a Saturday. Great day for a walk along the river.
We started at airport and went out 2.5 miles and then turned around. Easy path, smells wonderful, leaf changing colors breathtaking! We loved the scannable QR codes that teach you along the way about plants, trees, sites etc. we learned quote apt!
This has moved to my favorite trail. I can’t wait until the extension is open. Very nicely maintained and people are friendly. Road passing were great with all flashing lights a vehicles stopping early. This is a nice ride.
Went in fall, came from central mass. Not a huge fan of this trail on my trail bike, maybe on a mountain bike. badly maintained and narrow, lots of tree roots. But parking was super easy since its near a business park.
Came out from central mass and it really wasnt what i was expecting. Might be fun if you have a mountain bike but this is more of a local's spot for daily exercise
Rented ebikes from Pedigo nearby trailhead and Rachel and Ed were so nice. The trail was cold and shaded a good part of the ride so bring layers. We brought a picnic, plenty of places to stop and eat. The trail is somewhat confusing at the end so we just decided to turn around and head back. Great day all and all!
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
_175266_st.jpg)
_197477_st.jpg)
_194485_st.jpg)
_200129_st.jpg)
