Ride here all the time. Never crowded. At least 7 miles are relatively flat. Highly recommend this trail for all ages and abilities.

The Vermont section of the D&H has been repaved from West Rupert to Castleton as of June 2020. This pavement is a combination of stone, cinder, and asphalt. It is beautiful.

We took the advice of a previous reviewer and began our ride at the athletic fields on Kroc Street in Keene. We headed southwest and ride to Monadnock Speedway . The first several miles are well pack and relatively smooth. After that the trail is a mixed bag. A couple short sandy sections, a couple very muddy areas, and some narrow grassy riding. The grades are easy and overall the trail is very rideable. On our next outing here we will start by the Speedway, where there is enough parking for several cars.

We started on the southern end. Once you get past the paper mill and the smell it gives off, it turns into a pretty enjoyable walk. A few interesting things to see along the way. Not gorgeous but not ugly either.

Nice trail from the Franklin parking end. Entry is across the street under the trestle. Don't bother with the Tilton section. Not well marked, busy road, along a train track.

We did part of the northern section starting in Keene.
As we rode further from Keene the trail became more rustic and sandy.
The next day we rode from the southern end. This part of the trail was also a challenge in spots. However the river and the history made both rides enjoyable.

I ride the Common Pathway quite a bit and typically get about ten miles round trip.

There is a short section South of downtown and a longer section North of downtown. I don't really consider them the same path because you have to ride through narrow and busy downtown Grove Street to connect and it can be complicated getting across Rt 101 if you don't care for riding the shoulder of a busy road. So I almost exclusively just ride the North section.

Parking: the trails starts out going up Summer Street from Main Street downtown. There is no reason why you cannot park downtown or just North of downtown on Summer next to the firehouse (there is a small town lot) or head a bit further North on Summer to a proper "trail lot". All work for me but there are some great shops and restaurants downtown so don't skip them just to ride the trail.

Trail: this trail can be a bit Jekyl and Hyde. The first section is on the edge of Summer Street. There is no shoulder but it is almost never busy and I always feel safe. You are following the river on your right when the trail starts up. The trail kind of darts in and out of the trees between Summer Street and the river before a short not-busy on street connector (Tarbell Road) puts you on to a nice paved trail for about a mile before becoming hard packed.

Eventually the trail comes out alongside busy Route 202 which you need to get across. There is a drainage tunnel under the road which is officially part of the trail but it is often very wet with sharp turns. Its easy to get crossed up because its downhill to a slow 90 degree turn and into the tunnel so watch for it.

From there the trail passes the town recycling center and becomes very wooded along the river and very scenic. The trail can be quite "rooty" so you will spend some time picking your spots as you ride (not a road bikers dream scenario).

Tip: I suggest riding this all the way to Forest Road (no sign when ou get there so check your map) and turning right going East. About 1/2 mile down is the County Covered Bridge. Great photo ops and if you cross the bridge and turn into the parking lot there are some great spots to look back and get a side view of the bridge. If you can tow your kayak behind your bike or carry it on your back (yes just kidding) this is great spot to launch from and either paddle South down the Contoocook River or paddle North into 400 acre Powder Mill Pond).

This parking lot could also be used as a starting point and just follow my directions in reverse :) Cheers and happy riding!

Summary first (in case you don't wanna read my drivel): I will be back...might dust off my rollerblades too :) I gave the trail four stars because sections one and two (plus the short section to downtown Winchendon) are very very nice. Lost a star for poor signage between sections, not having completed connectors between the sections, and the poor condition of the third section from Rt 140 towards Gardner.

Parking/Starting Point: Parked at the Glenallen Street/Rt 12 junction parking lot just outside of WInchendon. The lots were plenty big enough and very nicely kept with benches and picnic tables and flowers and plantings.

Plan: ride South completing section one between Glenallen Street and N Ashburnham Road (about two miles), connect up to section two between Gardner Road and Rt 140 (about 3.5 miles) and see how I felt and if I could find more trail worth doing. Was hoping to have enough energy on the return trip to pass my starting point and ride the one mile section from Glenallen Street into downtown Winchendon.

Crowds: the trail was not very busy because it was a Monday afternoon but I could see this trail being quite active after work or on the weekends. It is very well maintained and suitable for walkers/dog walkers, rollerbladers (yes I saw several today) and cyclists. Obviously the further you get from downtown Winchendon the lighter the crowd (mostly just cyclists after section one).

Signage: I guess I needed to print off the information here because the signage isn't good. If not for a couple of guys I would have not found the connector between section one and two. This is an easy fix, shame on those maintaining the trails.

Connectors: Again this was a Monday afternoon so I had no traffic issues between sections one and two...even crossing Route 12 on to Gardner Road was easy peasy but I have driven this road at other times and it can be busy and cars can be moving fast. Careful.

The trail: really nice! Not only is it well paved and maintained but I heard very little road noise and quite scenic! This could be a five star trail if the connectors could be fixed...and they upgraded section three from Rt 140 South to wherever it goes.

The third section South of Route 140 is not great. I was riding my hybrid and I have no issues with hard pack dirt but this was basically uneven stone and rock. I spent more time swerving back and forth to avoid the larger rocks that I finally gave up after 3/4 miles and turned around and headed back to Winchendon. Not enjoyable unless you are on a mountain bike.

With my ride shortened on the South end I decided to do the last mile into downtown past my parking lot to get my mileage up to fifteen roundtrip. Good decision (thumbs up) because that last mile was very scenic riding along Whitney Pond and watching people fishing.

Great 2.5 mile paved trail. Easy to get to from the end of the NRT. Its all downhill from Lebanon center trail head, but the grade is not too steep, and biking back wasn't too hard, just a bit slower than going out. The trail is new and in great shape. Very scenic. Handy ice cream stand visible from trail head. We biked it on Sunday Memorial Day weekend, then did a portion of the NRT.