Find the top rated walking trails in New Hampshire, 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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I traveled all the way from California with high expectations for this trail and I wasn't let down (except for the repairs being made on the damaged portion of the trail). It's all good. I made it work.
What an awesome trail for a mid October bike ride!
- The colors of the trees reflected upon the numerous ponds and lakes.
- The pleasant chirping and squawking of active birds.
- Leaves fluttering gently to the ground.
- A wide, smooth path carpeted in golden brown leaves.
- Historic buildings.
- Industrious squirrels.
- Old, historic stone walls.
- Deep, dark woods.
- Rolling, grass covered hills.
- Harvested pumpkins on a farm being sorted into bins.
- Goats, horses, and the friendliest trail users you could ever hope to cross paths with!
I took a leisurely four hours out and back and over 200 photos and video to capture my wonderful memories of this trail. Thank you Massachusetts and New Hampshire!
My wife and I love this trail. We ride trails throughout NE and in NY and PA. This one is right up there among the best. The first leg from the Sanbornville roundabout has some rough sections that can be easily avoided by starting at the next parking area. ( where there is a spotless rent-a potty). From there the trail is smooth dirt surface. It is one lane wide either along side of the old tracks or between. Although it doesn’t make for good side by side riding it gives the trail an intimate charming feel. It crosses inside and outside the tracks often which is easy and makes it more interesting. The views constantly amaze and a f
Wonderful bike trail. Narrow in places so need to watch for walkers and other bikers.
This was a great ride in both directions. After talking with Tim at the Warner Fall Foliage Festival we found out they were adding more trail on the other side of the bridge starting next week.
My brother and I had no problem riding this beautiful trail on e-bikes with 1 5/8 inch tires on a weekday in Sept. 2021 and again in August 2023. Both times we rode west from Newfield and noted that the trail has noticeably more rocks as we headed west of Raymond. We were glad we had front suspension forks. Dearborn Forest just past Onway Lake was our turnaround point at about 17 miles. At Route 125 (Main St.) in Epping, be sure to take the right trail at the fork to continue on the Portsmouth branch. The left trail is the Fremont Branch where you may find yourself riding with ATV's.
At Freetown Road (Route 102) in Raymond, McDonalds is just south of the trail. If you are looking for a tastier burger and have more time, go north one block on Route 102 to Route 27 (Hannaford on your right), then go left one block to Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery (featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" television series).
My brother and I are experienced cyclists who rode this trail on our e-bikes twice this summer, with different experiences. Our first ride in June was a warm day after a warm night, and we had no problem riding across rails (on rubber mats) to ride from one side of the rails to the other side, or between the rails, as the metal rails were dry. Our second ride in October was on a warm day after a cold night where the temperature dropped below the dew point and water condensed on the rails. Though the air temperature warmed up, the rails (in the shady woods) remained cold and so continued to be wet and slippery. My tire slipped and I went down once before I realized that water was not evaporating off the rails except where rails were in direct sunlight. Fortunately I only suffered a skinned knee. After that I made all transitions with one foot off the pedal. My 1 5/8 inch tires were OK for the ride, but I would never ride my skinny-tire road bike here. I will return because this is a unique trail in beautiful surroundings, and the 25 mile round trip from Wakefield (with lunch on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro) is a beautiful day trip from Southern Maine.
Cheshire Trail South. Rode north from State Line Circle toward Kenne. We are experienced road cyclists, now riding gravel bikes. We are looking for reasonably surfaced longer trails and hoped this would be one of them. Sadly, we found this trail to be rocky, rutted, with lots of roots, and uncleared blowdown. The vigilance required to remain upright made it difficult to enjoy the beauty all around. The suddenly occurring steep inclines to roads seemed borderline dangerous. If we lived closer it would be a great trail to walk with the dogs
First: be aware that a recent storm has washed out a section of the trail about 2 miles from the Ayer parking lot in Sept 2023. People are portaging past it, but some set-ups might not work in this situation. That said, this is a great trail. Plenty of parking at many points along the way, some even have EV chargers!
This trail is not suitable for biking at all. There are very large rocks and in places they dumped sand on the trail. Only rode from Littleton to Lisbon because the riding was so rough. We have hybrid bikes with suspension but we felt like it was way too rough! Never again! Get rid of the ATVs that tear up the trail or market this only to them! ¿
This is a wonderful trail. But I must add that I am very fond of many of the rail trails in New Hampshire. My wife and I are old and use E bikes with fat tires for our rail trail trips. However, on this trip we passed several riders using road bikes with skinny tires, and they were doing just fine.
From the start of the trip at Lake Massabesic to the end at Ash Swamp Road, this trail proved to be a most enjoyable trail with very few spots that required a little caution. Leaving Massabesic the trail is wide, hard packed and easy going. Mostly wooded areas with many brooks, swamps and for the most part, great scenery.
There were very few muddy or wet areas but all of them were easily navigated. But keep in mind, this trail crosses a few very busy highways. Luckily the first three busy roads you will encounter have tunnels, so you don’t have to cross the roads. Out of caution we got off our bikes and walked them through the tunnels, but a good rider might not have to do that.
As you make your way east there are some very interesting sites like the Emerson Mill site and a couple others that might spark later trips. The trail goes past several lakes and large rivers with very interesting spots to stop for a break or a snack. As you move east you will approach the Star Speedway, (a small racetrack) but is not open during the morning or early afternoon time periods. Further on you will have to cross a very busy route 125. Buy don’t worry, there is a traffic light on either side of the road and all you must do is press the button and wait for the light to stop all the cars, very fast and simple.
There is a rail museum and ice cream spot if you need a break or sugar fix right on the trail, so it makes a stop easy and quick. Continuing east you finally make it to the eastern end at Ash Swamp Road. There is an old rail station that is under restoration there with plenty of parking and easy access. All in all, this is a great trip that shouldn’t be missed.
I'd thought maybe this trail wouldn't be suitable for my road bike w/ slightly wider tires, but it worked out fine. Surface was mostly hard packed dirt/gravel, at least the 9 miles I rode starting at the southern end in Newfields. There were some muddy spots and a few rocks and roots to avoid, but never had to get off the bike and walk. Ponds, swamps, brooks and lots of woods. A few easy road crossings, no road noise on this part. Well worth a ride.
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