Crossing New Hampshire, bit by bit: early spring, Ashuelot and Fort Hill Trails

/ Ellen Kolb / Leave a comment

This year’s sweet spot for spring hiking, after the mud and before the bugs and pollen, has lasted longer than usual in southern New Hampshire. It’s an auspicious beginning to a project I’ve started: walking across the southern tier of the state, from the Connecticut River to the Atlantic Ocean.

My situation rules out doing the whole thing with one long push. Instead, I’ll do a series of dayhikes as my schedule permits, each one out-and-back, and not strictly in west-to-east order. I recently headed to New Hampshire’s southwestern corner to get started.

Two rivers and a covered bridge

I took advantage of the recent benign weather to spend two fine days on the Fort Hill and Ashuelot Rail Trails in the towns of Hinsdale and Winchester. My private little ceremony to launch the cross-state walk consisted of taking the Fort Hill rail trail to a boat launch where I scooped up a little vial of Connecticut River water. I’ll empty it into the Atlantic when I reach the Seacoast, some weeks hence.

This just might be my favorite spot in Hinsdale, where the Connecticut River meets a boat launch and the Fort Hill Rail Trail. All photos by Ellen Kolb.

My route included town roads as well as the unpaved rail trails. From the Fort Hill trail, I walked into central Hinsdale via quiet Prospect Street. Once I reached Main Street (NH Route 119), I walked a short distance east to Depot Street, where I picked up the Ashuelot trail eastbound.

Before long I came to a spot that appeared to be recently repaired from a washout. Based on information on the state parks website, the Pisgah Mountain Trail Riders are responsible for that restoration. The Ashuelot trail took a violent hit from flooding in July 2023, and perhaps this was where some of the damage had occurred. In fact, the trail’s Swanzey section is still closed as of April 2026, awaiting repair of the three northernmost washouts.

(By the way – snowmobile clubs like the Trail Riders provide an outsized amount of rail trail maintenance. I’ve made modest donations to a club that maintains a trail close to home, even though I’m not a snowmobiler. I encourage other walkers and cyclists to do likewise.)

Where I walked, both trails were in remarkably good shape. I wondered if I’d find mud – and if I had, I would have swallowed hard and shifted over to NH 119 – but the trail surfaces were firm and well-drained. A few ruts on the Ashuelot trail showed that at least one local cyclist hadn’t been able to resist riding during mud season, but the trail scars were minimal. Vegetation was just waking up from winter, and no grasses or ground covers encroached on the wide paths.

While I had company on the Fort Hill trail, I experienced unexpected solitude on the Ashuelot trail. I was there midweek; would a weekend have been different?

I turned around at the Ashuelot covered bridge and walked back to Hinsdale where I’d left my car. It was a decent workout, even at my easygoing pace.

“Need a ride?”

The next day, I parked downtown near Winchester’s town offices. “Downtown” seems a grand word to use about a municipality with 4200 residents, but the area had two traffic lights as well as commercial and municipal buildings, so downtown it is.

The Ashuelot trail north of the town center feels different from the section closer to Hinsdale. It’s more open in spots, sandier but still well-surfaced. It’s closer to homes. It criss-crosses Old Westport Road, and I hopscotched between trail and road to stay close to the river with its pleasant views. Traffic on nearby NH Route 10 could be heard but for the most part not seen. I turned around before the trail crossed NH 10; further on is Swanzey, a destination for another day.

The red fruits of staghorn sumac shrubs were the brightest things in sight amid so much leafless vegetation. Spring will soon have every plant in sight bursting with fresh growth.

Staghorn sumac in early spring. Fresh leaves will be along shortly.

I took a break at a snowmobile bridge carrying the trail across the slow-flowing Ashuelot River, enjoying a serene view along with my snack. A lone bicyclist was the only other trail user in sight.

Snowmobile bridge in Winchester, a fine lunch spot…
…with a view of the Ashuelot River, which was in a quiet mood this day.

At one point as I walked along Old Westport Road, I heard a car behind me slowing down. I turned around to see what was up, and the car stopped beside me, with a worried-looking driver at the wheel. Was I okay? Did I need a ride? I assured him that I did not, as I wondered how awful I must have looked to elicit such concern. “I had to check,” he said with a look of relief. “If I didn’t, my mom would kick my butt.” I realized then that it was only my age, shouted to the world by my silver hair, that made him stop. God bless him.

I love living and walking where people care enough to check up on each other. At the same time, we need more baby boomers on the loose in the great outdoors, so our younger neighbors won’t be so surprised to see us. I’m doing my part.

About the area

An excellent map and guide to rail trails in southwestern New Hampshire is available from the Monadnock Rail Trail Collaborative. Their website includes an online map. Contact that agency directly about availability of printed maps.

Parking is limited along the Fort Hill and Ashuelot trails. Along the sections I visited on this trip, I found parking in Hinsdale at the boat launch on Prospect Street and Millstream Riverfront Park on Main Street (NH 119). In Winchester, I parked in the town hall lot, a block or so away from the trail via Elm Street.

Public restrooms were scarce on this route, and I didn’t find (or expect) portajohns along the way. Facilities are available in Walmart (north end of Hinsdale, almost at the Vermont border) and at a gas station/Dunkins at the southern NH 10/119 intersection in Winchester.

There are restaurants and convenience stores in the town centers.

I’ll use “Across NH 2026” as a tag on this and future posts about my across-state project, so interested readers can search the blog quickly.

Better together: non-motorized trail users speak up

/ Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

I usually hike solo. The solitude and pace suit me. Sometimes, though, those of us who enjoy non-motorized travel on trails need to speak out together. We’re gentle folk, really, but when we’re provoked, we can get a mite testy.

A pair of recent provocations in the Granite State got us going. People listened. Way to go, team.

The Derry Tunnel

The I-93 exit 4-A project in Derry has been talked about forever, and when construction finally began, sighs of relief were heard up and down the highway corridor. The original plan called for the Derry Rail Trail to be routed through the area via a tunnel. Straightforward, safe, good for all users.

Then, a few years ago, the plan on paper was suddenly changed, without input from trail-user groups. A “spaghetti” route – the good folks at the state Department of Transportation probably hated that term, but that’s what it was – replaced the original plan. On paper, the revised route would have brought the rail trail up and around a curve to an at-grade crossing of a six-lane town road, followed by a descent back to the old rail right-of-way. The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition published a summary of the situation in April 2025, with a link to a New Hampshire Union Leader article.

Groups representing trail users pushed back politely, then more firmly, and heard “no” a lot before finally resorting to litigation against NHDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

Today, eighteen months later, there’s a Union Leader headline: “Settlement paves way for Derry Rail Trail tunnel.” I love that word “settlement.” This was never about one side needing to beat the other. It was about reaching consensus on a sound plan for a project that will benefit the area for years to come.

The Committee to Save the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel didn’t exist before the spaghetti route sprang up. The Committee came about when trail groups realized they had to band together and speak with one voice in favor of a plan that would optimize safety for everyone traveling near exit 4-A. I’m proud to have served once upon a time on the board of NHRTC, which was a driving force behind the effort to restore the tunnel plan.

Once the exit 4-A project and the rail trail tunnel are complete, the Derry Rail Trail will join up with the Londonderry, Windham, and Salem rail trails to create a continuous path from the state line to the Manchester airport. Eventually, this will all be part of a Granite State Rail Trail that will connect southern New Hampshire with the existing Northern Rail Trail, all the way to Lebanon.

milkweed growing in the foreground with a marsh in the background
Summer along the Derry Rail Trail: milkweed in bloom. Ellen Kolb photo.

The Bike Fee

Meanwhile in Concord, where state legislators labor, a proposal to impose a $50 annual bicycle registration fee seems to be going down in flames. A formal House vote hasn’t been scheduled, but the Transportation committee got an earful during the January 27 hearing on HB 1703.

Not only did people show up at the bill’s hearing, but over 14,000 people signed in online in opposition. For about two solid weeks before the hearing, I couldn’t check my email or open a social media feed without being hit with a blast from people urging opposition to the bill. It was beautiful, spontaneous, perfectly civil resistance to an ill-considered proposal.

The bill’s sponsor paid attention. As reported by WMUR, he said “We’re not going to be moving forward with this…please don’t beat up on the Transportation Committee anymore.”

The bill’s text indicated that its purpose was to raise funds for bike paths and trails. I agree with the sponsor that New Hampshire needs to come up with better ways to fund trails, but telling families to cough up fifty bucks per bike per year is a tough sell. The kicker was that the bill’s fiscal note said there would be no effect on municipal expenditures. Tell that to the cops who would have been expected to write up tickets for noncompliance.

Many voices delivering one message derailed HB 1703.

A place at the table

Many conversations loom ahead about funding and placement of trails and paths for walkers and cyclists. There’s always another highway project just around the corner. There are always questions about how to allocate limited state resources to trail maintenance. Where’s the money coming from? What are the best ways to align the interests of motorized and non-motorized trail users?

The two recent situations serve as a reminder that whenever such discussions are happening, non-motorized trail users belong at the table, working with all other interested parties.

One way to keep up with what’s happening with trail policy is to follow the NHRTC and the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire.

I still prefer hiking alone. When it comes to trail policy, though, I can see the advantage of working with a team.

The Piscataquog Trail, Manchester NH

/ Ellen Kolb

Judging from this year’s traffic on Granite State Walker, there’s been a surge of interest in the Piscataquog trail in Manchester. That’s fitting for a trail that’s conveniently located in New Hampshire’s largest city. The two-mile-long path crosses the city’s West Side, with interesting features along the way.

What do you need to know to appreciate this urban trail?

It’s a rail trail

The Piscataquog trail was built on an old rail line, one of many in New Hampshire converted to recreational use thanks to the vision and commitment of community members. As you travel along the path, watch for markers honoring some of the people who were instrumental in the trail’s development.

It features a pair of notable bridges

The trail is only a couple of miles long, but it features a pair of bridges that would be standouts on any longer path. At the east end near Delta Dental stadium where the New Hampshire Fisher Cats play baseball, the Hands Across the Merrimack bridge spans the Merrimack River, offering a fine view of Manchester’s mills and downtown towers. A bridge at the western end, near the West Side ice arena, crosses the Piscataquog River.

"Hands Across the Merrimack pedestrian bridge over Merrimack River in Manchester New Hampshire
The Hands Across the Merrimack bridge, where the Piscataquog Trail crosses the Merrimack River in Manchester NH. Photos by Ellen Kolb.

Both bridges are closed to motorized vehicles apart from e-bikes, providing cyclists and pedestrians a safer alternative to busy nearby streets.

Stay right

This is an urban trail, and it’s a busy one. Good trail etiquette promotes safety for everyone. Stay to the right side of the trail. Cyclists, yield to walkers and runners. That goes double for people on e-bikes, where speed and power can quickly lead to dangerous conflicts with other trail users.

If you’d like to learn more about peaceful coexistence on trails and roads, check out the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire.

Approach Main Street with caution

Manchester NH skyline with Merrimack River in foreground

Most of the Piscataquog trail’s road crossings are in quiet neighborhoods. Main Street on the West Side is in a class by itself, busy at all hours. Fortunately, there’s a pedestrian crossing beacon there that can be activated with the push of a button, triggering flashing lights to warn drivers of activity in the crosswalk.

Cross the city limit and you’re still on a trail

If you’d like to add miles or time to your outing, you’re in luck if you’re headed west. Just west of the Piscataquog River bridge, the trail changes from pavement to a neatly-maintained unpaved surface as it crosses the town line into Goffstown. Same old rail line, different town! The Goffstown Rail Trail extends west for five miles, all the way to the town center.

pedestrian bridge with wooden railings, on an urban trail
The Piscataquog trail bridge over the Piscataquog River…with the Goffstown Rail Trail just ahead.

Birdwatchers, bring your binoculars

The trail’s proximity to rivers and wooded neighborhoods mean it’s a fine route for spotting waterfowl and songbirds. If you’re lucky while you’re on the Hands Across the Merrimack bridge, you might even see a bald eagle! Eagles have nested not far downstream, and they like to feast on the river’s bounty.

Other connections: maybe someday

Perhaps in a few years the South Manchester trail will connect with the Piscataquog. For now, there’s a gap between the Delta Dental Stadium and South Willow Street near where the South Manchester trail begins. It’s hidden behind the shopping centers, and it continues south to Perimeter Road near the Manchester airport. That trail features a beautiful trestle bridge crossing Little Cohas Brook near the Perimeter Road end.

On the east side of the city, about two and a half miles from the stadium, the Rockingham Recreational Trail begins at Mammoth Road and continues east for more than 25 miles to the town of Newfields.

A note on trail safety

Whether you’re on an urban trail or miles away from the nearest town, the best practices for safety are the same: maintain situational awareness, and always let someone know where you’re going before you launch your adventure. Avoid anything that would prevent you from listening to (and watching for) what’s going on around you.

If you’re a Manchester resident and you enjoy using the Piscataquog trail, be sure to tell your representative on the Board of Aldermen. When local officials know that their neighbors support recreational trails, those trails are more likely to be maintained – with help from volunteers, of course.

The Granite State Walker blog will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026 – and more people have visited the blog in the past 12 months than ever before! With your support, GSW will keep highlighting some of the best non-motorized recreational opportunities in the Granite State, with an emphasis on southern New Hampshire.

Winter arrives on the Nashua River Rail Trail

/ Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

The calendar says winter is a few days away, and late fall has been happy to provide a preview. I visited the Nashua River Rail Trail on a quiet weekday morning to take advantage of a just-above-freezing day. I wanted to beat the messy forecast: rain, followed by plummeting temps and a resulting flash-freeze.

I strapped cleats onto my shoes just to be on the safe side, since icy patches can lurk in a path’s shaded areas. The powder snow that fell earlier in the month was packed down nicely in an informal lane for walkers. There were traces of ski tracks alongside, but I think those must have been made when the snow was fresher.

I was on the northernmost segment of the trail, in Nashua. I was pleased to see that the city has kept the Gilson Road parking lot plowed. Many tracks in the snow between parking area and trail attest to the NRRT’s continuing popularity.

artwork displayed alongside a snowy trail in Nashua, NH
Along the Nashua River Rail Trail: “The Shapes of Water” by Faith T., a student at Nashua High School South. Ellen Kolb photo.

The art displays along the way between Gilson Road and the Rt. 111-A crossing featured pieces by students at Nashua High School South. Some of the display stands were showing signs of wear, and I hope the city will maintain them. The artwork is a meaningful way for Nashua to put its stamp on its section of the NRRT.

A bird’s nest was in the middle of the trail, perched atop the snow. A gust of wind probably took it down from a nearby tree. I picked it up thinking that it was edged with snow, but I was mistaken – all the white fuzz was from downy feathers. I moved the nest the edge of the trail, not wanting to damage it even if its former occupants were done with it.

Feathers, not snow, adorn this nest. Ellen Kolb photo.

The painted markings on the old granite B&M railway mileage marker have weathered away. W 40, I thought to myself as I walked past it. Forty miles south to Worcester along the old rail line.

Granite post along a snow-covered rail trail
This granite post is a mileage marker, which once had “W 40” painted on it (40 miles to Worcester, Massachusetts). Ellen Kolb photo.

The twelve-mile long NRRT has several parking areas along the way. Trail users in Nashua can park by the trail on Gilson Road, NH Rt. 111-A, or Groton Road/Hollis Street (at the NH/MA state line).

You can help send the Granite State Walker to the next trailhead with a small donation at her Buy Me a Coffee page. Thank you!

“Open eyes and sturdy shoes”

/ Ellen Kolb

“Today, you hike… I go because I want to and also because I can. I go because life doesn’t end once you’ve done enough. It keeps unfolding. And I intend to meet it with open eyes and sturdy shoes.”

That’s from the Blissful Hiker podcast by Alison Young. After my recent journeys recounted on this blog, her message resonates with me. I heartily recommend this nine-minute episode called “Aliveness”, for inspiration and encouragement.

Open eyes and sturdy shoes: I’ve been working on that here at Granite State Walker for nearly two decades now. It’s always good to meet fellow hikers similarly equipped. Walk on!

From blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike: Aliveness, Jul 3, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blissful-hiker-inspiring-you-to-hike-your-own-hike/id1515744759?i=1000715549476&r=269
This material may be protected by copyright.

Header photo by Ellen Kolb. Mount Kearsarge (south), NH.

One way to celebrate a birthday – part III: Androscoggin paths

/ Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

The last north country day of my birthday celebration was spent with Marianne Barowski, who led the effort to create the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail (xNHAT). She is still its number one trail steward. I met her and a likeminded friend in Gorham, where we spotted a car before driving to Shelburne to start a walk down Hogan Road.

This is the third and final installment of the journal for this trip. Part I recounted my bike-defying walk in Franconia Notch, and in part II I sang the praises of the Presidential Rail Trail and the xNHAT.

Hogan Road

Hogan Road is one of the xNHAT segments that puts the “adventure” into “adventure trail.” It’s a woods road, easy for walkers, though its rough varied surface looks like it eats bike tires for breakfast. Busted culverts? Check. Smooth rocks, sharp rocks, indifferently-dumped gravel of random diameter? Check.

Then again, there were a few other things to notice. The Androscoggin River on the south side of the road is of surpassing beauty with Mount Madison rising in the distance. I snacked on wild black raspberries that put my granola bars to shame. I had good company, too. As a rule I prefer to travel solo. When I get the chance to walk a trail with its founder, though, “yes” is the only reasonable response.

Wide river, forested shoreline, mountain in the background, blue sky
From Hogan Road in Shelburne NH, Mount Madison is a striking backdrop to the Androscoggin River.

Stewardship, fellowship, gratitude

Our goal for the morning was to check the road’s condition with xNHAT users in mind, and add or replace directional signs as needed. Marianne carried a pack with the necessary equipment, while her friend and I were handy for consultation. That’s pretty much all she needed us for.

Companions on Hogan Road

This wasn’t a day for piling up miles. Rather, it was a day for fellowship and gratitude. Throughout my trip, I was the beneficiary of the work of trail stewards like Marianne. Her friend, who I think was new to the trail, became a steward that very day when we came to a turn where signage is hard to post and maintain. She went to work building a small cairn there – something that never occurred to me. It was a simple thing, and possibly temporary, but it was a fresh approach to a nagging little issue.

Along the way the river kept inviting us to stop and enjoy the view. It flowed past us silently at first. A few miles later, upstream, it was lively and loud, probably due to a release from the power dam in Gorham.

We discovered a Forest Society sign along the way, identifying the Shelburne Valley Forest, a recently-protected parcel of land that includes a portion of xNHAT. I think that augurs well for the future of passive recreation in the area.

Wrapping up

Returning home after my north country travels, I still had a few miles left to meet my goal. I put them on hold, briefly. My husband, not a hiker but very much an athlete, had a bike race scheduled in Maine two days later. Not a problem. I could walk in Maine.

It turned out that the town where we stayed in Maine had a fine bike/pedestrian trail for me. It ran along the Androscoggin River. Yes, the same river that sweetened the scenery along Hogan Road! I reached my goal there. I couldn’t have known when I started that the Androscoggin would stick with me until I was done. A friend of mine calls such coincidences “Godwinks,” and I’m not about to dispute her.

wide river, forested island, pastel-colored sky at sunset
Androscoggin River near sunset, Brunswick ME

Every step of the way, even when I felt absolutely beat, I was grateful for all of it. God is good. In a state full of hikers who knock off 4000-footers before lunch, I maxed out at 16 miles one day on flat trails. (You should have seen the pile of mac & cheese I had for dinner that night.) There’s room in this world for peak baggers and flatlanders alike.

That’s worth celebrating.

I’ll make an endorsement here, unsolicited and uncompensated: thumbs up to the Art Gallery Hostel in Whitefield, which served as base camp for my north country dayhikes. It’s economical, clean, and hiker-friendly. No meals are included, but there’s a kitchen. Dunks is next door, and a grocery store is down the street. Info at booking.com.

If you’d like to support Granite State Walker, you can buy me a coffee. Thanks!