Murals, sculptures, and illustrations on the pavement could await you when you discover New Hampshire’s rail trails. Some trails feature artwork provided by volunteers from local trail groups. Others display the colorful contributions of area students or professional artists. As you walk or ride along the trails (find a complete list at nhrtc.org), look for treats like these.
Poet Robert Frost once taught at Derry’s Pinkerton Academy. The paved Derry Rail Trail pays tribute with an illustrated version of “The Road Not Taken,” one of Frost’s most famous works. The trail surface itself serves as canvas for this imaginative project.
Update, 2026: Three and a half years after the post below, after a lengthy period filled with public hearings and litigation, a settlement was reached that requires the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to use the tunnel plan recommended by trail advocates as NHDOT proceeds with construction of the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel as part of the expansion of Exit 4A on I-93.
The Granite State Walker is about celebrating New Hampshire trails – not the mountain trails that are well-documented elsewhere, but the southern New Hampshire trails that deserve to be just as cherished. Public-policy advocacy is not the usual beat for this blog. Something is coming up that prompts me to make an exception, and it involves the Derry Rail Trail.
Derry’s trail is part of what will someday be the Granite State Rail Trail, extending from Salem to Manchester and beyond. Already, the Derry trail connects with the Windham Rail Trail to the south, and it will eventually connect with the Londonderry Rail Trail to the north. One important segment yet to be built is the trail’s crossing of the proposed exit 4-A on I-93.
In brief, the state Department of Transportation intends to route the rail trail along a messy path, aptly nicknamed (not by the DOT) the “spaghetti route.” This is far different from the original plan, which was a simple tunnel routing the rail trail under the highway. The tunnel plan is safer and simpler.
What to do
On Thursday, August 4, the Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting at 6 p.m. at West Running Brook School in Derry. The purpose of the meeting is to present the DOT’s preferred plan to the public. It’s unclear how much opportunity there will be for public input. That’s not going to stop advocates for pedestrian and bicyclist safety from making an impression simply by showing up. [Note that the NH Department of Transportation later rescheduled the meeting to Thursday, September 22. The August 4 meeting was postponed due to hot weather. I wrote at the time “One might call that a safety concern. Let’s hope the same concern animates future moves in the Exit 4-A project.”]
Attend if you can, wearing something that’s a bright “safety yellow” color. The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition’s Facebook page has more information about the meeting. (Full disclosure: I’m on the NHRTC board.)
Improve I-93? By all means. Build exit 4-A, which has been in the works for years? I’m OK with that. Let that project advance the safety interests of all transportation users, not just drivers. The tunnel plan would do just that.
Proposed exit 4-A project, showing Derry Rail Trail proposed path: brown line indicates the tunnel plan, while the blue line indicates the more convoluted plan favored by NHDOT. Image from Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire (bwanh.org)
For more information
The Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire has a helpful information page that includes illustrations and narrative descriptions of each of the proposed plans.
BWANH’s conclusion is right on target: “New Hampshire will be stuck with the outcome of this project for many years to come. Let’s get it right, and do it right the first time.”
Visit the trail now
You don’t have to wait for the completion of the Derry Rail Trail to enjoy the segment that’s open now. Start from Windham Junction and head north on the paved trail. You’ll see and hear I-93, but soon the trailside wetlands with their birds and flora will capture your attention. Watch along the way for the artistic tributes to poet Robert Frost, who once taught nearby. As you approach NH Route 102 in central Derry, plan a stop at one of the businesses that support the trail, such as The Grind coffee shop.
All along the way, remember: safety first.
Hood Park in Derry NH, seen from Derry Rail Trail. Ellen Kolb photo.
The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition biennial conference went virtual this year, and the online environment didn’t get in the way of an informative event. I was invited by fellow NHRTC board members to talk for a few minutes about a walker’s view of the trails, and how even the slowest of users can become an enthusiastic advocate for rail trails. My presentation is now up on Vimeo, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
For all of you who have suffered through videoconference indignities this year, you’ll sympathize with the post-slide-show Q&A here featuring my deer-in-the-headlights reaction to someone’s unintentionally muted mic. Once that problem was solved, our ace moderator kept the questions flowing.
You can find other presentations from the conference at The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition Vimeo page.
Update, 2026: Since this 2020 post, the CLSRT has been extended in Concord, improved in Warner, and begun in Newbury. The segments are slowly coming together. Best ways to get updates are on the CLSRT website and Facebook page.
Some of my favorite short after-work hikes have been in Concord, New Hampshire. The trails on Oak Hill and in Winant Park stand out. Now there’s a new trail – new to me, anyway – on the north side of town, where I recently walked for a fine hour and a half.
The two-and-a-half-mile long trail is a segment of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail (CLSRT). This long-abandoned old rail line will someday be an uninterrupted upgraded rail trail linking Concord and Lake Sunapee. For now, it’s a disjointed thing, with a little piece open for use in Warner, another in Bradford, and now another in Concord.
I was there on an overcast, comfortably cool day. I had the parking lot to myself at the trailhead, at 25 Fisherville Road (U.S. 3). I found there an information kiosk and a bike-service stand.
Trailhead in Concord, on U.S. 3.Photos by Ellen Kolb.
The first section of trail had a surface of smooth well-packed stone dust. The trail was flanked by businesses on one side and a wide open field on the other.
Peak color was past, but autumn conditions were pleasant along the trail.
Before long, the trail entered the woods, becoming a little rougher but still wide and well-defined. Most of the more-vividly-colored leaves had dropped. What was left created a glowing golden tunnel. Granite markers recalled the days of the old active line, when C stood for Concord and CJ stood for Claremont Junction.
The trail stayed close to U.S. 3 before veering west to parallel Bog Road. Traffic noise was not intrusive. One dog’s barking certainly was; more about that later. The noisiest moment I had was when I flushed what must have been a grouse concealed in the leaves just off the trail. The bird’s explosive takeoff startled me half out of my wits.
What’s now a formal piece of rail trail has apparently served as a snowmobile trail, or so I conclude based on one well-signed junction. For the most part, though, I was on a path freshly improved for walkers and bikers alike. Runners, too. I was passed by a few who were probably delighted not to have to get their miles in on the nearby roads.
A signed junction along the way.
The trail passes through a residential area, with trees providing some buffer. I had a refreshing five-mile round trip walk. I owe that to amazing work by many volunteers and donors who built up this section. Together, they have created another fine trail in Concord.
An hour’s free time let me string together a Mine Falls path with the Nashua Heritage Rail Trail to make a pleasant loop for an afternoon walk.
A Heritage Trail sign gives the story behind the trail, for those who stop to read closely. Photos by Ellen Kolb.
Once upon a time, the railroad line that’s now the Heritage Trail was on the same line that became the Nashua River Rail Trail. It’s not likely that the two trails will ever connect again, what with the Everett Turnpike and a few decades of real estate development in the way.
Today, the paved Heritage Trail parallels West Hollis Street from City Hall to just short of Simon Street. There are numerous road crossings and congestion through the Tree Streets behind City Hall. To the west, the trail is quieter. There’s a sign along the way indicating where to veer off to get to the 7th Street entrance to Mine Falls Park.
Nashua Heritage Rail Trail, near western terminus.
Mine Falls Park, as ever, was a beautiful place to visit. The cove’s water level in this drought-stricken season was lower than I’ve ever seen it. Even so, the park’s woods and waterside plants were irrepressibly lush.
Whipple Street access bridge from Mine Falls Park.
How To: A bit of road walking was involved in the loop. I parked on Whipple Street, walked up Simon Street to Will Street – watching out for the tractor-trailers on their way to the nearby UPS depot – and then picked up the Heritage Trail on the sidewalk. When I got to the sign on the trail pointing me to Mine Falls’ 7th Street entrance, I turned onto 7th Street and followed it across Ledge Street to the park entrance. I turned left at the canal and kept walking back to the Whipple Street entrance. A little shy of 3 miles, all told.
Recent walks and rides: Londonderry, Derry, and Windham. Each town has its own portion of New Hampshire rail trail on the old Manchester-Lawrence rail line. There are gaps, but the segments are being stitched together a bit at a time.
These are paved trails. They’re like boulevards without cars. They’re high-traffic compared with most of their unpaved cousins, but they’re off-road and therefore safer than hoofing it down any local street. I just stay to the right, pass with care when I need to pass, and keep my speed down. (I never have trouble keeping my speed down.)
Londonderry
No sooner was the Londonderry trail extended to Harvey Road in 2019 than an informal parking lot took shape near the trailhead, doubling as an observation point for watching the planes at Manchester’s airport. I love that kind of efficiency. (Update, 2026: since construction of a culvert under Harvey Road for Little Cohas Brook, parking at that trailhead is a problem. Try the trailheads across from North Londonderry Elementary on Sanborn Road or the Park and Ride on NH Route 28 near I-93’s exit 5.)
On my most recent visit on a hot summer day, I was surprised by a gentle fragrance as Little Cohas Brook came into sight. I gave the credit to the blooming water lilies. Loosestrife was in bloom as well: lovely purple color on what I’m told is a highly invasive plant.
Along Little Cohas Brook, Londonderry rail trail. All photos by Ellen Kolb.
Busy as the trail can be, I had no sense of being crowded on my midweek visit. There was room for everyone. I even had a bench to myself for a bit of birdwatching.
Benches are a bonus along rail trails.
I like seeing mile markers that have been restored or re-created. They keep me mindful of a trail’s history.
“L” for Lawrence MA, “M” for Manchester NH.
Four and a half paved miles extend from Harvey Road to the town line at NH Route 28. From the southern end, I could see across the road to a yet-undeveloped stretch of railbed in Derry. Its day will come.
I spent a good afternoon walking on Derry’s trail that links Hood Park with Windham Junction. That’s about 8 miles round trip, with refreshments available from businesses near each end. Parking is available at both ends.
Lest I forget about social distancing, someone painted a reminder.
Nothing but an embankment and a strip of trees separated me from I-93 on the southern part of the trail. Once the trail and highway diverged, the scenery changed to wetlands full of red-winged blackbirds. Proceeding north, I entered residential areas, then passed a ball field, and crossed busy NH Route 102 in the center of town.
Crossing 102 was easier than I expected. Traffic actually stopped for me as I entered the crosswalk. That is not something I take for granted in central business districts, even on a weekend.
My favorite part of the trail paid tribute to poet Robert Frost, who spent a few years teaching at nearby Pinkerton Academy. “The Road Not Taken” had been stenciled on the trail only a day or two before my walk. More artwork has since been added.
Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a Derry Rail Trail highlight.
I confess to a special liking for the Windham rail trail. Even on the hottest day, it’s cool and restful.
This Boston and Maine RR caboose is now a Windham Junction landmark.
Windham Junction, with its restored depot and caboose, has a good-sized parking lot. That makes it a good starting point for a ride or walk north into Derry or south into Salem. My recent trip was just to enjoy the Windham trail itself.
Roulston Road crossing (no parking here).
The trail looked practically freshly-pressed. Recent maintenance work has improved the trail’s surface and drainage.
New pavement, new drainage work, trimmed shrubs: welcome to Windham’s rail trail.
Granite State Walker 