Beginning the NH Rail Trail Challenge: low-key, close to home

August 8, 2020February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I can tell already that the Rail Trail challenge is going to figure into many future posts. I hope readers who are inspired by the challenge will share their own posts and photos so we can learn from each other.

I enjoyed a walk on the Goffstown rail trail a few days ago with Paula Bedard of the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire, of which the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition is an affiliate. If the Challenge has a prime mover and guiding spirit, she’s it. It was great to talk with her about our favorite trails and the shape they’re in.

Goffstown rail rail — Along Goffstown rail trail

She made an important point to me that makes me much more optimistic about earning that Challenge patch: participants must explore each trail, not travel every inch of every trail. Whew! OK, so I’m not just going to do a quarter-mile of the Northern Rail Trail and then check it off the Challenge list. But it’s good to know that an overgrown trail – northern stretch of Fort Hill, maybe? – won’t be a stopper.

The next day, at Paula’s urging, I picked up the second edition of Charles F. Martin’s book, Rail Trails of New Hampshire. The first edition has been my companion on many trips. With more trails developed and with conditions changing on existing ones, a new edition is timely.

Brookline, NH

Why go out of my way to check off anything from a trail list? In 2020, the only reason I need is that I am grateful for diversions from the challenges of COVID-19. I crave out-of-the-way places where no masks are required. Fresh air clears my head. A straight flat trail lends itself to prayer and reflection.

All of which brought me to the Potanipo rail trail in Brookline, NH. The little town already has a place in this blog thanks to the Andres Institute of Art with its trails and outdoor sculptures. The rail trail is nearby. It’s short, straight, shady, and ideal for a brief respite from routine.

I parked off of Bohannon Bridge Road, next to a ball field, just past the Nissitissit River. Finding the trailhead for the developed part of the old rail line was easy. A runner was just returning to her car. A gentleman was walking his dog ahead of me. Farther along I saw a pair of friends laughing and walking briskly together. The trail might have been new to me, but clearly the locals were familiar with it.

The trail is about a mile long. The slow-moving river alongside is concealed this midsummer by heavy vegetation. The trail surface is unpaved but wide and smooth. There’s one road crossing. The trail peters out at NH Route 13, behind a gas station and a pizza restaurant. The parking there makes a convenient starting point for anyone who wants to go out-and-back along the trail from that direction.

After a hilly walk at the Andres Institute, the flat Brookline trail might be a good way to get the kinks out of those sore legs.

Bridge-builder Helen Closson, RIP

January 25, 2017February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

This morning’s newspaper carries news of the death of Helen Closson of Manchester, New Hampshire at the age of 94. The headline describes her as “a force for good.” The long list of her civic activities bears this out. As a Granite State walker, I will always think of her as the woman who brought us the Hands Across the Merrimack pedestrian bridge over the Merrimack River in Manchester.

Hands Across the Merrimack (and Manchester) — The Hands Across the Merrimack bridge. Ellen Kolb photo.

The Pisacataquog Trail of which the bridge is a part links Manchester to Goffstown, providing recreational opportunities for everyone in Greater Manchester.

Turning an abandoned rail trestle into a pedestrian walkway is a team effort, and my gratitude for the bridge ought to be extended to many people. Mrs. Closson, though, was the team leader who saw the project through to the end.

I appreciate the gift.

At last, Manchester-Goffstown rail trail link completed

October 26, 2015February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

New Hampshire’s Piscataquog Rail Trail finally reaches across the Piscataquog River, connecting Manchester with Goffstown. I put off some workday tasks long enough to walk the trail from its east end all the way across the new bridge. With all due respect and gratitude to the many people who made the project happen, I didn’t stay for the ribbon-cutting and speechifyin’. Trails are for walking.

pedestrian bridge over a river, blue sky, autumn foliage — On the Manchester side, looking toward Goffstown, at long last. Ellen Kolb photos.

unpaved shaded rail trail — On the Goffstown side.

granite bench etched with "welcome" and placed trailside — I call this right neighborly.

Pedestrian bridge next to bright-red autumn foliage. — Second Street bridge, near east end of Piscataquog Rail Trail.

Merrimack River, deep blue water, with Manchester (NH) skyline — The Queen City: Manchester, New Hampshire, seen from the Hands Across the Merrimack bike/ped bridge.

The Singer family is behind many philanthropic efforts in the Manchester area. Their generosity helped to complete the bridge project.

Manchester-Goffstown rail trail connector: the new span is in place

August 13, 2015February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

August 2015: new span will soon link the Goffstown and Piscataquog (Manchester NH) rail trails. Ellen Kolb photo.

I take back every pessimistic word I ever wrote about the difficulties that would have to be overcome in order to link the rail trails in Goffstown and Manchester, New Hampshire.

A month ago, there was a great big empty spot where the old railroad trestle over the Piscataquog River used to be. Now, sooner than I thought possible, a new bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists is in place. It’s not yet open, but I checked out the area today and saw a serious construction effort underway on the approach to the Manchester end.

Good news, I say.

Rockingham Trail & Lake Massabesic, Manchester/Auburn NH

May 7, 2015February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Workday or not, an 80-degree spring day calls for some trail time. Decked out in business clothes and dress shoes, I spent midday on a tame but worthwhile path: the Rockingham Recreational Trail from its Lake Massabesic trailhead near the Manchester/Auburn town line.

Rockingham Recreational Trail (Portsmouth branch), Auburn NH, east of NH Rt. 121. Ellen Kolb photos.

The trail extends more than twenty miles east to Newfields, which would make an interesting bike ride some other day. Pressed for time today, I walked only about a mile and a half before retracing my steps back to my car. I took my time to enjoy the birds (quite a variety near the lake) and take a few pictures from a boat launch. The trail is unpaved but wide and well-trodden. It was popular this midday: moms with kids, a guy fishing in a trailside pond, lots of dog walkers, even one dirt biker in defiance of the no-motorized-vehicle rule.

View of Lake Massabesic from boat launch just off Rockingham Rec Trail and NH Rt. 121.

More information on this trail can be found on the New Hampshire State Parks web site and in the book New Hampshire Rail Trails by Charles Martin (available from the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition).

Over the Merrimack River on the Piscataquog Trail

August 19, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I was early for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats game a few days ago (that’s baseball, for all you out-of-towners). It’s been too long since my last stroll over the Hands Across the Merrimack bridge, part of the rail trail that begins behind the baseball stadium and extends a couple of miles west along the Piscataquog river, clear over to West Side Arena.

The Hands Across the Merrimack bridge over the Merrimack River, seen from the trail behind Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

The odd bit of graffiti aside, the bridge is in good shape structurally and aesthetically. And for crossing the Merrimack river, it sure beats dodging the auto traffic on the nearby Granite Street bridge.