New Hampshire summers send me in search of shady trails to take the edge off the temperature. The New Boston Rail Trail keeps me coming back in all seasons, and its canopy of trees is a summer delight.

The first time I went to the trail more than twenty years ago, the rails had been removed, but to my critical eye it was little more than a shaggy overgrown path. The trail has been developed and improved since then by a network of supporters with far more vision than I had back then. It’s a wide, well-drained, unpaved trail that cyclists and walkers alike can enjoy. The footbridge over the middle branch of the Piscataquog River is a scenic spot. While I’m wary of the poison ivy that edges the trail in the warmer months, I enjoy the wildflowers blooming nearby.

The Friends of the New Boston Rail Trail welcome support from all comers. The group would like to build a tunnel or culvert under Parker Road, where the trail now has to rise to meet the road at a hazardous crossing. Sounds ambitious, but I have no doubt the job can be done. After all, I remember how the trail looked twenty years ago.

The trail is entirely within the town of New Boston, paralleling the Piscataquog River and Route 13 for most of its length. A map is available at nbtrail.com. My favorite parking area is at about the halfway point, at Lang Station on Gregg Mill Road just off Route 13, but be aware that after a rainstorm the parking lot can be a muddy mess. Other parking areas are available at the 4-H fairgrounds at the trail’s south end, Parker Road on the north side, and Riverside Drive at the northern end.