Winter arrives on the Nashua River Rail Trail

December 18, 2025February 18, 2026 / 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!

Using mud season to plan ahead

March 23, 2022March 22, 2022 / Ellen Kolb

New Hampshire’s mud season is here, thanks to a month that has brought days of snow alternating with days of 50 degrees. I went to the forest trails in one of my favorite Concord parks the other day, and I turned around after about a hundred yards. Squishy ground is not ideal for hiking. Turns out hiking isn’t ideal for squishy ground, either. Ask any trail maintainer. I’m switching to pavement for the time being.

Paved bike trail in wooded area, with old brick industrial building in background — *March 2022: Nashua River Rail Trail, Dunstable MA. Clear pavement, muddy edges.* *Ellen Kolb photo.*

While I’m putting in the miles on roads and paved trails, I’ll be giving some thought to the maintenance work and spring cleanup that will be going on as the weather gets warmer and the mud dries up. This is a good time for trip planning, too.

I serve on my town’s conservation commission, on a subcommittee dedicated to one of the town’s nature preserves. We’ve been keeping an eye on some areas being taken over by invasive plants that are crowding out native species. In consultation with an expert from the local university’s extension program, we’re coming up with a management plan to tackle the invasives later in the year. Planning now will pay off later.

My favorite local paved trail, the Nashua River Rail Trail, has obviously seen recent work from volunteers who have already made the most of mud season. While the side paths in the woods are still muddy and soft, working on the pavement is easy. Between my last two visits to the northern section of the trail, a crew or crews had been through to clear away fallen branches and pick up trash.

I’m gathering trail information this month for a multi-day hike later in the year on the rail trails in the southwestern part of New Hampshire. I don’t feel quite so stuck during mud season when I know there’s a trip ahead to plan and train for.

Mud season might give you time to learn more about the trails in your area, even if they’re temporarily off limits until things dry up a bit. Is a trail owned or managed by your town? Check with the Parks and Recreation department or the municipal Conservation Commission to find out if there are opportunities for you to volunteer for upcoming events. Are you fond of a certain rail trail? The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition website contains links to many local trail clubs, each with its own projects and schedule. Don’t dismiss Facebook; it’s still a great way to find groups organized around a specific trail or park. Those Facebook groups are often the best source of information on up-to-date trail conditions and maintenance needs.

Avoiding the trails for another couple of weeks will be good for them. Using the time for planning ahead will be good for me.

A walker’s view of rail trails: video of Granite State Walker’s presentation to NHRTC conference

December 17, 2021December 16, 2021 / Ellen Kolb

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.

The Granite State Walker Explores NH Rail Trails-Broadband High.mp4 from NH Rail Trails Coalition on Vimeo.

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.

Little things along the way

May 13, 2021February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I love vistas from mountaintops. Sweeping views can take my breath away. They’ll always have their place for me. Even so, I take time to look down as I walk. What’s along the trailside? What’s in bloom this month? What’s that little kid ahead of me exclaiming over, pulling mom or dad aside to see? Little things.

What’s growing

When I parked at Gerrish Depot in Boscawen and walked south along the Northern Rail Trail, I knew I was near a veterans’ cemetery. What I didn’t know is that there was a spur from the trail directly to the cemetery, with a sign that offered an detour to trail users wishing to pay respects. Other trails use signage to inform users about expansion plans, inviting donations to maintain or extend a trail. Sometimes a trailhead kiosk will feature a flyer that tells me about a local festival or program.

Destination hikes – heading to a waterfall, a view from a notch, or a fire tower, for example – are always interesting. I like big payoffs, especially if I’ve had to stagger my way uphill for a few miles. I’ve learned to love my undramatic walks, too. They’ve taught me to look out for the little things.

Subtly Spring: Horse Hill and the Winni Trail

March 30, 2021February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

“Show me some spring pictures,” a reader recently asked me. He was looking for budding trees and fresh green growth. Perhaps I can oblige him in another week or so. For now, the signs of spring in New Hampshire are subtler.

It’s mud season, but the trails at Horse Hill Nature Preserve in Merrimack were in remarkably good shape the other day. The herons were back on Lastowka Pond, croaking and courting. I could see that the beavers had been busy along the shoreline, taking down a big tree that barely missed a bench as it fell. Deeper into the woods, I smelled freshly-cut lumber on a refurbished bog bridge.

Simple wooden bridge on forest trail — _{Early-season work by trail maintainers: a refurbished bridge. Photos by Ellen Kolb.}

Trees with beaver damage — _{The beavers are in town: this pair of trees had been untouched a week earlier.}

On a recent walk through Mine Falls Park in Nashua, I looked for swans in the cove but found none. Some years, there’s a pair that bullies the park’s Canada geese into the cove’s farther reaches. The geese are safe for now. I was glad to see blackbirds amid the reeds that edge the cove; I missed them in winter.

Blackbird amid reeds — _{Blackbird, nearly hidden in reeds}

Business took me to Loudon recently, and I added a couple of hours to the trip so I could visit nearby Belmont and discover the Winni Trail, a paved rail trail along Lake Winnisquam.

I had the advantage of a fine sunny day, with cool air and miles of visibility. A stretch of trail went through the woods, with lake and rail line out of sight, and then broke into the open to hug the shore alongside the rails. Good thing someone thought to set up a few benches along the way; the views are definitely worth stopping for.

Lake Winnisquam, Belmont, New Hampshire, from rail trail — _{Seen from the Winni Trail: a railroad signal mast, Lake Winnisquam, and the hills of the Lakes Region.}

It was my first experience with rail-with-trail, where a trail shares the right-of-way with an active rail line. That particular line is owned by the state of New Hampshire, not by a rail corporation, and I suppose that might have simplified development of the trail.

The shared right-of-way continues into Laconia on the WOW Trail (for Lakes Winnisquam, Opechee, and Winnipesaukee). Someday, with a lot of cooperation and investment and volunteer work, there could be a continuous recreational rail trail linking WOW in Laconia with the Winnipesaukee River Trail in Tilton/Northfield via the Winni Trail in Belmont. That’s a project to cheer for, if Belmont’s trail is indicative of what’s ahead.

wide unpaved walking trail in woods, springtime before leaves have returned — _{Early spring on the Winni Trail}

Just-right snow on the Nashua River Rail Trail

February 17, 2021February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I’ve lived in New Hampshire for a few decades now, but I grew up in Florida. “Snow” to a Floridian is all alike, just cold white stuff that falls from the sky, ideally several states away. My first few New Hampshire winters were a revelation: powder, heavy slush, the dreaded “icy mix,” thawed-and-refrozen, and so on. I’ve learned to appreciate the variations that give each winter day its own personality.

Even for a onetime Florida girl, winter has its moments. A sunny day on packed powder, for example, is as wonderful for a walker as for any skier. A recent Saturday on the Nashua River Rail Trail was as good as it gets.

Nashua River Rail Trail in winter — _{Nashua River Rail Trail at New Hampshire/Massachusetts state line. Ellen Kolb photo.}

Snow on several bitterly-cold days had piled up powder along the trail. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the NRRT, and there’s no snow grooming, so users had to make their own paths. By the time I got to the trail, a few informal lanes had already formed. Cross-country ski tracks were evident, as was a packed-down lane suitable for walkers wearing snowshoes or cleats. There was plenty of untracked snow for snowshoers wanting to get a workout. Best of all, while the trail had obviously seen traffic before I arrived, hardly anyone was out there during my walk.

I’ve been on NRRT in every season. It’s shaded in the summer, colorful in the fall, and adorned with a succession of flowers from mud season until hard frost. It’s popular on summer weekends, when segments of it are as crowded as a carnival midway. Winter is its quiet time.

I drank in the quiet the other day. The prop plane from the nearby skydiving school was in its hangar; no one was mowing a lawn; the crowds were home awaiting warmer days. Snow covered the pavement, muted every sound, and concealed the ground where bluets and columbines will bloom a few months from now. I spent two hours on the trail and wished I could have spent two more.

Since that visit, I’ve seen winter’s messier side. The snow’s now crusted with ice. A few thaw-refreeze cycles in the coming days will leave roads looking much better than trails to me. That’s fine – but when the powder falls again, I’ll be ditching work for a few hours.