Midday Ride on the Nashua River Rail Trail

April 28, 2017February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I broke away from work on this weekday just long enough to take my bicycle out for the first ride of the season on the Nashua River Rail Trail, starting in Nashua, New Hampshire and heading south into Massachusetts

IMG__201704117__035415 — Feature from mural along NRRT. Ellen Kolb photo.

I like the mural in Groton, in the underpass crossing Route 111. I think local students must have painted it. It’s a map not of local streets, but of the Boston and Maine rail lines, including the decommissioned one that now serves as a trail. Nice bit of history, paying respect to the trail.

A beaver resisted all my attempts to photograph it. I almost missed it, in a swampy area alongside the trail: only concentric ripples gave it away. It’s good to see the wetlands looking like wetlands again, as gentle spring rains heal the effects of last year’s serious drought. Last September I had no more chance of seeing a beaver at trailside than of seeing a pod of whales.

IMG__201704117__034839 — A little history to go with my stop along the trail.

The river that gave the trail its name is not visible from the trail, except for a lovely mile-long stretch in Pepperell and Groton. Every time I see it, I think of the guidebook I received when I moved to New Hampshire more than thirty years ago, which had this to say about the Nashua River in Pepperell, where there’s a dam:

…but for the dirty water this would be a fine smoothwater trip. From [Groton] to East Pepperell, the river is not attractive, as the increase in water level has flooded swampland and killed the trees. [AMC River Guide Volume 2, Appalachian Mountain Club, 1978]

By 2002, the Guide’s third edition told a different story.

The Nashua River has enjoyed a major restoration in the last 25 years. The industrial pollution is gone now. Birds, wildlife, and fish are returning, and paddling the Nashua River is now an enjoyable experience.

Also enjoyable: walking and biking on the NRRT.

swan along NRRT — Nashua River, Pepperell, Massachusetts. Ellen Kolb photo.

Familiar and fresh in autumn: Nashua River Rail Trail

October 12, 2015February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

It’s Saturday, and I walked today another nine miles on a very familiar path. I’m reminded again that I’m no photographer, My pictures, taken on a phone, might seem like generic New Hampshire foliage shots – but each one is of a spot I’ve seen in all seasons for more than a decade now, on unhurried walks like this one.

Unkety Brook, Dunstable MA; osprey nest atop tree at right. All photos by Ellen Kolb

When the Nashua River Rail Trail opened in 2002, an osprey nest was visible from the bridge over Unkety Brook. I look for it every year. It has taken a beating, and after one storm – was it the Halloween snowstorm of 2011? – it looked destroyed. Two springs later, the osprey were back.

There’s a farm field bordering Unkety Brook on the north side. Nothing but corn stubble remains from this year’s crop, visible as the whitish ground cover in the center left of the photo above. We had a very dry summer, and Unkety looked low in July and August. The water level looks better heading into fall.

The glaring sun reminded me all afternoon that it would have been a good idea to wear a visor. It’s definitely autumn, though: the sun was much lower than at the same hour even a month ago, and it was fleece-pullover weather.

I have an AMC River Guide from 1978, more useful at this point for history than for navigation. About the Nashua River in Pepperell, the writers fretted: “From [Groton] to East Pepperell, the river is not attractive, as the increase in water level has flooded swampland and killed the trees.” Much has changed in 30-plus years, and the area upstream from the dam in Pepperell is now in my opinion the loveliest part of the river.

Mid-spring on the Nashua River Rail Trail

May 6, 2012February 23, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

Back to the Nashua River Rail Trail today. This is still one of my favorite places, in all seasons. After a dry winter & early spring, recent rains have brought out the wildflowers along the trail, including the columbines that I know will be gone before my next visit. Today’s walk was from Gilson Road in Nashua, New Hampshire to Rt. 113 in Pepperell, Massachusetts.