Piscataquog River

New Boston Rail Trail

/ Ellen Kolb / 3 Comments
I love this banner at the trailhead.
Piscataquog River, South Branch; bridge at entrance to 4-H Fairgrounds
South Branch is visible through the woods, all along the trail.
The trail’s OK for bikes that can handle rough ground with lots of tree roots.
No motorized traffic here. Fishing’s OK.
New Boston Rail Trail: footbridge over Middle Branch of the Piscataquog River, just off Gregg Mill Road.
Lang Station, a small building on the trail at Gregg Mill Road; once an actual stop for trains on the Boston & Maine line.
Middle Branch runs fairly high in late spring; I saw kayakers on South Branch today.
New Boston town common. The rail trail’s trailhead at the 4-H fairgrounds is only a 10-minute walk north of here, off Rt. 13.
Don’t be put off by this beat-up trailer on the fairgrounds; the trailhead is here, with adjacent parking.

New Boston is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, with festivities going on all summer. Today, I intended to take a house tour being offered by the town’s historical society. When I arrived on this perfect June day, though, it was clear that the house tour was already doing good business without my help. This gave me time to visit a nearby trail I haven’t seen in too long. The New Boston rail trail follows the Piscataquog River. This is actually a remnant of the same line that is being rehabilitated for recreational use in Goffstown and that runs through Manchester to the baseball stadium. This leafy and cool trail is perfect on a summer day as long as you carry bug repellent. This is a dirt trail, which means it’s occasionally muddy, and it’s open to horses, which means watch your step.

My favorite feature of the trail is the footbridge over the Middle Branch of the Piscataquog. It’s a simple but lovely piece of work. I’ve included a photo of the bridge in this post’s photo gallery. (Hover your computer mouse over each photo for a descriptive caption.)

The trail runs northeast from near the center of New Boston to the Goffstown line. Parking is available at three locations off NH Rt. 13 north of New Boston’s town center: the 4-H Fairgrounds (Hilldale Lane), Gregg Mill Road, and Parker Station.  See the rail trail page on the town web site for further information, including a schedule of trail work days.

 

Update: Manchester & Goffstown trails to be connected!

/ Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

See today’s Union Leader, page B1, for great news about rail trail development in greater Manchester.

Three years ago, I wrote about the rail trail that begins at the bridge over the Merrimack River in Manchester, continuing west along the Piscataquog River up to the closed-off trestle over the Piscataquog into Goffstown. I expressed pessimism at the time about any restoration of a pedestrian crossing there.

Well, hush my mouth. Today’s newspaper report says that a new steel bridge will be built alongside the old trestle by the end of this year, thanks to funding from a number of sources. This is great news.