The first time there I brought my 5 year old and it was way too much for him. Even the green trails…read morecaused him trouble so we had to split. The second time I went on my own and loved every second. Got almost all the trails, and The Dude Abides was challenging but so good! NOT for young riders, but for those with at least some skill this is a great spot with lots of variety.

Fresh new trails. Great on the bike. Things for beginners and advanced riders. Lots of fun. Big…read morethanks to all the volunteers who put in the effort to build these great trails. Great views from some of the open areas.

One word to describe the Northern Rail Trail. Wow. It is a gem in New England if not the nation…read more I have been in the process of doing the entire trail now for some time. Since I'm doing it by myself, I am doing it in a series of out and backs. That way I can also check the different parking lots, country stores and snack bars nearby for when I do the trail again with friends and we can stage cars with bike racks in different segments. Which will happen. The trail begins (0r ends) just a couple of blocks from the picturesque Colburn Park in downtown Lebanon NH, next to the Witherell Recreation Center parking lot with a huge parking area. The first 35 miles of the trail follow a path nearby State Route 4 to Andover along the Mascoma River to Mascoma Lake and then the Indian River until the Connecticut Valley divide, where the watershed changes to following the Blackwater River to the Merrimack River and the Atlantic Ocean watershed. This segment climbs a total of 492 feet and descends 413 feet at Highland Lake in East Andover. The trail's maintenance is done by local towns as well as different bicycling and snowmobile clubs with an apparent lack of standardization among them, and therefore the conditions on the trail vary significantly between different segments in different towns. As a result, I would recommend a "fat tire" or mountain bike if one is going to ride trails outside The conditions in the Lebanon - Enfield segment are quite comfortable, with packed crushed rocks suitable for all mountain and even thicker hybrids, but from Enfield to Grafton they can be spotty and the Grafton-Canaan segment needs repair, In Canaan and Grafton, the conditions can range from overgrown to thin sand patches unsuitable for thinner tires, to large ballast rock that slow down travel considerably. There are numerous parking areas along the trail, allowing out and backs as well as staging vehicles to accomplish the entire trail in segments or just to do a part of the trail. The segment from Lebanon to Enfield is quite beautiful, although a detour that will likely last for at least another year presents a significant detour. The picturesque segment meanders through the Mascoma River to Lake Mascoma where it follows the Northern side of the lake presenting some amazing views of the lake, Shaker Village, the historic Shaker Bridge and on to the little town of Enfield. Beware in Enfield, as picturesque, quaint and historic as the village happens to be, it has no suitable eating establishments in the immediate vicinity that offer any quality food. There is Mickey Roadside Cafe on Route 4 (Yelp rated) less than a mile outside the trail. The segment from Enfield to Canaan can be a bit sketchy and worn out with some rough patches. At Canaan, there is a parking lot and a few eating establishments. East of Canaan, one of the most beautiful scenic spots on the trail affords amazing views of Mirror Lake and the above-treeline summit of Cardigan Mountain in the background. Continuing on to the Southeast, the trail begins a very gradual but noticeable descent to the Southeast with rough areas more suitable for horseback riding than for bicycling (it is maintained by a Winter-oriented snowmobile club), meandering towards Tewksbury Pond that sports amazing scenery, then continuing on to Grafton with a nice country store under new management, passing Danbury Center, where the trail becomes well maintained once more, and then on to Andover, perhaps the best maintained segment of the trail, perhaps due to its location in the immediate vicinity of Proctor Academy. Past Andover, it borders more spectacular scenery as it passes the shoreline of Highland Lake and Webster Lake until it reaches Franklin and then Boscawen where it ends.

It was my sincere intention to fully enjoy the healing and therapeutic value of hiking along the…read morerail trails, and the solo camping along the way. I was SO excited, I was all prepared (over-prepared actually) and had been planning this excursion for months. I didn't get very far, as fear basically paralyzed me the minute that I touched down at the trail. For some reason ALL of the local ATV riders were hyper-aware of my presence (I wonder why that is) and so they were recurrently, in unison, revving up their engines as loud as they possibly could, in some kind of a group signal regarding my being there, alone, hiking, not bothering anyone - but not about anyone else there hiking apparently. Just me. How interesting. My original plan was to stay much longer, hiking to the mountains in the North, but on day 2 I heard someone nailing something against a tree near my tent. When I came out of the tent the next day I saw that someone had nailed a NO TRESPASSING sign riddled with bullets near my camp. On public land. That was really kind of whoever felt that was appropriate. So someone went out of their way to vandalize state park property simply to terrorize me. That was nice. I have attached those photos of the lovely, bullet riddled sign that was meant for me specifically. Thank you for your welcoming spirit New Hampshire. My visit wasn't traumatic at all.

SUPER BEAUTIFUL drive with amazing fall foliage. The top was foggy and rainy so we couldn't see…read moredown or hike but beautiful drive up. The hike is mostly pine trees. Suggested donation is $4/person.

Dogs are welcome at this great dog park. it is clean and everyone who goes there are all so nice…read more We were there for The Frank Monahan Foundation 5k Run. Concord, NH. All photos from that fun day were by me, Kate Putnam.

What a pretty hike! We did go at peak foliage, so there were lots of people but it never felt…read moreoverwhelming! The beginning of the hike is pretty flat and then the elevation came towards the end. Lots of all ages on the hike and it was so cool to see Lake Winnipesaukee from the summit.

I try to make a Mount Major hike annually, but haven't been in a few years. I enjoy it every time I…read morecome! Trails are pretty clean with an occasional dog poop bag here and there, which we can only blame the visitors who choose to leave them. This park provides plenty of bathrooms at the bottom. They aren't the cleanest, but it's nice they even have them as an option.

As far as hikes this was flat and level (for the most part) which didn't pose much of a challenge…read more It was good for my wife because her super power is spraining her ankle, which she did a month or two before on another hike. We called it quits two miles in, then turned back which turned out to be a great idea because her ankle swelled up and she was tripping by the time we got back to the car. Having been on another rail trail down on Cape Cod years ago, rail trails can become exceptionaly boring and you can feel like you're in a cartoon running sequence where the scene repeats itself. Which in the hot sun you pray for it to be all over when you still have 6 hours to go, and death all of a sudden doesn't seem so bad as long as you can escape the misery. This was different because there was a constant change of scenery, which was nice. There was an abandoned crashed car in the woods, a brook to cross, wetlands, and there was minor elevation changes (not significant mind you). So it wasn't terrible. However the canopy cover from the trees were intermittent, and there is minimal air movement on the trail in terms of wind. When we came here it was hot with high humidity this summer day. We were staying at the family cottage on the lake and I was like "this weather ain't bad fam" but the water naturally cools the surrounding area, and we were lulled into thinking this particular day was great for a hike. Oh it was humid and hot, it felt like I was walking through soup. Hiking a mountain during the summer is a little better, because with the elevation it tends to become cooler. This trail may be better on cooler days since the elevation stays relatively consistent and there isn't much in terms of wind. We saw a lot of bicyclists, and this is a great trail for that. Worth checking out, just be sure to pack water and bug spray.

My wife and I loved this trail as a walking trail. The…read moretricky part is that transitions between walking trails and rail lines My wife had a bad fall transitioning from the rail to the walkway on a bike End Up with a broken and a sprained wrist. You seriously have to be careful if you're on a bike and transitioning between the rail part of the trail and the regular path. It's beautiful and I would go there again

OK, I'm a Lionel train kid from the 1950's! I grew up in a town that had a commuter rail line. I…read moreused to love traveling by train, so this ride was a no-brainer for me. You may pre-order sandwiches to eat on the train. We elected to bring our own sandwiches & drinks on the train. What we didn't expect was how wonderful the young workers were! They also brought along free packs of cookies & soda, if you wanted. I didn't expect that. As for the ride, it was fun, there was a young man tell us about the history as we enjoyed scenes of the lake. I would recommend this train ride to anyone, even if you didn't have a set as a kit.

Gorgeous trail! Beautiful views of the lake and very well maintained. A regular walking spot for…read moremorning walks with my dog. Getting good use from cyclists and walkers/joggers.

The trail is very well maintained The views are great…read moreMultiple trails to choose from Bugs were not bad at all

In mid-March, I hiked three mountains in the area, including Piper Mountain, Belknap Mountain, and…read moreGunstock Mountain. Only needed microspikes not snowshoes, because already many people made path and snow was not too soft. No view from Piper mountain, but it is nice from Belknap and Gunstock.

Nice. Shortish trail to a lovely large pond. Trail keeps going after that, not sure where. Not much…read moreelse to see going on as far amenities, but we enjoyed our visit. Nature. :)