I like to temper hiking with riding my bike
Long ago road biking got too scary to be fun, so I turned to mountain biking. Unfortunately, that isn’t really much fun any more; trees and rocks seem to have gotten harder and roots more slippery and bruises slower to heal. ☹
So I’ve been doing more rail trails. Aside from road crossings and e-bikes they’re a nice alternative to the gym.
A couple weeks ago I rode a section of the Northern Rail Trail. I rode out to the Trestle View Park in Franklin and watched some kayakers for a while, and was intrigued by the Winnipesaukee River Trail.
Today I decided to drive to Northfield and ride the trail and its extension.
The trail between Franklin and Northfield was the most fun of any rail trail I’ve been on so far. Well laid out, great surface ( paved at the Franklin end to combat erosion), with occasional fact signs to read. The river alongside and old structures along it made it more interesting than the ordinary trail, and the shade and river kept it very cool despite the 90 degree day. Wonderful work by the community and WRTA volunteers.
Figuring out a route was problematic. The website, https://www.winnirivertrail.org/ was interesting but confusing.
If you rollover “Maps”, a pull-down opens with links to pictorial storyboards of finding your way from point to point. They’re clear enough, in retrospect, but I found it useless trying to navigate these on my bike with my phone. Maps work better , at least for me.
If you *click ON “Maps” itself, that does indeed take you to maps. Unfortunately these also are clear enough in retrospect , but they were very confusing to me both in planning and following. The maps are presented as segments of the trail system, and I simply could not assemble them in my mind. The 3rd map, “Route 3 to Route 140” does not show Rt 93; including that detail would have helped. Maybe they’ll work for you.
When I searched online for “Winnipesaukee River Trail map” I found this URL, which took me to a page with a link to a pdf map. Unfortunately , that link 404’ed.
https://www.winnirivertrail.org/winnipesaukee-river-trail-map/
I got a better idea of the trail layout from “New Hampshire Rail Trails” 2 ed / Charles Martin. But – the book says park at the library. The Winni site shows parking at the Northfield end of the Northfield-Franklin leg. See the “Cross Mill to Surrette Park” map , https://www.winnirivertrail.org/maps/
The book has a helpful map showing the connection between the Winni River Trail and the extension which goes all the way under Rt 93 and behind the McDonalds in Tilton. Be wary of the dark red steel gate bar on Knapp Rd. That dark red color did not show up well in the late afternoon shade. Ouch.
The book map shows “phase 2” going from Bridge St, across Rt 3 , along the sidewalk to Grant St; actually the 2nd crossing to get back to the trail is to Salmon Run . There is a WRTA sign. The “Phase 2A” the book shows on that map is apparently still not completed.
This GPS track shows the trail end-to-end, including the extension.
And this detail shows the connection between the Northfield terminus from Franklin (just off the left edge of the picture) to the start of the Extenstion to Tilton.
The gray squiggles mask over my dead ends trying to find The Way.
