Hurricane Beryl brought powerful flooding to Northern New Hampshire this week, leaving several communities grappling with extensive damage to roads, bridges, and homes.
Also among the infrastructure sustaining damage: the North Country’s network of off-road trails. Many of those trails, used by ATVs and motorized trail bikes, have had to be closed off, while the damage to others is still being assessed.
Steven Wilkie, the operations manager for the New Hampshire Off-Highway Vehicle Association, said many trails hadn't yet recovered from last year’s floods, making this fresh round of extreme weather even more challenging.
“Those hadn't been repaired,” Wilkie said. “Now we're back to more damage again. It'll be devastating because people have reservations, rentals, and those businesses can't operate until some of this stuff gets resolved.”
Wilkie acknowledged the efforts of local clubs in managing trail conditions but pointed out the overwhelming impact of heavy rainfall.
"Our clubs work hard to keep water off the trails and trails out of water," he said. "But when Mother Nature overwhelms us with water, these events happen."
NHOHVA collaborates with the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails to secure emergency funding to recover from winter and springtime weather events. However, the shift to more summer emergencies has strained their finances, he said, leaving only a small amount available for repairing damaged trails.
Jericho State Park is the largest riding area the state owns, according to Wilkie, and the park got hit by floods twice last year and still had some trails that weren’t able to open this year. Last year, in Pittsburgh, he says there was close to $2 million worth of damage and many trails had to be closed, with some just only recently reopening. Wilkie says this week’s storms may have them repeating history.
Wilkie advises that if you plan to go out and ride, it's important to check with your local club beforehand to ensure that the trails or facilities are open before you arrive.
Meanwhile, several communities in Northern New Hampshire are still assessing the damage to public infrastructure like roads and bridges. Vanessa Palange with New Hampshire’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the department is asking towns to file damage assessments to help officials understand the financial implications and plan future recovery efforts.
“This is essential groundwork as we move forward with recovery and potentially seek disaster assistance," Palange said.
Despite the severity of the storm, Palange said initial reports indicated minimal direct communication from affected towns during the height of the rainfall.
"The night of the storms, the duty officer did not receive any phone calls from any of the local towns," Palange confirmed. "We did reach out to some of the ones that we knew had been hard hit, and they told us at that time that they didn't have any needs."
You can find more information about the status of trails near you on NHOHVA’s website.
