With the warm weather here, Granite Staters are out on the rail-trails. Years ago, railroads criss-crossed New Hampshire. Now, some of those old rail corridors are making way for bikers and walkers, as well as equestrians and inline skaters, and, in winter, cross-country skiers. We discover the etiquette for the popular multi-use trails, and hear about connecting communities from Salem to Lebanon and beyond into the White Mountains.
GUESTS:
- Marianne Borowski - founder of the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail which is 83 miles across Northern NH, from Woodsville, New Hampshire to Bethel, Maine.
- Tim Blagden - President of the Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail and former Executive Director of the Bike Walk Alliance of N.H.
- Dave Topham - Co-chair of the New Hampshire Rail Trail Coalition, and treasurer of the Friends of Salem Bike-Ped Corridor. He is also co-founder of Granite State Wheelers, the largest cycling group in N.H., and a founder of the Bike Walk Alliance of N.H.
The New Hampshire Bureau of Trails administers multi-use trails on state, federal, and private lands and assists organizations, municipalities, and trail clubs with the development of trails.
How to find out about rail trails in N.H. and all over the country? Check the Rails to Trails Conservancy tool: www.traillink.com. Put in the town where you are visiting and see what trails are available to you in the area.
Find out about hiking, biking, canoeing trails in New Hampshire and Vermont? www.trailfinder.info For Maine? www.mainetrailfinder.org.
East Coast Greenway: A 25 year effort establishing a 3000 mile, protected bicycling and walking route from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida. Consists of recreation paths, rail trails, bike lanes, quiet roads. https://www.greenway.org/about/the-east-coast-greenway
The Cross Vermont Trail: www.crossvermont.org 91 miles of mixed surface biking, walking, running from Burlington, through Montpelier to the Connecticut River at Wells River, VT across from Woodsville, NH. This route connects seamlessly to the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail on the Ammonoosuc Recreation Trail in Woodsville.